Federalist writer Eddie Scarry lets his hostility to Israel poke through the seams

Here's another example of how the Federalist's writers are going downhill, as their contributor Eddie Scarry, in pretending neo-cons are truly the ones against J.D. Vance, goes so far as to attack support for Israel from the right-wing side, and perpetuates the RINO opposition to the war on Iran's dictatorship:

Worth slightly more attention is what Thiessen wrote this week in The Washington Post. Recall that Thiessen is the Post content creator and former George W. Bush speechwriter whom Trump, for inexplicable reasons that may be explained in the future, has reportedly been reading and consulting privately about foreign affairs. Thiessen took an opportunity on Thursday to continue the very obviously coordinated attack on Vance planned by a slimy mix of neocons, lazy Republicans, and Israel Firsters.

Evaluating the Iran war, which has grown increasingly unpopular, even among Republicans, Thiessen wrote, “Perhaps it’s time for the president to take the advice of those who have delivered him success in Iran — not those like Vance who have failed him.”

Thiessen blames the failures in Iran not on what certainly look like short-sighted decisions by the commander in chief, but on Vance, whose primary responsibility in the conflict has been negotiating its end with Iran’s leaders. That’s at least honest. But let’s look at what Thiessen says a real victory, without any negotiation, would look like.

He wrote that the war’s objectives are: “eliminate remaining [Iranian] leadership figures; further entomb Iran’s nuclear sites; take out Iran’s remaining ballistic missile sites; destroy the economic and energy infrastructure that provides the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps with a financial lifeline, as well as key highways, railroads, airports and seaports by which the regime gets financial assistance from bordering countries; and demolish Iran’s remaining defense industrial base so it cannot rebuild its destroyed capabilities.” Then, with presumably a straight face, Thiessen said, “That’s it.”

Oh, is that all?!

Well, not really. Thiessen, perhaps to his credit, didn’t even pretend to hide the ball. Though having concluded, “That’s it” — just the complete decimation of a global energy supplier’s entire transportation infrastructure and economy — Thiessen went on to do the equivalent of, But wait! There’s more! He then said the U.S. would simply have to commit to keeping American troops just off the shore of Iran in perpetuity and “provide covert support” to Iranian rebels, in hopes that they might fight their own government. You know, just like they are now! Wait, that’s not actually happening, is it? Oh well!

Mr. Scarry ignores so much of previous research it's not even funny. He relies on reports from the otherwise shoddy AP Wire, doesn't pay any attention to the Tea Party Patriots research on the USA public's support for the war, and even ignores that much of the Iranian inhabitants are unarmed, making it difficult to fight against the Iranian government savages. If that's how Scarry's going to act, can somebody like that be counted on to fight against the Islamofascist regime being established in Europe? Or even the USA itself?

With this, the Federalist continues to send troubling signs they're not dedicated to freedom and liberty any more than say, Ron Paul, who was probably the role model for some of their more questionable writers. It's utterly head-shaking as it's sad they're becoming as overrun with phonies like Scarry, much like the Democrats are becoming overrun with Islamists and communists.

Co-founder of the Federalist continues the Orweillian ignorance act

Perhaps it's not a shock, but Sean Davis, CEO and co-founder of the Federalist, has indicated he's against the war on Iran's tyrants, despite previous research telling there are Americans who believe Iran's Islamofascists should be brought down, and tries to frame it all as some kind of "neocon/never-Trump/RINO" conspiracy, all the while not willing to admit he actually represents such disgraceful movements:

It is inarguable that the war in Iran is a massive drag on Donald Trump’s numbers, as well as those of the Republican Party heading into November. This is largely driven by consistently high gas prices, which also drive up the price of everything else.

Trump obviously knows this, which is why he’s been searching for an off-ramp for months. He knows he was elected to get gas prices down and the economy in shape (which he did until the war jammed up the gears).

But a major problem for Trump’s presidency right now is that nearly everyone outside his inner circle pushing for this war — and this includes the entirety of so-called conservative pundits who never found a war they weren’t willing to make others fight and pay for — also hates Trump (and especially J.D. Vance) and sees the war’s negative effect on his popularity as a secondary benefit of the war they’ve been salivating over for decades. To them, his declining numbers are a feature, not a bug.

With the Iran war, the NeverTrump neocons have gotten everything they ever dreamed of — war (which they love), and a massive political quagmire for Trump that threatens to consume the rest of his presidency and destroy any future political chances of J.D. Vance and the entire MAGA/America First movement.

Boy, this guy sure is clever and cunning, trying to do what the British call "fobbing off" the blame on everyone else but himself, all the while pretending he's actually a Trump supporter himself, but in reality, chances are very high he's actually a Vance supporter for all the wrong reasons. Assuming he supposedly opposes having an Islamic caliphate established in Europe, what Davis is doing decidedly contradicts any claim he might make that he's against having Islamofascism conquer Europe. Seriously, I'm not convinced people like him are against the Religion of Peace at all. Period.

I sadly predicted the Federalist would not debate the points of the Tea Party Patriots' polling research, and Davis' bizarre propaganda screed certainly confirms that, more or less. The Federalist is once again proving they're a blight upon conservatism, and an insult to anybody who's against totalitarianism conquering the world. What if it turns out Davis has no genuine issues with NYC mayor Zohran Mamdani, or even communism? He also ignores very valid reasons why Iran's Islamofascist leaders should be taken down, and is practically undermining efforts to protect the USA in the long run. We can only hope the Federalist's losing audience they don't need over their disgraceful behavior, which again only obscures challenging polls that tell a different story than the ludicrous narrative they sadly want to follow.

What to make of Trump administration's deal with Saudia Arabia?

