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Category: War

The U.S. had no choice but to return to diplomacy

The U.S. had no choice but to return to diplomacy

Nancy A. Youssef, Russell Berman, and Vivian Salama write: Declaring that “the deal is all signed” with Iran, as President Trump did today, is like shopping for a wedding dress after a good first date: It’s just too soon. A deal has an element of finality and permanence. A nuclear deal with Iran, for example, would require specific obligations, concessions, and verification measures, such as inspections, agreed to by all parties. What Iran and the United States are moving toward,…

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Ministers say Israel won’t be bound by Iran deal, as opposition castigates Netanyahu’s ‘absolute failure’

Ministers say Israel won’t be bound by Iran deal, as opposition castigates Netanyahu’s ‘absolute failure’

The Times of Israel reports: Defense Minister Israel Katz vowed Monday that the Israeli military will remain in southern Lebanon and warned that if Iran strikes, it will be hit “with full force,” promising that Israel will resist any pressure after the US and Iran agreed a deal to end the war that also reportedly includes a commitment to end hostilities in Lebanon. There was no immediate comment on the deal from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but far-right members of…

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A fragile thaw in Hormuz but timing and sequence now matter

A fragile thaw in Hormuz but timing and sequence now matter

Richard Meade writes: The U.S.-Iran agreement has injected a rare moment of relief into a region where merchant seafarers have paid the highest price. But while the headlines trumpet de‑escalation, the maritime sector is treating the news with something closer to wary disbelief than celebration. The Strait of Hormuz may be reopening, but the rules of engagement — literal and political — remain murky. The industry is still waiting for clarity on the administrative and practical arrangements governing the strait,…

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U.S. and Iran will sign a ‘peace deal’ — then spend the next two months negotiating its terms

U.S. and Iran will sign a ‘peace deal’ — then spend the next two months negotiating its terms

The Wall Street Journal reports: Iran and the U.S. have agreed on a peace deal, the two nations announced Sunday, a major breakthrough after nearly four months of fighting that created global political and economic turmoil. President Trump, in an interview earlier Sunday with The Wall Street Journal, said this deal would either be signed electronically by himself or Vice President JD Vance on Sunday. Pakistani negotiators said a formal signing would come later this week. Trump’s interview with the…

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UAE to unlock billions of dollars for Iran, sources say

UAE to unlock billions of dollars for Iran, sources say

Reuters reports: The United Arab Emirates has agreed to unlock billions of dollars for Iran, four sources said, ​in a tactical shift after weeks of Iranian attacks on the wealthy Gulf Arab state during the U.S.-Israeli war with the Islamic Republic. Word of the move, which has not ‌been previously reported, coincides with the final stages of broader negotiations between Tehran and Washington on ending the war, talks that diplomats say could involve the release of tens of billions of…

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Oil executives warn White House that gas prices will get worse

Oil executives warn White House that gas prices will get worse

The Washington Post reports: Oil and gas executives have warned the White House that gasoline prices could surge in coming months as fuel inventories fall to critical lows, complicating the Trump administration’s efforts to contain inflation that has already rattled American consumers. Industry officials say they are doing everything they can to sound an alarm that prices are about to soar as the commercial and government inventories that have mitigated price rises so far are rapidly depleting, according to multiple…

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China is propping up the global economy by importing a lot less oil

China is propping up the global economy by importing a lot less oil

The Wall Street Journal reports: A sharp fall in China’s crude oil imports during the Iran war has been instrumental in holding down oil prices and keeping the global economy humming. Clues are emerging in the mystery of the missing three million barrels—the oil that China would normally be importing but isn’t now. Chinese people are driving fewer gasoline-powered cars and taking trains instead of planes. The country is dialing back operations at the plants that turn crude oil into…

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Is the U.S. secretly sneaking oil through the Strait of Hormuz, as Trump claims?

Is the U.S. secretly sneaking oil through the Strait of Hormuz, as Trump claims?

