Iran War

U.S. issues sweeping Iran oil sanctions waivers, unlocking billions in revenue for Tehran– www.cnbc.com

pgnewser June 25, 2026 0

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The U.S. has issued a sweeping rollback of sanctions on Iranian oil, allowing dollar-denominated trade for the first time in more than four decades, as Washington and Tehran press on with fragile talks toward a permanent peace deal.

The U.S. Treasury on Monday issued a wide-ranging 60-day exemption allowing Iran to produce and sell crude oil, petrochemical and petroleum products in U.S. dollars through Aug. 21.

Under the so-called General License X, vessels and entities previously subject to U.S. sanctions are also cleared for transactions. The waiver also theoretically reopens the door to U.S. imports of Iranian crude, a trade which has effectively collapsed since the 1990s under the weight of heavy sanctions, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

No Vote for SAVE AMERICA, But Thune’s Senate Rushes Through a Toothless “Iran War Powers” Act to Hamstring Trump– gellerreport.com

pgnewser June 24, 2026 1

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Thune’s Senate won’t pass or even vote on the SAVE AMERICA but this they pass in a heartbeat. They passed a resolution calling on the president to end the Iran conflict.

Thune won’t allow a vote on the SAVE AMERICA Act, but this gets fast-tracked through the Senate without hesitation.

Nuclear site inspections will happen, but timing “not essential,” IAEA chief says– www.cbsnews.com

pgnewser June 24, 2026 0

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Iranian negotiator calls deal struck with U.S. a “declaration of America’s defeat”

Iran’s chief negotiator called the deal it struck with the U.S. “a declaration of America’s defeat” on Wednesday.

“The Islamabad understanding was not the result of pressure and coercion, but rather the result of the resistance and authority of the brave Iranian nation,” Iran’s top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Wednesday of the agreement signed last week.

“That is why, the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding became a declaration of America’s defeat,” he said, adding that security in the Middle East must be ensured by the countries of the region.

President Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed the agreement last week, launching a designated 60-day negotiating period during which Pakistani and other mediators hope to bring the two sides to a permanent settlement to end the war.

Senate RINOS Too Busy Scolding Trump To Pass Voter ID Bill– thefederalist.com

pgnewser June 24, 2026 0

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It’s too bad Senate RINOs aren’t as passionate about election integrity as they are about tying the hands of the nation’s commander-in-chief.

But here we go again.

On Tuesday, four GOP senators stood with Democrats in voting for a House resolution telling President Donald Trump to remove U.S. military personnel from the war (“ceasefire”) in Iran. The resolution is, like most things in Congress, performative — a symbolic congressional directive that Trump has no obligation to follow. The president effectively told Congress to go pound Iranian sand.

In a Truth Social post late Tuesday, Trump insisted he has “Iran on the ropes.”

Pentagon seeks $80 billion from Congress for Iran war– abcnews.com

pgnewser June 24, 2026 0

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WASHINGTON — WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon has told senators it needs roughly $80 billion, mostly to cover the cost of the U.S. war against Iran, adding to what is already a sizable military spending boost being sought by President Donald Trump.

The White House Office of Management and Budget has yet to make a formal request to Congress. But Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been making the rounds on Capitol Hill, including Monday evening. A top deputy defense secretary told senators about the Iran funding request last week, according to two people familiar with the situation but not authorized to discuss it publicly.

The Wall Street Journal first reported on the developments.

Iranian World Cup Fans Defy Regime and FIFA with Banned Displays of Resistance– www.westernjournal.com

pgnewser June 24, 2026 0

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When it comes to matters of Iran, it’s hard for Americans not to view the Islamic Republic through the lens of the United States.

After all, few issues have been as contentious — even among conservatives and Republicans — as the Iran conflict has been during President Donald Trump’s second term.

But if you were to separate Washington, D.C., from Tehran, it’s evident that Iran’s issues run far, far deeper than anything the United States is doing or has done to the Middle Eastern country.

Just look at what’s happening at the 2026 World Cup.

Iran’s ‘Deconfliction’ Means a More Vulnerable Israel – PJ Media– pjmedia.com

pgnewser June 24, 2026 0

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Reportedly, one of the results of Monday’s U.S.-Iran talks in Geneva will be a “deconfliction cell” for Lebanon. Its members are supposed to be the U.S., Iran, the Lebanese government, Qatar, and Pakistan. Notably missing from the roster is Israel.

Now — even though Israeli forces in Lebanon have been fending off an ongoing, Iran-directed Hezbollah assault on Israel since March 2 — it’s not even included in “deconfliction.”

Israel Hayom, one of Israel’s two leading dailies, reports that “the State Department strongly opposed the creation of the ‘cell…’ The State Department’s position, as expressed in position papers and closed-door discussions, was that Iran’s goal was to sabotage direct negotiations between Israel and Lebanon by creating a bypass route.”