Donald Trump made a deal with Saudi Arabia to build nuclear power stations, but not to do uranium enrichment, and has a demand they recognize Israel too:

President Donald Trump said Thursday that Saudi Arabia will not enrich uranium under the landmark nuclear deal signed with the U.S. this week.

Trump said the nuclear agreement is subject to Riyadh establishing diplomatic relations with Israel through the Abraham Accords.

“There will be no enrichment of material!” the president said in a Truth Social post. The deal “is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords,” he said.

Well I certainly hope not. Even so, based on how Saudi Arabia still upholds Islam and doesn't allow other religions to function there, are they reliable when it comes to working on nuclear technology? If they move away from Islam, they could be more trustworthy in that regard, but for now, no.

As I am aware, they did thankfully stop forcing women to wear abayas, but even so, when they stick with the Religion of Peace as they have to date, that's why they still have a long way to go, even if they do recognize Israel's validity.

JD Vance shows his true colors on Joe Rogan's podcasts

The USA vice president is proving to be the one of the worst omens for Israel, and making matters worse is that he aired horrific viewpoints on the podcast of a man who already gave indications he was hostile to Israel too:

U.S. Vice President JD Vance suggested on Wednesday that some elements within the Israeli government backed an influence campaign aimed at undermining the Trump administration’s negotiations with Iran, while emphasizing that Israel remains a U.S. ally.

Speaking on Joe Rogan’s podcast “The Joe Rogan Experience,” Vance said, “I think you have seen this very discreet, extremely well-funded campaign to try to derail the negotiation and try to derail the deal.”

“There was a Times story that came out yesterday that basically there are certain influencers in America who are being paid in order to attack the deal,” Vance said. “It lists a bunch of people who have quite literally been paid by a former Trump campaign person who was himself paid by certain elements within the Israeli government.”

He said he has been accused of taking “marching orders from Tucker Carlson” and that “there’s just so much bullsh** out there when what I’m actually trying to do is accomplish what the president of the United States told me to accomplish.”

The vice president said he had no objection to Israel attempting to influence U.S. policy, calling such efforts a routine part of international diplomacy.

“A lot of other countries do,” Vance said. “I think some are better at it than others. I think the Israelis are definitely more effective at it than most. But I wouldn’t say that they’re the only effective country by any means that tries to influence American politics.”

“I mean, why wouldn’t you?” he said. “It’s a country of 9 million people. We have 330 million people. And so, of course, they’re going to try to persuade Americans. They’re going to try to move Americans in one direction or another. I think that’s just the nature of the beast.”

I think the use of the word "beast" is disturbing, and no matter what he says about not objecting to Israel trying to influence USA policy, it's clear he is disturbingly biased. Ruthie Blum addressed the news like this:

As much as I dislike citing Maya Angelou—and absolutely loathe using a single plural pronoun to describe a single noun—one of the late activist-poet’s famous quotes is so spot on that it bears repeating: “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.”

This certainly applies to U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who illustrated it most recently on “The Joe Rogan Experience.”

Yes, during a nearly three-hour chat with the most-streamed podcaster on Spotify, Vance yet again showed us just who he is.

Not that it was tough to do with a host like Rogan, who didn’t challenge a word his interviewee said. Oh, other than asking him what “MoU” stands for and expressing surprise that “dove” in the political context is the opposite of “hawk.”

Where blaming the Jews and Israel for the doomed memorandum of understanding with the Islamic Republic was concerned, there was no pushback. On the contrary, Rogan goaded Vance to keep going down his embarrassing rabbit hole of conspiracy theories.

These included the groyper line about sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s deep ties to the Mossad or the CIA. It was as though anti-Israel political commentators and podcasters Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens prepped the VP for the one-on-one. They undoubtedly were pleased with his performance.

Take the following passage, for instance:

“I definitely think you have seen this very discreet, extremely well-funded campaign to try to derail the negotiation and derail the deal,” he said, referring to the MoU with the Islamic Republic that his boss, U.S. President Donald Trump, had declared dead in the water mere days earlier.

Nonetheless, Vance continued in this vein, totally omitting two facts: that Tehran has been blitzing the Gulf (his only mention of the countries in that region is to say that they’re gung-ho for the MoU); and that Israel has been totally out of the fray for many weeks.

Well he certainly isn't helping to end the Iran war sooner than it could be done. Stuff like this also puts his sincerity regarding Europe into doubt. What if it turned out he had some responsibility for getting former Hungarian premiere Viktor Orban voted out? It remains to be seen if Vance will apologize for causing all the trouble he's going to cause with his conspiracy theory tactics, which aren't helping the situation one bit. Just plain embarrassing.

Update: here's what Fox News' Brian Kilmeade has to say about the subject.

The sad passing of Lindsey Graham

This week, a senator who was a good buddy for Israel passed on at 71. Donald Trump said about him:

He added, “He was a worker. He was really a worker. But, but he sounded great, actually. But he was, he was. He actually said he was tired, but he wanted to get the Save America Act. And I said, well, we’re going to get it done, Lindsey. We’re going to get it done. I’ll see you soon. We thought maybe we might even meet today. And then that was it. And that was, you know, around the time; it couldn’t have been much longer. I could have been his last call. I don’t know exactly, but I got a message about 1:00 in the morning from one of the people at his office that he had passed away. I said, you got it. I just can’t believe it. He was like a member of the family to me. It’s very tough.”

Trump concluded, “This is a big blow to the SAVE America Act, let me tell you.”

Also for Israel, sadly. Condolences to his family members. Graham deserved far better.

Update: here's a video of a moment of silence held in the Knesset in Graham's memory.

