This Week in the World Affairs Brief
WILL THE AGREEMENT WITH IRAN HOLD UP?
President Trump signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) or “Strategic Framework Agreement” with Iran on Wednesday. Trump signed it in France where he was attending the G7 Summit. The MOU was signed electronically at the Palace of Versailles with cameras rolling, and filmed so that it could be transmitted to the Iranians who did the same with their signing. The framework agreement sets a 60 day time limit, wherein the MOU is to be transformed into a final deal. The White House has released the text of the 14-point plan which opens the Strait of Hormuz without tolls, removes the US blockade of Iranian ports and lays out broad commitments aimed at restraining Iran’s nuclear program. So far, it doesn’t require Iran to give up its ballistic missile program, a major setback for Trump’s original demands. The biggest threat to the deal turns out to be Israel, which refuses to abide by Iran’s demand in the deal that Israel stop attacking Lebanon, and withdraw from its occupation of S. Lebanon. Trump has expressed considerable displeasure with PM Netanyahu over Israel’s continued attacks on Lebanon, but it is doubtful Trump has the determination to threaten Israel with a cutoff of military aid if Netanyahu continues to sabotage the US/Iran deal. Israel may even have blackmail on Trump through the still-concealed Epstein files. I’ll cover all of these stories and more in this week’s important brief.
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Also:
- Israel Already Trying to Scuttle Trump’s Iran Deal
- Russia Losing the War in Ukraine
- Preparedness Tip: Shelter Sleeping Options
Iranian state-run media outlets reported that Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz to all maritime traffic on June 20. Meanwhile, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) stated that commercial traffic in the critical waterway has increased.
Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters issued a statement to state-run media on Saturday suggesting the closure was a reaction to “the explicit breach of the first clause of the post-war memorandum of understanding by the United States” and Israel’s “ongoing violations of the ceasefire in southern Lebanon.”
Vance & CENTCOM push back against reports of Hormuz 'closure' by Iranians.
Iran's Ghalibaf, Araghchi en route to US Talks in Switzerland, IRIB reports. Also Witkoff-headed US delegation still expected.
Iran declares Strait 'closed' again over US failing to reign in Israeli action in Lebanon.
Rising death toll in Lebanon, after over 50 new rockets fired on Israeli positions by Hezbollah.
This is once again on display as on Saturday Ukraine launched a drone attack targeting an oil refinery in Russia's Tyumen region for the first time since the the war. Significantly, Tyumen region is located some 2,000 kilometers (or 1,240 miles) from the front line in Ukraine.
The outstanding federal student loan balance totaled over $1.6 trillion in February, with nearly 43 million student borrowers holding loan debt.
How Netanyahu sold Trump a war, Erdogan broke the plan, and Washington rushed into a ceasefire before the oil clock ran out
Trump, speaking at a press conference as the summit concluded, said Netanyahu “gets a little excited sometimes” and that the two men had a “little dispute” over Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Israel and Hezbollah Agree To Ceasefire
Opening Round Of US-Iran Nuclear Talks Postponed After Israel-Lebanon Clashes Erupt
So, he lied.
According to a statement released with the files, "Fauci worked with politicized career leadership in the Intelligence Community (IC) to suppress the truth about his actions, the virus’ lab-leak origins, and his role in directing U.S. funding for this dangerous research that caused immeasurable harm and countless lost lives. These documents expose Fauci’s direct role in influencing and manipulating IC assessments on COVID-19, and how Fauci lied to Congress in 2024, when under oath he denied knowledge of or participation in discussions with intelligence officials about viral research."
On Thursday, 200 Ukrainian suicide drones swarmed Gazprom's Moscow Refinery in what military observers are calling Kyiv's most brazen offensive of the four-year war to date.
Footage from the southeastern outskirts of the city showed the drone swarm attack and the resulting columns of black smoke billowing from the heavily damaged refinery and storage tank farms.
“There is no greater threat to America’s way of life, peace, and prosperity in the world than Xi Jinping and the CCP,” Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who introduced the resolution earlier this month, told the Senate before the vote.
“Xi Jinping hates us. Communist China wants to destroy us. He is not a partner. He is not a competitor. He is a brutal dictator leading a criminal organization that lies, cheats, steals, exploits slave labor, and commits genocide and crimes against humanity on an industrial scale.”
You could say that Google is always watching you. This is their profit model: watching and selling you ads, watching and selling your profile. It’s why they’re so rich.
But it seems, at least for now, that turning smart features off in your Gmail and Google Workspace account means AI is no longer used to power those feature, and indeed is turned off. In addition, as of this writing, Google claims that Gmail smart features is not a backdoor way of training its AI. At least so far.