Trump Reveals Why He Isn’t Worried About Releasing Frozen Iranian Funds– townhall.com

pgnewser June 23, 2026 0

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President Trump revealed on Monday that some of the money Iran will have unfrozen will make its way back to the United States, as the Trump administration’s negotiating team secured an agreement over the weekend for Iran to purchase American agricultural products, including wheat, soybeans, and corn.

The move is intended to ensure the Iranian regime spends a portion of its unfrozen funds on commerce and feeding a starving populace, rather than rebuilding its military capabilities or advancing its nuclear program.

“If the sanctions go out, money is going to be put into this country,” the president said during a press conference. “All that money is coming back in the form of purchases of food, which they desperately need. They have 91 million people. They can’t feed them. So the money that we lift is going to go to our farmers, largely to our farmers.”

U.S.-Iran working to finalize deal as Iranian president arrives in Pakistan – National– globalnews.ca

pgnewser June 23, 2026 0

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Iran’s president arrived in Pakistan for talks Tuesday with officials mediating negotiations between Tehran and Washington on a permanent end to the war in the Middle East, even as discrepancies emerged on what had been agreed so far and violence broke out again in Lebanon.

President Masoud Pezeshkian’s visit to Islamabad comes as technical teams were working on details of the deal following high-level negotiations in Switzerland Monday led by U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf.

In Tehran, Iran’s capital, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters that no visits were scheduled for the U.N. watchdog — the International Atomic Energy Agency — to examine Iranian nuclear sites bombed by the United States last year. Vance previously said the negotiations in Switzerland won an agreement for the inspectors to visit the sites.

Oil prices fall as investors mull Middle East developments– www.cnbc.com

pgnewser June 23, 2026 0

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Commercial vessels and oil tankers preparing to transit through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the most critical strategic waterways for global trade flows, maintain their wait in the Gulf of Oman, on June 17, 2026.

Oil fell Tuesday, reversing slight gains at the start of the session, as investors showed cautious optimism about an end to the conflict in the Middle East.

International benchmark Brent crude futures for August fell 1.57% to $76.68 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures for August declined 1.53% to $72.73 per barrel.

Vance says Iran to let international nuclear inspections resume after “good day” of talks– www.cbsnews.com

pgnewser June 23, 2026 0

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Israel loves President Trump, but “the security of Israeli citizens comes first,” the country’s far-right national security minister said Monday.

“We love President Trump but first and foremost – Israeli soldiers, our fighters, our residents, the security of Israeli citizens comes first,” Itamar Ben-Gvir said in a statement.

“No more daredevil ceasefire,” he added.

Ben-Gvir, who has been sanctioned by the U.K., Canada, Australia and several other countries for inciting violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians, said the deaths of Israeli soldiers taking part in operations against Iran-backed Hezbollah in southern Lebanon last week showed “the containment policy failed.”

He criticized “years of measured responses” and “attempts to buy temporary peace” with Iran and its proxy forces – Hezbollah being the most serious threat to Israel among them – and said those initiatives had been interpreted by Israel’s enemies as “weakness.”

“The State of Israel must be safe, if not – Beirut will look like Beit Hanun,” he said, referring to a city in Gaza that was once home to more than 50,000 Palestinians. The city was “level[ed] to the ground” during Israel’s war with another Iranian proxy, Hamas, according to Israel’s defense chief.

It’s unclear who will pay for Iran’s $300B reconstruction fund. Here’s why– www.politifact.com

pgnewser June 23, 2026 0

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As President Donald Trump and the Iranian government reached a written agreement to end the war, Democrats honed in on a section that appeared to promise hundreds of billions of U.S. dollars to Iran.

“With $300 billion, we could end homelessness, fund cancer research for 40 years, and give every child free pre-K for over 7 years,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said in an X post. “Instead, Trump is sending it to Iran.”

Trump dismissed such concerns.

“There is no 300 Billion Dollar payment to Iran by the U.S.,” he said in a June 18 Truth Social post. “That’s Fake News! All there is for the U.S. is Success, Lower Oil Prices, and Victory.”

Furious Iran leader slams negotiations with Trump in ‘secret letters’ | World | News– www.express.co.uk

pgnewser June 23, 2026 0

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Iran’s supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei has penned a secret letter to his negotiators as they attempt to broker a long-term peace treaty with the United States, telling the Iran delegation that “talks must be stopped”.

Khamenei, who has been Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic since March after the death of his father at the commencement of the Iran-US war, lashed out at Iranian officials for ‘overstepping’ their authority by coming to an agreement with Washington against his instructions, as per an unnamed Iran politician.