Why recognizing Ahmed al-Sharaa as legitimate is bad

Amine Ayoub wrote about why the Trump administration's continued recognition of Islamists like Ahmed al-Sharaa is bad news:

The recent declaration by President Donald Trump indicating a willingness to remove Syria from the U.S. State Department’s list of state sponsors of terrorism marks a perilous pivot in American foreign policy. Coupled with optimistic projections regarding an Israeli military withdrawal from southern Lebanon, Washington appears to be rushing toward a premature stabilization narrative in the Levant. At the center of this strategy is Ahmed al-Sharaa, the interim Syrian president who assumed power following the dramatic collapse of the Bashar al-Assad regime.

Sharaa's sudden elevation from an international terrorist to a prospective diplomatic partner is not a triumph of moderate reform. Instead, it represents the most sophisticated mutation of Salafi-jihadist ideology observed in the modern era, posing a severe long-term threat to Western security and regional minorities.

The Illusion of Transformation

To understand the danger of the current U.S. trajectory,we must examine the meticulous career of Sharaa, previously known by his battlefield moniker, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani. Sharaa is a veteran of the global jihadist movement who gained operational experience fighting American forces alongside al-Qaeda in Iraq after the 2003 invasion. Following his subsequent incarceration at Camp Bucca, he spearheaded the creation of Jabhat al-Nusra, which operated as al-Qaeda’s official Syrian franchise.

Under his command, the group executed horrific suicide operations, systematically targeted religious minorities, and enforced an uncompromising version of Islamic law. His subsequent break with al-Qaeda and the creation of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, were widely interpreted by Middle East experts as tactical maneuvers rather than genuine ideological transformations.

The institutionalization of HTS under Sharaa demonstrates how modern radical groups adapt their vocabulary for Western consumption without abandoning their core Islamist objectives.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg, so read the rest. What the Trump administration's doing, continuing to give al-Sharaa legitimacy, is a very bad example, and when the Democrats don't raise any objections to the administration's dealings with al-Sharaa, you know something's wrong.

"Memorandum of Understanding" collapses

So no sooner had Iran supposedly signed the USA's "memorandum of understanding" - and only electronically at that - then they went back to firing missiles at targets in the middle east again:

Air-raid sirens sounded in Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain on Thursday, as Iran said it targeted U.S. military assets with missiles and drones in retaliation for American strikes on the Islamic Republic.

A Jordanian military source told Amman’s official Petra News Agency that air defenses intercepted eight missiles launched from Iran on Thursday afternoon. Debris from the interceptions fell in several areas, causing no casualties or damage, according to the report.

The Jordanian air-raid sirens were heard in some Israeli border communities in the Jordan Valley, according to Hebrew media.

The U.S. Embassy in Amman confirmed reports that “missiles, drones or rockets are in Jordanian airspace” and called on Americans in the country to “seek overhead cover and shelter in place immediately.” The mission added, “Remain indoors and pay attention to local announcements and alerts. The U.S. Embassy in Jordan will continue to review the situation and provide additional information as needed.”

A flight from Ethiopia to Tel Aviv was forced to turn around amid the missile attacks, Channel 12 News reported.

In Kuwait, a Defense Ministry spokesperson said the country’s armed forces intercepted three ballistic missiles, one cruise missile and 10 drones launched from Iran on Thursday.

“The interceptions resulted in material damage after debris fell at several locations across the country. One person was injured and is receiving the necessary medical treatment. The injured person’s condition is stable,” said spokesman Col. Saud Abdulaziz al-Atwan.

But are they actually going to gather what militaries they have and go to battle against Iran for what they've done? This report seems to suggest Jordan might be willing to, but only time will tell if they actually do.

For now, some can say the USA was being ridiculous to assume Iran would actually surrender, and this very much proves their tyrants aren't.

Opposition grows against selling military planes to Turkey

Benjamin Netanyahu urged Donald Trump not to sell F35 jets to Turkey:

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voiced strong opposition to the possibility of the US selling F-35 stealth fighter jets to Turkey, following comments by US President Donald Trump indicating that he is considering approving the deal.

In an interview with CNN, Netanyahu argued that such a move would undermine regional stability and reward a government that has repeatedly adopted hostile positions toward both Israel and the US.

"Turkey is not a friendly state to the US," Netanyahu said, describing the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as "a regime that's infected with the Muslim Brotherhood, which hates the US."

Turkey under Erdogan has made clear they're as dangerous to Israel as Iran is, and the whole notion the USA would sell them military tools is despicable as it's also dangerous. Why, what if, just like Iran, Turkey's also working on nuclear development, and one day has weapons similar to what Iran's had until recently? Then nothing was solved to begin with. Also, what if Erdogan and his minions are planning to subject the country to Islamic sharia dictates? Another reason why they can't be allowed to posess western-developed weapons.

This issue comes as recent polls show Israelis are losing confidence in Trump on security issues:

The share of Israelis who believe that Israel’s security is a central consideration of President Donald Trump fell to a record low as Democratic support for Israel in the US continued to decline, according to two new polls on Tuesday.

A new poll from the Israel Democracy Institute found that, amid widening disagreements in Israel over US efforts to broker a new nuclear deal with Iran, the share of Israelis who believe Trump prioritizes Israel’s security had seen a “collapse" from 44% in May to 28% in June, pollsters said.

The survey, which polled 603 Jewish respondents and 151 Arab respondents from June 28 to July 1, found that among Jewish respondents, the belief that Israel can fully rely on Trump has plummeted by 38 points between March and June 2026.

Just over one-third of Israelis said they believed Israel’s strategic security situation is better today than it was before the war with Iran. The margin of error was 3.57 percentage points.

It's also reported a poll conducted in part by the AP Wire tells there's a considerable number of Jewish Americans who're hostile to Israel, and quite possibly even favorable to Zohran Mamdani. Assuming that poll has any weight to it, that too is disturbing, and very sad.

Update: also note how Trump's continuing relations with the new Syrian despot, Ahmed al-Sharaa, and that too is troubling.