ABC News reports: Soon after President Donald Trump said in the Oval Office on Wednesday that the United States has been secretly ferrying “millions of barrels” of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, Trump announced on social media that “more than 100 MILLION Barrels of Oil” and “more than 200 Commercial Ships” have successfully traveled through the strait. “Last month, I directed our Great U.S. Military to execute a secret mission to support Oil Tankers and other Commercial Ships through…

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Three days of clashes show Iran war entering dangerous new phase. Trump says: ‘I love the inflation’

Three days of clashes show Iran war entering dangerous new phase. Trump says: ‘I love the inflation’

The Wall Street Journal reports: The U.S. and Iran are entering a risky new phase of conflict in which both sides are attempting to maintain pressure and respond to provocations without returning to all-out war, but with an ever-present danger of stumbling across each other’s red lines and triggering a dangerous escalation. Recent days of hostilities showed how close the two foes have come to the edge even while trying to keep their military actions measured. Iran struck directly at…

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Trump’s grip on the GOP leaves Netanyahu with few places to turn

Trump’s grip on the GOP leaves Netanyahu with few places to turn

The Washington Post reports: When previous U.S. presidents sought to tie the hands of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli leader often exploited rifts in U.S. politics to find a friendlier ear in Washington and wriggle free from constraints placed on him. But Netanyahu is finding that there is no higher court of appeals in his face-off with President Donald Trump, who has a viselike grip over his party — at a time when Democrats have little or no sympathy…

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With waning influence, Trump struggles to rein in Netanyahu’s strikes on Iran and Lebanon

With waning influence, Trump struggles to rein in Netanyahu’s strikes on Iran and Lebanon

The Wall Street Journal reports: As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu weighed how to respond to waves of Iranian missile attacks Sunday night, President Trump called with a message: Stand down. But as it became clear the Israeli leader wouldn’t ignore a direct attack, Trump shifted his tone. Keep it limited, and don’t let it escalate, he said according to people familiar with the conversation. Trump had hoped to contain the flare-up in fighting to keep it from disrupting work…

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Israeli aggression threatens to fray its financial and diplomatic lifeline to the United States

Israeli aggression threatens to fray its financial and diplomatic lifeline to the United States

Megan K. Stack writes: Emboldened by unstinting U.S. support during its devastation of Gaza, and with American forces by its side in attacking Iran, Israel is moving with disorienting speed on multiple fronts. Mr. Netanyahu attributes his country’s aggression to the bloody lessons of Oct. 7, which he insists was an attack not just by Hamas but “by the Iran axis, to try to annihilate us through a noose of death.” “I said, ‘We’re going to change the Middle East,’”…

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Trump urges Netanyahu not to escalate latest round of attacks Israel started with strikes on Beirut

Trump urges Netanyahu not to escalate latest round of attacks Israel started with strikes on Beirut

Axios reports: President Trump will call Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and press him not to retaliate for Iran’s missile attack, Trump tells Axios. “I am going to call Bibi right now and tell him not to retaliate. Each of them had their fun. Israel had its strike, and Iran had its strike. We don’t need another one,” Trump said. Why it matters: The ceasefire in the Middle East is teetering after Israel struck Beirut and Iran fired multiple waves of missiles in response. Trump…

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Ukraine’s technological advances could mark a change in the nature of warfare

Ukraine’s technological advances could mark a change in the nature of warfare

Anne Applebaum writes: In a field outside of Kyiv last weekend, a van was parked discreetly behind some trees. Inside the van there were no passenger seats, just a long desk, two office chairs, two laptops, extra screens. Outside appearances to the contrary, this was a mobile drone-interceptor base, one of hundreds of similar vehicles now scattered around Ukraine. It’s also part of something much bigger: a set of technological advances that have changed the war with Russia, and maybe…

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Pentagon sees Israel as critical counterintelligence threat to the U.S.

Pentagon sees Israel as critical counterintelligence threat to the U.S.

The New York Times reports: Recent U.S. intelligence reports have raised concerns about Israeli spy agencies eavesdropping on American negotiators working on a peace deal with Iran, amid rising concern over a more general counterintelligence threat by Israel. Israel and the United States have long known, and tolerated, that each was spying on the other. But an intensified Israeli effort to learn about U.S. positions in talks with Iran has crossed a line, according to some American officials. The reports…

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Iran demands cash for peace, presenting a political minefield for Trump

Iran demands cash for peace, presenting a political minefield for Trump

The Wall Street Journal reports: The U.S. and Iran have spent weeks struggling to forge a preliminary deal to end the war. One major reason why they are stuck: Tehran wants early access to cold, hard cash, and it is politically hazardous for President Trump to agree. For Trump, a decision to free Iran’s assets upfront would inevitably generate comparisons to his own attacks on the Obama administration for flying cash into Tehran in the hours after the nuclear accord…

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