Iranian MP Mahmoud Nabavian, the deputy chair of Iran’s national security council, broke ranks at the weekend by revealing tensions between the US and Iran about Tehran’s negotiating stance. The radical move by the hardline MP has triggered a political firestorm back in Iran, with fuel only added to the fire after he took to a TV news broadcast to read -what he claimed – was classified correspondence Iran’s new Supreme Leader himself.

Nabavian took to Sima, the usually highly-censored Iranian state broadcaster and propaganda machine – to claim the letters lashed out at Iran’s negotiating team had overstepped Khamenei’s orders.

To proceed with negotiations, the ayatollah reportedly made 11 no

Trump Signs Iran Deal – bellwetherintel.com

pgnewser June 18, 2026 0

President Donald Trump has officially signed a deal with Iran that is effectively a 60-day ceasefire intended to lead to a final peace deal. Details of the plan have not been clearly given, but already Trump faces skepticism from both progressives and conservatives at home.

Go Deeper

US and Iran sign deal, but who really won? Here’s what to know– www.euronews.com

pgnewser June 18, 2026 0

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The US-Iran framework deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and bring the two adversaries back to the negotiating table over Tehran’s nuclear programme was signed on Wednesday amid differing reports and growing confusion over its contents.

Despite an earlier announcement that the agreement would be signed at a ceremony in Switzerland on Friday, US President Donald Trump signed a physical copy of the deal while dining with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Palace of Versailles.

In Tehran, President Masoud Pezeshkian also signed the document on Wednesday, according to the state-run IRNA news agency, which posted an image of him holding up the deal with his signature next to Trump’s.

Hegseth says military in position to restart operations against Iran– www.washingtonexaminer.com

pgnewser June 18, 2026 0

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War Secretary Pete Hegseth said the U.S. military was in a position to restart operations against Iran “if we need to,” shortly after President Donald Trump signed the memorandum of understanding in Versailles, France.

Speaking to reporters on the tarmac before departing from Brussels, Belgium, Hegseth indicated that, though the MOU sought to end the war with Iran, the U.S. was also prepared to launch renewed strikes if Tehran was not seen as having fulfilled its commitments under the deal.

“We will be prepared to recommence if, underneath the timeline of these talks, Iran does not do what it says it’s going to do, which is give up nuclear weapons, give up nuclear ambitions, give away their nuclear material, close nuclear facilities. Then the War Department is here and prepared to restart if we need to. We prefer not to, but we are prepared,” he said.

What’s in the US-Iran deal? Key details from the 14-point agreement– www.channelnewsasia.com

pgnewser June 18, 2026 0

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Respecting sovereignty

The second point of the agreement states that both nations are to “undertake to respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and to refrain from interfering in each other’s internal affairs”.

Iran is deeply suspicious of Trump, who twice in the past year attacked in the middle of negotiations.

Whether or not the Iranians are willing to compromise could also hinge on their supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, considered more hardline than his father, who was killed along with the new leader’s mother, wife and son in a US-Israeli strike.

The US will also be distrustful, watching to see if Iran is stringing them along, as Trump aides say they have experienced before.

Israel hits Hezbollah in defiance of Trump’s so-called Iran deal– www.mirror.co.uk

pgnewser June 18, 2026 0

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As Trump obfuscates over Iran concessions in his new ‘peace deal’ major tension grows between Israel and Washington over the inclusion of Lebanon – as it is seen as protecting Hezbollah

A police officer inspects buildings damaged in Israeli strikes in the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanon(Image: AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Israel has continued to hammer Hezbollah targets in south Lebanon in defiance of a ceasefire agreement between the US and Iran. At least one person has died in the attacks despite Lebanon being included in the ‘memorandum of understanding’ on the Iran war. US President Donald Trump’s controversial MOU concedes the inclusion of Lebanon, effectively limiting Israel’s ability to attack Iran’s proxy extension Hezbollah. It has infuriated many Israelis who see the MOU as severely restricting their ability to protect themselves from Hezbollah by attacking it.

Iran war live: Trump’s deal with Iran ‘may be worse than Obama deal he hated’– www.mirror.co.uk

pgnewser June 17, 2026 0

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Trump and Starmer have both spoken at the G7 Summit in France today.

The US president told reporters that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon and that if that does happen, “all hell will rain down on them”.

Trump said: “The only thing that really matters to me is Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. If they do, they’ll suffer unbelievable consequences. The consequences are the ultimate consequences.

“The biggest thing is they will not have a nuclear weapon. They will not develop, purchase, buy or require a nuclear weapon. If they do, all hell will rain down on them.”