Update 2: John Fetterman's the only liberal who's willing to oppose the sale of weapons to Turkey.

For 4th of July, Zohran Mamdani could only think to attack Trump's immigration policies

NYC's first Muslim mayor, despite trying to make it all seem to the contrary, attacked conservative figures like Donald Trump on the 4th of July with propaganda making no distinction between legal and illegal immigration:

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani used the nation's 250th anniversary celebrations on Friday, July 3, to deliver a speech defending immigration and diversity while taking aim at what he described as the "forces of division" shaping American politics.

Speaking from behind George Washington's desk inside New York City Hall, Mamdani addressed a room filled with recently naturalized American citizens holding US flags.

Although he never mentioned President Donald Trump by name, his remarks were widely seen as a response to the administration's immigration policies and political messaging.

[...] He went on to criticize what he called "small," "weak," and "unoriginal" ideas that define America through "the arena of supremacy, where only a select few are allowed freedom, where not all are created equal."

Yes, a world Mamdani's given his full backing to: a world governed by Islam. And according to Mamdani, the USA is not allowed to defend itself from the spread of Islamic sharia. Truly disgusting, right down to how he cloaks himself in propaganda using the USA flag to make it sound like he's literally a "patriot".

Most interesting besides this news is that his wife, Rama Duwaji, traveled overseas to spend time at an Islamic resort in Spain, which is pretty telling as well.

Once again, Mamdani's demonstrating how dangerous he is for America, as both a Muslim and a socialist.

USA administration cannot abandon the Iranian people who're oppressed

Jamie Fly and Katie LaRoque at Freedom House make a vital point why it's wrong for the USA administration to take any steps that would enable a sadistic dictatorship to remain in place and continue subjecting its citizens to horror stories:

In early 2026, when Iranian surgeon Alireza Golchini saw protesters with gunshot and stab wounds from the regime, he did what doctors are trained to do: he treated them. For that, Iranian authorities arrested him, charged him with “waging war against God,” and threatened him with a sentence that can carry the death penalty. His alleged crime was not violence or espionage; it was providing medical care to wounded Iranians.

His story is a reminder of a simple reality: the Islamic Republic is one of the world’s most repressive regimes. Just recently, a woman was sentenced to 74 lashes for singing in a YouTube video without a hijab, and a 17-year-old swimmer and boxer was sentenced to death for participating in a protest. The regime just executed another dissident, bringing the total number of political executions in 2026 to at least 45.

[...] For the Iranian people, however, the US-Iran deal as currently formulated is likely to deepen repression. It will strengthen the authorities that only months ago were imprisoning, executing, and killing Iranians in the streets for demanding basic freedoms and improved living conditions.

Late in 2025 and early 2026, millions of Iranians took to the streets in the most significant challenge the Islamic Republic has faced in decades. Authorities answered with a crackdown that left thousands dead and tens of thousands arrested. The regime also imposed a near-total internet shutdown that lasted for months, cutting Iranians off from one another and from a world that might otherwise have witnessed the scale of the violence. Yet reports indicate that a final agreement could bring this same regime sweeping sanctions relief, access to frozen assets, and billions of dollars in new investment. For Iranians who risked their lives demanding change, the likely outcome is not a more moderate government, but a more entrenched and repressive one.

[...] At a minimum, the United States should make any relief conditional on five things: the release of Iran’s political prisoners, an end to the executions handed down in protest cases, a binding guarantee against another nationwide internet shutdown, and the return of the Americans now imprisoned in Iran or barred from leaving—six by the assessment of the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation. Tehran should also be required to come clean about the fate of kidnapped former FBI Agent Bob Levinson and help his family recover his remains. These are among the clearest and most immediate signs of whether Iranian authorities are prepared to act in good faith.

See, these are vital reasons to topple a savage dictatorship, along with exiling monsters from what you would think civilized countries. I notice that Federalist editor John Daniel Davidson, who previously took disturbing positions that put his supposed understandings of reality under question marks, is now seemingly making valid points about the state of Europe while discussing SCOTUS' defeatist positions on birthright citizenship in the USA:

In countries like France and Britain, which have large numbers of Muslim migrants, this means multigenerational communities of non-citizens with a totally different cultural and political worldview — one that’s openly hostile to the host country. They will eventually, as they are beginning to do now, carve out their own insular polities within the nation, Balkanizing the country and destroying the possibility of republican self-government or even the possibility of national survival. An Islamified Britain will no longer be Britain, but something else.

Obviously, this can't go unopposed, but then, why did Dumberson oppose the war against Iran? Considering their Islamic tyrants were financing jihadism overseas, they could also be financing infiltration into the USA through illegal immigration, and does that sit well with Dumberson? Does it sit well with him that an innocent and defenseless woman could already have been tortured over an Orwellian Thoughtcrime? If he's not willing to approve of taking serious action against sadists in Islamofascist countries like Iran, then this current editorial of his rings totally hollow. That's why what he's saying now should be approached with caution, because it's not enough to defend just your home country, and to turn a deaf ear and a blind eye to the plight of innocent foreigners in distress is offensive, morally or otherwise.

If the Trump administration continues to allow the Islamofascist dictatorship in Iran to continue governing, it's always possible that could ruin election chances in mid-term. And if that's what happens, it'll make clear that when serious action isn't put to use, no matter the turnout, you cannot be surprised if the public will ultimately be disillusioned with the notion certain movements like conservatives really support responsibility, and applying equal standards everywhere. Also note how the Daily Caller is writing reports that're potentially hostile to Israel, which seem to be lamenting that Israel's military wanted to terminate "negotiators" from Iran, and you know something's wrong. If those very "negotiators" harbor Islamofascist beliefs themselves and are loyal to the dictatorship, why are they considered valuable? There are no doubt movements in the country that can be considered far better candidates for replacing the tyrants, and refusing to consider them only worsens the situation.