The American-Iranian framework may have ended the war, but it has not ended Iran’s preparations for the next one. To many outside observers, this appears contradictory. Why would a country that has just signed an agreement simultaneously keep its missiles, military plans and command structures on high readiness? Yet from Tehran’s perspective, there is no contradiction at all. The recent conflict has reinforced a lesson Iranian leaders have long embraced: diplomacy without deterrence is vulnerable, while deterrence without diplomacy is costly. The framework therefore represents not the replacement of military readiness but its political extension.
In practice, however, Americans who communicate with those foreign targets are swept into the dragnet through what the government euphemistically calls “incidental collection.” There is nothing incidental about it.
“Our founders would never have anticipated men believing they are women would join a women’s only organization,” she explained. “The current membership application has us attest to the fact that we are biological women. We hope to restore our Society to what our founding daughters intended.”
Iran to immediately reopen the Strait of Hormuz without tolls during a 60-day period of negotiations.
Iran has also agreed to, at a minimum, downblend its stockpile of enriched uranium. The deal allows for potential future economic relief if Iran responds favorably to the United States’ demands.
The agreement would also allow Iran to sell its oil without restrictions. The deal provides for a 60-day window for negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program.
President Trump's comment at the tail end of the G7 press conference about rapidly depleting crude reserves may have been the clearest admission yet of what is really driving the urgent push for an MoU with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
"We run out of reserves in about four weeks," Trump told reporters.
A 17th-century chapel in Brittany lost most of its roof and part of its framework, while a centuries-old cloister housing thousands of rare books in the southwest saw its library devastated.
These blazes fit a widening pattern of attacks on churches and sacred sites that shows no sign of slowing, even as the state claims it lacks funds for preservation while directing resources elsewhere.
At least three Iranian oil tankers and two cargo ships carrying essential goods broke through the US naval blockade following an accord between the countries.
A large Iranian VLCC and another vessel used to transport livestock moved from open waters toward Iranian ports, the agency said. Another Iranian tanker carrying oil also crossed the Gulf of Oman toward its designated export port, Fars said, without providing further details about the destination.
Trump made these comments during his bilateral meeting with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, on the sidelines of the G7 summit.
"I'm going to do whatever I can," Trump said, to end the war in Ukraine.
Trump said he wants to focus on Ukraine now, saying Iran will soon be "back in the rearview mirror."
Teen takeovers started in Chicago in 2024 and became a nationwide phenomenon in 2025. They often devolve into violence.
The group allegedly planned to use explosive-laden drones to hit buildings near the event, force a mass evacuation, and steer crowds toward a pre-staged sniper team.
A "second wave" was then allegedly planned to storm the White House gate, according to officials. -Fox News
This saga fits a familiar pattern of privatized surveillance creep: Companies like Flock build the infrastructure, police query it with minimal friction, and civil liberties erode under the banner of security. As similar systems proliferate, the question remains whether Americans are willing to accept a perpetual digital dragnet in exchange for promised safety.
The committee that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccines has been paralyzed by a March ruling by a federal judge, leaving it unable to carry out work ahead of the upcoming respiratory virus season, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has warned.
Iran Says Peace Deal Requires Israeli Withdrawal From Lebanon
Hormuz Fears Ease As Trump, Ghalibaf Virtually Sign US-Iran Deal, But Energy Flows Remain Months From Normal
One transaction stands out. The Washington Free Beacon reported that Newsom asked a Native American tribe to make two separate $500,000 donations to the California Partners Project. Contemporaneously, he took that tribe's side in a dispute with another tribe over a proposed casino. The juxtaposition of large directed donations to a family-linked nonprofit coinciding with favorable official action has fueled questions about whether donors with business before the state were effectively paying for access or goodwill through the governor's wife's charity.
With chemical abortion pills now readily available by mail, some pro-life advocates say abusive partners may misuse access to pressure pregnant women.
Asked whether he was concerned Trump could veto a stand-alone renewal, Thune said he hoped the president would ultimately support restoring the authority.
“I certainly would hope if we can get FISA off the floor, he would sign it,” Thune said.
Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett didn’t mince words on Monday: the clock for regime change in Iran starts ticking the moment Israel gets a new government.
“Both sides have declared the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon,” Sharif wrote on X moments before Trump confirmed the plan.
Iran will not have a nuclear weapon under the new deal.
The agreement includes strong policing and enforcement powers.
Past U.S. payments to Iran were a failed bribe attempt.
Sanctions relief will only happen if Iran complies with terms.
Iran gets no money or relief just for signing the deal.
Trump: Ships starting to move through strait or Hormuz
Vice President JD Vance Begins Optics Roadshow to Boost Investor Confidence On Deal
Iran Offers 60-Day Toll-Free Hormuz Transit As 100s Of Ships Await Reopening
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