Rubio And Hegseth Face Admin Threat For Opposing New Deal: ‘May Pay A Personal Price’– crooksandliars.com

pgnewser June 17, 2026 0

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s jobs may be at stake if they continue to oppose President Donald Trump’s Iran deal, a senior White House official warned.

The threat emerged in a report published Sunday by the right-leaning Israeli daily Israel Hayom, which detailed a bitter internal White House battle over the emerging memorandum of understanding with Tehran.

“The debate has been settled. Those who oppose it may pay a personal price,” a senior US official told the outlet.

According to the report, Vice President JD Vance, envoy Steve Witkoff, and Trump envoy Jared Kushner have driven the push for a deal, arguing the Iranian regime is unlikely to collapse soon and that Gulf states — particularly Qatar — have pressed hard for an agreement.

Rubio and Hegseth argued the opposite: that Iran is buckling under economic pressure and Washington should tighten the screws, not ease them. The two men had been the public faces of that harder line — touting “Project Freedom,” a plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by force, only for Trump to shelve it hours after they publicly praised it.

US won’t need ‘much help’ on Hormuz, Trump says at G7– www.news24.com

pgnewser June 17, 2026 0

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President Donald Trump on Monday told allies the US would not need “much help” in reopening the Strait of Hormuz, as he attended a G7 summit meeting of leading powers in France, dominated by questions over his deal with Iran to end the Middle East war.

Trump arrived in the spa resort of Evian-les-Bains for the summit hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron, flush from celebrating his 80th birthday by watching MMA cage fighting at the White House the previous night.

But allies have a list of questions for Trump about his deal, impatiently waiting for the Strait to reopen and global energy prices to fall.

Macron faces a delicate balancing act in hosting the often unpredictable US leader. The New York Post newspaper reported that Trump is threatening to slap a 100% tariff on French wine and champagne unless Paris removes a digital services tax.

The Strait of Hormuz will be “completely open” from Friday after demining is completed, Trump said at the start of bilateral talks with Macron ahead of the summit opening.

Trump says Iran deal to be public soon and will rule out nuclear weapon for Tehran– www.channelnewsasia.com

pgnewser June 17, 2026 0

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Both sides say the Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries about one-fifth of the world’s trade in oil and liquefied natural gas, will be open from Friday.

On Tuesday, Iranian state television reported operations to lift its maritime blockade, while stressing that vessels must still coordinate with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.

Trump said earlier that tankers were starting to move out of the strait, and Reuters reported that the US – which had imposed its own blockade on Iranian ports – had been overseeing scores of secretive ship-to-ship oil transfers to keep Gulf energy exports flowing.

Trump Iran Policy the ‘Height of Incompetence’– www.breitbart.com

pgnewser June 17, 2026 0

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Monday on CNN’s “OutFront,” Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) claimed President Donald Trump’s actions in Iran were the “height of incompetence.”

Host Erin Burnett said, “I got to start with this new reporting coming out of Axios, that U.S. intelligence has raised serious doubts about Iran’s willingness to make the nuclear concessions. And that Director Ratcliffe of the CIA, that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth have all expressed concerns about the agreement. What’s your reaction to that?”

Kelly said, “I’m not surprised to hear that. I haven’t verified that. I haven’t seen the intelligence you’re talking about. But, you know, as I listen to, you know, how you describe this, agreement, this one and a half page MoU that is going to be signed and then 60 days of negotiation. I mean, the word that comes to mind to me is incompetence.”

Iran’s Khamenei funeral is a bet US peace deal will hold, expert warns– www.foxnews.com

pgnewser June 17, 2026 0

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Iran’s decision to hold a July funeral for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is a high-stakes bet that any emerging peace deal with the United States will hold, potentially creating a “target-rich” gathering of Tehran’s most isolated leaders, a counterterrorism expert warned Sunday.

The multi-day state funeral, announced by Iranian state media on June 13, is scheduled to begin in Tehran on July 4 and end with Khamenei’s burial in the holy city of Mashhad on July 9, Reuters reported.

Senate Republicans want a say on Trump’s Iran deal– www.politico.com

pgnewser June 17, 2026 0

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President Donald Trump is touting a deal that would end the monthslong war with Iran — and potentially ease some of the political headwinds bearing down on Republicans.

GOP lawmakers still have lots of questions.

The absence of publicly released text for the “memorandum of understanding” Vice President JD Vance reportedly signed with Iranian officials Sunday left an information vacuum on Capitol Hill, where senators of both parties were left airing concerns about what the deal might entail.

Even most Republicans agreed: More information needs to come to Congress soon, and any agreement touching on the future of the Iranian nuclear program would have to eventually be subject to a congressional vote.

“If you want a deal to last, it can’t be an executive agreement,” said Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.). “We’ve got to have a vote of Congress to be able to solidify [it] long term.”