Oil can't be the only reason to go soft on Iran

Prof. Eyal Zisser spoke about how Donald Trump appears to have been lenient on Iran simply because of oil/fuel concerns:

Since US President Donald Trump signed the agreement with Iran that will bring the war to an end without achieving any of the goals he had set for himself, and worse, an agreement that strengthens the Iranian regime and grants Tehran the status of a regional power it never had before, Trump has repeatedly justified his surrender to the Iranians by saying that he did not want a "global economic catastrophe," and that because of the agreement, the stock market in New York "soared like a rocket" and oil prices fell dramatically.

Trump's remarks reveal a simple and bitter truth: economic interests dictate American policy, and they are the decisive factor. It is a pity only that Trump did not think all this through before withdrawing from President Barack Obama's nuclear deal from the previous decade, an agreement far better than the understandings he is now seeking to reach with the Iranians, or when he decided to go to war with Iran this past February.

It must be admitted that Trump is not the first president to give absolute priority to the economy and oil. One recalls the famous phrase attributed to an adviser to President Bill Clinton: "It's the economy, stupid." In other words, this is how the American voter makes his decisions, and so does any president who wants to be reelected or is thinking about his legacy.

It's certainly regrettable how everybody's dragging their feet in this whole aggravation, because here, the Bush administration of 2002 rammed Iraq straight through in not too much time, yet here Trump's going much slower, if at all, about battling Iran. And that doesn't bode well at all.

Iran violates supposed agreement

Just a week after the memorandum of understanding that Iran only signed electronically, they attacked a ship in the Straits of Hormuz with a drone, and now, the USA military had to strike back:

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced Saturday that American forces carried out another round of strikes on multiple targets in Iran after a Panama-flagged oil tanker was attacked near the Strait of Hormuz.

The U.S. military launched new strikes against Iranian targets after Tehran allegedly ignored the ceasefire and launched a drone attack on a Panama-flagged oil tanker carrying more than two million barrels of crude oil.

“CENTCOM forces launched strikes today in direct response to continued Iranian aggression against commercial shipping,” Centcom said. “U.S. military aircraft targeted Iranian military surveillance infrastructure, communication systems, air defense sites, drone storage facilities, and minelayer capabilities.” [...]

The strike came two days after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps allegedly attacked the Singapore-flagged M/V Ever Lovely in the Strait of Hormuz.

So now, the whole "agreement" - developed on the assumption Iran would actually surrender voluntarily in short order - is falling apart. Following this, will Trump's administration realize that a savage dictatorship built on the Religion of Peace won't cooperate unless they're made to stop following said religion? We can only hope more serious steps will be taken soon against Iran's monsters-in-charge.

Mark Levin takes issue with Donald Trump

If there's any conservative commentator who's hugely disappointed with how Trump's handling the Iran issue, it's Mark Levin:

Fox News host Mark Levin criticized President Donald Trump's Memorandum of Understanding with Iran across a series of posts on X, with his sharpest break coming over the deal's soft treatment of Hezbollah.

"On top of this, we do the unthinkable," wrote Levin, a longtime Trump defender who has broken with the president over the agreement. "We capitulate to Iran's demand to protect Hezbollah."

The conservative host argued that the Iran-backed group, which he said has "brutally murdered hundreds of our fellow citizens," would emerge from the ceasefire untouched. Under the terms Levin described, Hezbollah "not only survives but is immunized" and remains "free to continue to kill Americans, Israelis, and others." [...]

The posts come amid broader pushback from conservatives over the deal.

What's disturbing is whether Iran will receive any money at all in their current incarnation as a savage dictatorship. Similar points can be made about Syria under Ahmed al-Sharaa, who should not have been allowed to ascend to autocrat there.

Here's more related news:

Fox News' major MAGA ally Mark Levin slammed US President Donald Trump over the Iran war peace deal, calling on the White House to release details of the accord’s Memorandum of Understanding.

Levin on X/Twitter wrote: “I have asked for days, why can’t we, the people, see the damn MoU? Not through people briefed by an anonymous person. Honestly, I’ve never seen anything like this. If it is a great outcome for peace, then release it.”

“Here’s an idea: if you want people to stop speculating about the MoU, release the MoU. Don’t brief a few anointed ones to control the narrative and expect everyone else to sit silently. That’s not how our country works. It’s going to be signed soon. It takes time for people to digest it all once it is released. Controlling the narrative can only last so long," he added.

Vice President JD Vance said the peace accord was signed electronically over the weekend.

Levin speaks out against Trump's attitude towards Netanyahu

Levin, a pro-Israel hawk, also slammed the president for lashing out at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after Israel attacked Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.

Trump had told a reporter that he questioned Netanyahu’s “f***ing judgment.”

“In a period of two-months, Israel has gone from a great ally and partner in war, fighting by our side against a horrible enemy that has killed thousands of our people, killed tens of thousands of their own people, and was a dire nuclear threat intent on attacking us, to Israeli PM Netanyahu being a difficult person who should be thanking us for saving his country from Iran and should get our permission if he wants to defend his people from Hezbollah and Iran, and stand down when his country is attacked," Levin wrote.

That the MoU was electronically signed can also make a serious point of contention, since the autocrats didn't sign it physically. And Levin's got a valid point that it's in very poor taste for Trump to be referring to Netanyahu with expletives, or make it sound like it's wrong for a politician to stand firm on positions meant to defend his/her country. How can we be convinced Trump has even Europe's best interests in mind if that's how he's going to act? Or even J.D. Vance? And here's more of what Levin had to say about how Trump's been acting toward Israel:

“I want to say to people in and out of the administration: stop trashing, smearing, bullying the little state of Israel. Stop cozying up to and telling us that the enemy regime in Iran is now more rational, more moderate, and a regime that we can deal with,” Levin demanded. “When just a few months ago they slaughtered 50,000 people, they’re still hanging young people today and, if they had a nuclear missile today, they’d fire it into our country as sure as I’m alive.”

Levin argued that Israel should not be pressured into altering its security decisions by outside powers.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but if people think they can bully a little country, Israel — a people that have existed 4,000 years through the Babylonians and the Persians, through the Romans and the Third Reich — into surrendering their defense and their decision on how to secure their country, they get another thing coming,” Levin said. “I think it’s outrageous.” [...]

Levin’s online posts also targeted Trump’s criticism of Israel regarding its responses to Hezbollah attacks originating from Lebanon. Levin wrote that the first item in the MOU mandates an immediate and permanent end to the war, including Hezbollah.

“Iran is Hezbollah,” Levin posted. “What’s the enforcement mechanism? Nothing. Israel defends itself after constant attacks from Hezbollah and is admonished for it. Its interests are not aligned with ours, we’re told. It’s endangering the peace deal. This is beyond nuts.”

In another Saturday post, he claimed, “Apparently as long as Israeli soldiers are killed the ceasefire is holding.”

Of course it's angering, and shows weakness in the face of the enemy. Also note how victims of the Iranian dictatorship's massacres were obscured in all this mess, and that doesn't speak well for how the Trump administration is handling the issues so far. So is he willing to change his approach and apologize for what he's done lately? That remains to be seen, and the sad part is that damage has been done to the USA as much as Israel, and won't bode well for the future.

Does Vietnam-era mentality continue in the USA?

If the following poll data says anything, the mindset opposed to seriously defeating the Iranian dictatorship continues in the USA:

A majority of Americans want the United States to end the war with Iran now, according to a recent CBS News/YouGov poll.

The survey, which was taken Wednesday through Friday, asked participants, “The Conflict with Iran: What Should the U.S. Do Now?” CBS reported Sunday.

Seventy-eight percent said the nation should end the conflict now, while 22 percent said continue the conflict until Iran gives up more:

CBS/YouGov poll | 6/17-6/19

Do you think the U.S. should end the conflict with Iran now, or should it continue the conflict until Iran gives
up more?
End the conflict now 78%
Continue the conflict until Iran gives up more 22%
——
Do you consider the conflict with Iran to have… https://t.co/1fuGXyZcXD pic.twitter.com/UESuDVdYkC

— Politics & Poll Tracker 📡 (@PollTracker2024) June 21, 2026

The poll also surveyed Republicans, asking them, “What Should the U.S. Do Now?”

Sixty percent of all Republicans said the nation should end the conflict now and 56 percent of “MAGA” Republicans agreed. Forty percent of Republicans said the nation should continue the conflict until Iran gives up more, while 44 percent of “MAGA” Republicans agreed.

“This CBS News/YouGov survey was conducted with a nationally representative sample of 2,519 U.S. adults interviewed between June 17-19, 2026. The sample was weighted to be representative of adults nationwide according to gender, age, race, and education, based on the U.S. Census American Community Survey and Current Population Survey, as well as 2024 presidential vote. The margin of error is ±2.4 points,” the article noted.

Now this is coming from a MSM business, so for all we know, it could be faked and distorted. Even so, if there's anything to it, it'll just further make this a most discouraging situation, considering there appears to be a sad case of those in the USA who won't study reality seriously. There's already people in Israel who're understandably worried about the deal with Iran, and if it leaves the current dictatorship in place, that's what's bad.

Diplomacy is doomed

According to senator Lindsey Graham:

Graham said, “We’re not giving any money to Iran that can change the course of history to try diplomacy. Is the MOU problematic? Yeah. I’d rather try diplomacy than take it off the table. The money Iran gets is not going to change the future of Iran. It’s not enough to reconstruct the country. If you don’t have a diplomatic path through the MOU, then you have to go to war or some other form of coercion. Let’s try this. Let’s try a diplomatic solution. I think it’s going to fail. What happens next? I spent four and a half hours with President Trump on Friday. Here’s what I think will happen next. If this deal fails, President Trump is going to take the Strait of Hormuz over by force.

He added, “The United States will control the Strait of Hormuz. We’ll charge a fee for all those who go three through to pay for the operation. And we’re going to expand the Abraham Accords and calendar year 2026. We’re going to get Saudi Arabia to join the Abraham Accords, which is the biggest change in 5000 years in the Middle East. And if Iran can test control of the Strait of Hormuz by the United States will obliterate them. So to all the people listening, if this diplomatic effort fails. President Trump is going to take the Strait of Hormuz. We’re going to run it. We’re going to try to get Saudi Arabia to join the Abraham Accords and the Arab-Israeli conflict in 2026. And if Iran continues to attack Israel and Lebanon, the new policy will be will hit Iran. So to the Iranians, if you’re listening, when you use Hezbollah to attack Israel, I think the new policy will be we will attack Iran.”

For now, if any money is given to Iran, that's wrong. But Graham's got a point that diplomacy is not a good option, and definitely not if it wasn't used in the approach to Afghanistan and Iraq years ago.

JD Vance sets a most divisive example

I don't know what exactly is in the final "deal" between the USA and Iran, something I'll try to comment on another time, but for now, vice president J.D. Vance is not improving the situation with attacks on Israel in regards to Lebanon:

The harsh criticism leveled against Israel by U.S. Vice President JD Vance has sparked angry reactions.

Republican Senator Rick Scott of Florida wrote: “Israel is our greatest ally and strongest partner in the Middle East. The evil Iranian regime wants to wipe BOTH of us off the face of the Earth. That will never happen because we will ALWAYS stand together."

“America’s unwavering support for Israel’s defense helps make the America First agenda possible, the U.S. stronger, and the world a safer place," he stressed.

Professor Jeffrey Lax of New York University, a prominent activist for the Jewish community and in the fight against antisemitism and discrimination against pro-Israel professors and students, was even sharper in his criticism.

“The most sickening part of JDVance's mid-book tour press conference? Right here, where he accuses Israel(!) of attacking civilian population centers in Beirut when every honest person on earth knows it is exactly the other way around," Lax said.

“This man CANNOT be our next president," Lax declared.

The criticism was also echoed by the “Green Prince," Mosab Hassan Yousef, who lives in the United States.

"Israel is not a client state. It is a sovereign, independent, and powerful nation. Its strength has never depended on any foreign leader, it comes from its own people. While the partnership with the United States has been valuable, Israel has never been a burden. It has delivered massive contributions to American technology, medicine, cybersecurity, and defense, far beyond what most Americans realize. At a moment when America is facing deep internal and external challenges, turning against one of its most capable and loyal allies is not just shortsighted, it is self-destructive. Those who believe they are weakening Israel by attacking it are actually weakening America’s own interests," Yousef said.

During a White House briefing yesterday (Thursday), Vance claimed that Israel was bombing Lebanon indiscriminately.

Based on what Vance has done, no, he's not fit to be the next presidential candidate. And we shouldn't buy his books either. So he obscures the Hezbollah's evils, and rails against Israel instead? Vance has really disappointed.

Update: on the subject of Iran, they've backed out of the deal signing in Switzerland, and Vance has delayed a trip there. So what's being accomplished so far when the deal may be questionable at most?

Update: the Federalist is making things worse by fudging the exact details, and makes it sound like it's wrong to destroy a terrorist organization, and as though Iran's literally right to defend said monsters:

Israel’s targeting of Hezbollah in Lebanon has been a point of tension during negotiations with Iran, sometimes breaking ceasefires and jeopardizing the openness of the Strait of Hormuz. Israel has also killed negotiators from Iran in the past in the middle of talks.

Israeli attacks in Lebanon have reportedly resulted in tense phone calls between Trump and Netanyahu, in which Trump has reportedly said his Israeli counterpart has “no f-cking judgement” during the negotiating process.

This is insulting to the intellect, and could also explain why the same news writers seem disinterested in freeing all Iranian citizens who don't want to wear outfits like the chador. This can also explain why there are certain commentators on the right, in and out of Israel, who find the way this has been handled troubling, and don't sound optimistic this'll go over well.

Will alleged deal with Iran include surrender of nuclear materials?

Now, president Donald Trump says a deal with Iran will be signed on Sunday, ahead of a G7 conference he's attending:

President Donald Trump announced Saturday that a deal with Iran will be signed on Sunday, ahead of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) at the White House and his departure for the G7 in Evian-les-Bains, France.

A short time after Pakistani Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar told Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan that the deal will be signed electronically, Trump took to Truth Social to confirm the deal will be formalized.

[...] The president said the deal does not include cash exchanges and the nature of his administration’s relationship with Iran is substantially different than that of his predecessors.

“Our relationship with Iran is a much different and better one than previous Administrations have had. Unlike Obama’s Hundreds of Billions of Dollars in payments to them, including 1.7 Billion Dollars in green, cold cash, no money will exchange hands,” he wrote.

Trump added that, at some point, the United States will retrieve the “Nuclear Dust” — enriched uranium that was buried by B-2 Bomber strikes at Natanz, Fordow, and Esfahan in Operation Midnight Hammer a year ago. Iran allowing the United States to retrieve and destroy this material had been a key redline of the president’s throughout negotiations.

Now here's one serious problem: Iran's reportedly trying to seal openings to the underground storages where they've kept the uranium with mines in order to make it difficult for the USA military to reach those areas, if at all. If such reports are factual, that's not shocking Iran's tyrants would do that, but it certainly won't make things any easier.

And of course, the Iranian dictatorship, as it stands now, cannot be allowed to continue running the country in any way. They've threatened to attack Israel again because of the IDF's continued work in Lebanon to defeat the Hezbollah, and if they do, that'll only confirm the regime has no intention of cooperating with even Trump. So it still remains to be seen what'll be the outcome.

What was awful about Abraham Foxman

The former left-wing head of the shoddy ADL has passed on, and Liz Berney's telling what was wrong with his conduct, which unshockingly sold out to Islam, in example:

When I heard of former ADL (Anti-Defamation League) National Director Abe Foxman’s passing, I initially thought: this is a time to mourn. It seemed pointless and inappropriate to bring up the damage he caused to important efforts to combat Jew-hatred and Israel-hatred.

But a few days later, I received a mass email from The Focus Project (a group that ADL is a major member of) calling for “emulating” Mr. Foxman, including Foxman’s public opposition to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu addressing Congress in March 2015; and Foxman’s condemnation of President Trump’s 2024 Madison Square Garden rally. That email changed the calculus. Mourn, yes. But it is immoral to remain silent about those actions that we must not emulate going forward, when certain groups say that we must emulate them. I’ll start the below list of “what not to emulate” with the two items mentioned in The Focus Project mass email.

Foxman posted that the Trump rally used “ugly hateful words against Jews and other minorities” like those that led to “the gas chambers in Auschwitz,” and demanded condemnation of the rally’s “blatant words of hate ,racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia, misogyny” [sic] But Foxman cited no actual hateful words spoken at the rally. Nor could he. The rally was pro-Israel, with Jews openly wearing kippahs and waving Israeli flags. The crowd cheered, when, for instance, rally speakers such as former Mayor Rudy Giuliani said: “I’m on the side of Israel. You’re on the side of Israel. Donald Trump’s on the side of Israel.”; Congresswoman Elise Stefanik condemned skyrocketing antisemitism on college campuses; and radio personality Sid Rosenberg said that he just got back from Israel, and that Israelis love Trump and Bibi. Condemning a pro-Israel, pro-Jewish rally as Nazi-like should not be emulated. [...]

One of my first projects when I joined ZOA’s staff in 2014 was working to stop the Met Opera’s production and AMC’s planned broadcast of the antisemitic, anti-Israel opera “Death of Klinghoffer.” The opera belittled the Jewish passengers on the hijacked Achille Lauro cruise ship as small-minded materialists; contained libels that Jews get fat from the poor, cheat, exploit, pollute virgins, defame, break laws, and are idolators; glorified the terrorists (who murdered wheelchair-bound Jewish American Leon Klinghoffer) as “men of ideals”; and promoted outrageous lies about Jewish Israelis’ treatment of Arabs in 1948. Leon Klinghoffer’s daughters publicly spoke out that the opera exploited their father’s murder and was antisemitic.

I personally called AMC and persuaded them to cancel the planned worldwide broadcast of the opera. I also worked with a group of strong pro-Israel activists to publicize the opera’s antisemitism and to arrange huge protests outside the Met against its 8 live performances of the opera. We probably could have succeeded in stopping the Met’s live performances – but then Abe Foxman got involved. Foxman announced that the opera was “not antisemitic” – which severely damaged our efforts to stop the performances that spread antisemitic blood libels. To add insult to injury, in order to try to show that he was doing something useful, Foxman claimed credit for my successful effort to stop the AMC broadcasts.

Giving “kosher stamps of approval” to blatantly antisemitic productions is obviously something that should not be emulated.

It's bad enough Foxman would give telling hints he's a self-hater. But even worse:

When Yasser Arafat – the unrepentant murderer of countless Jews and Jewish children – was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for signing the Oslo Accords (which Arafat promptly used to rapidly increase terrorism), many people were appalled. Relatives of Arafat’s victims protested along with liberal U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer; Kare Kristiansen resigned from the Nobel committee in protest; ZOA president Morton Klein called the award “repugnant and revolting,” the OU called the award “offensive”; Likud party leader Netanyahu stated that “the fact that the prize is given to the person who invented international terrorism turns the prize into a farce,” etc. By contrast, Foxman stated that although he was not a saint, Arafat “earned the prize.” Similarly, in a televised debate against Mort Klein, Foxman asserted that Arafat “deserved and earned the prize.” Defending honoring monstrous terrorists is unjustifiable and should not be emulated.

I think that says all you need to know just what a monster Foxman himself was, and it's chilling to think how many more people like him could've been pro-jihadists. And what's so wrong in his mind with being "islamophobic"? He obviously never read the koran either, or if he did, made up his mind where he stood on its content. Foxman was a most repulsive man, and whether we should mourn that he's gone, that doesn't excuse his most offensive actions, which were clearly meant to undermine the USA and Europe as much as Israel. With his passing, it's to be hoped the ADL will dissolve along with him. Such movements as his should not be supported in any way.

Iran has hopefully agreed to surrender all remaining nuclear materials they still have

In what's hopefully a positive sign, Iran reportedly agreed to surrender their remaining uranium deposits:

Multiple reports have indicated that U.S. negotiators believe that Iran has committed to giving up its nuclear ambitions and its highly enriched uranium as a part of a broader peace deal with President Donald Trump.

On Saturday afternoon, President Trump announced that an “agreement has been largely negotiated” between Washington and Tehran. However, Mr Trump said that the final details of the deal were still being discussed and would not be made public at the time.

According to a report from the New York Times, citing “two U.S. officials”, the Islamist regime in Iran verbally agreed to U.S. negotiators that it would give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

Although exactly how the nuclear material would be removed from the country remains unclear, such an agreement would fulfil a longstanding and major aim of the White House.

While the Islamist regime has yeet to confirm any details and has a spotty track record of following through on its commitments, an agreement would also likely shore up support from Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill, some of whom have expressed scepticism about coming to any agreement with the Mullahs.

While this is a good sign, we also have to hope all totalitarians still running the store will be removed from any position of rulership, and will surrender their firearms too, and cease forcing women to dress in burkas.

Iran also has to surrender any and all funding they allocate for terrorist activities worldwide, which included, but was never limited to, attacks on Israelis. There's just so much evil Iran's mullahs led to over 47 years that will take ages to clean up. Even now, nothing's final in what Trump's announced, and serious vigilance is still heavily required.

It's okay to defend a sane country from being corrupted

J.D. Vance sent an important message of support to the citizenry of Britain that applies also to countries like France, Italy, Spain, Denmark and even Israel:

U.S. Vice President JD Vance encouraged the British public protesting against the longstanding government policy of flooding the jobs market with mass migration to “just keep going” and remember “it’s OK” to want to live in a safe, culturally homogenous place.

The U.S. Vice President stood in for press secretary Karoline Leavitt at the White House press briefing room on Tuesday to cover her maternity leave, as reported by Breitbart News, and amid responses for a wide range of questions spoke out about the weekend’s Unite The Kingdom Rally.

The rally, convened by veteran street organiser and child rape gang critic Tommy Robinson, was called on Saturday 16th in defence of freedom of speech, civil liberties, and “our shared British identity, our history, our heritage, and the culture that connects England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland”.

Responding to a question that specifically highlighted protester’s concerns about “mass illegal migration and replacement of British culture”, Vance encouraged Britons who reject the modern paradigm of business-dominated government constantly pushing wages lower through human quantitative easing to keep fighting.

Read more. If there's something where Vance is doing the right thing, it's through messages like these, which should resonate in Israel and Europe alike too, and also Africa and Asia.