The American Conservative Morning Briefing

The American Conservative
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A short morning synopsis of TAC's coverage

  1. 21h ago

    June 20, 2026

    Good morning! Today is Saturday, June 20th 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. Jon Schweppe urges MAGA "Panicans" to trust the plan after the Supreme Court struck down Trump's IEEPA tariffs, arguing the administration's pivot to Section 301 authority puts the trade agenda on firmer legal ground. Ted Snider examines how the UAE swung from joining Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iran to quietly releasing billions in frozen Iranian assets, potentially greasing the wheels of a broader peace deal. As Trump winds down the Iran War with a sixty-day negotiating window, hawks are already trashing the emerging "Vance deal" while Tehran has walked away from Friday's Geneva talks over Israel's continued bombardment of Lebanon. and now for the details. We begin this morning with the political fallout from President Trump's decision to wind down the Iran War. Earlier this week in France, the president signed a memorandum of understanding that opens sixty days of negotiations toward a final agreement with Tehran. Almost immediately, the hawkish voices that had cheered the war began signaling their displeasure. Commentator Ben Shapiro told the Wall Street Journal that if the only people who like the deal are those who spent months screaming at Trump, then by definition it will be a bad deal. As W. James Antle the Third writes for The American Conservative, this is a predictable development that was predicted. Antle notes that the loudest media voices urging Trump into the conflict were never likely to stand with him when he chose to cut his losses. He observes that Democrats won't sell the deal, Senator Lindsey Graham is unlikely to, and the talk radio hawks won't either. Instead, Vice President J.D. Vance has stepped forward more prominently than Secretary of State Marco Rubio to defend the administration's diplomacy, with critics already labeling it the "Vance deal" ahead of the 2028 primaries. Antle argues Trump was never going to tolerate an Iraq-style quagmire, and once the war began fueling inflation rather than toppling the regime, the president moved to end it. The open questions, Antle writes, are whether Trump will hold firm against Republican members of Congress who may savage the deal, and whether restraint-minded allies will set aside hurt feelings to support the objective of ending the war. That fragile peace process faced its first major test on day one hundred and twelve of the Iran War. Tehran withdrew from talks scheduled for Friday in Switzerland, citing Israel's ongoing bombardment and occupation of Lebanon as incompatible with the memorandum Trump signed earlier in the week. That agreement conditions an end to the conflict on the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon, and on protecting Lebanese sovereignty. As Harrison Berger reports, Israeli airstrikes from midnight into Friday morning killed at least forty-seven people, according to Lebanon's health ministry. Berger documents that Israel has bombed or demolished homes in Lebanon every day since March second, killing nearly four thousand people. Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir posted to X that "All of Lebanon must burn," prompting Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to respond that this was not the rant of a random lunatic but a public statement from a sitting Israeli minister. A U.S. official claimed Hezbollah and Israel had agreed to a ceasefire beginning Friday morning Eastern Time, though Berger notes that, citing Haaretz and Lebanese media, Israeli strikes continued after the truce was said to have taken effect. Brent Crude closed Thursday at just under eighty dollars a barrel, and the national average price of regular gasoline stood at three dollars and ninety-seven cents. Those are today's highlights. For the full stories and more, visit theamericanconservative.com. Thank you for starting your morning with us.

    4 min

  2. 1d ago

    June 19, 2026

    Good morning! Today is Friday, June 19th 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. President Trump signed a framework peace deal with Iran at Versailles this week, ending the war on all fronts and committing both sides to a final agreement within sixty days, though critics in his own party have called the terms too generous. Harrison Berger argues that Israel's continued occupation and bombing of Lebanon is now the central obstacle to a lasting peace, with Israeli ministers openly vowing to defy the deal's terms and remain in southern Lebanon indefinitely. Berger contends that securing the agreement will require Trump to do what he has long avoided—directly confront Netanyahu and the Israel lobby, potentially by cutting off military and intelligence assistance. and now for the details. We begin at the Palace of Versailles, where President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed a framework peace deal to end the Iran War and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian later signed a copy of the agreement. The memorandum of understanding formally ends the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, where Israel has waged a military campaign against Hezbollah. It also commits Washington and Tehran to reach a final deal within sixty days. Trump had earlier delivered notable remarks at the G7 summit, suggesting Iran shouldn't be forced to give up its civilian nuclear energy program or its ballistic missiles. The agreement paves the way to sanctions relief and a reconstruction fund, though it remains unclear how much control Iran will retain over the Hormuz strait after the negotiating period ends. As Andrew Day reports, some Republicans in Congress and the media have condemned the deal as too favorable to the Islamic Republic. Trump responded on Truth Social, calling such critics "fools," pointing to a record-high stock market and tumbling oil prices. Turning to the substance of that agreement. As Harrison Berger reports, the fourteen-point framework includes the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon, the removal of the U.S. naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a mutually agreed reconstruction and economic development plan of at least three hundred billion dollars organized by the U.S. and regional partners, and a commitment from Iran not to procure or develop nuclear weapons. According to a source who spoke with Reuters, that three hundred billion dollar fund will be a private investment vehicle and will not include U.S. government money or grants. The deal also provides for sixty days of toll-free transit through the Strait of Hormuz. Berger notes that Trump appears to have abandoned several red lines previously pushed by Israel and its lobby, including demands that Iran surrender all ballistic missiles and abandon all nuclear enrichment. On the bombing of Lebanon, Trump told reporters, "You have people living there, buildings are being dropped on top of them." At least three people were killed Thursday by Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon. Oil prices fell below eighty dollars a barrel on news of the signing, and AAA reported the national average price of regular gas at three dollars and ninety-nine cents. In a companion analysis, Harrison Berger argues that Israel's occupation and bombing of Lebanon is now the central obstacle to a final peace agreement. Iran has insisted the deal cover the entire regional war, with Tehran's Supreme National Security Council declaring that war and military operations on all fronts, including the Lebanon front, must end permanently. Berger reports that Israeli leaders are openly defying that condition. Defense Minister Israel Katz said the occupation of southern Lebanon would continue indefinitely. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich declared there will be no withdrawal from Lebanon. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said Israel is not bound by any agreement. Berger cites Israel Hayom reporting that the United States and Israel have in fact been fully coordinated on strikes in Beirut, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio playing a significant role. He also points to twenty members of the Knesset who wrote to the cabinet in April urging occupation and full control of southern Lebanon, alongside the complete displacement of its population. Berger concludes that cutting off military and intelligence assistance to Israel may now be the minimum price of the complete exit from the conflict that Trump says he wants. Those are today's highlights. For the full stories and more, visit theamericanconservative.com. Thank you for starting your morning with us.

    5 min

  3. 2d ago

    June 18, 2026

    Good morning! Today is Thursday, June 18th 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. Kelley Beaucar Vlahos dismantles Mike Pence's new book tour and his attempt to blame Trump-era populism for the GOP's drift, arguing the former vice president refuses to reckon with how pre-Trump Republicans expanded the administrative state and entangled the country in costly wars. Doug Bandow draws hard lessons from Trump's 110-day Iran war, citing satellite imagery showing 228 damaged U.S. military structures across the Middle East and arguing the conflict has made the case for closing Gulf bases and bringing American forces home. As a framework peace deal heads to Switzerland for signing Friday, Trump rules out U.S. contributions to Iranian reconstruction while Israeli officials vow not to withdraw from southern Lebanon, raising early questions about whether the agreement can hold. and now for the details. We begin this morning with former Vice President Mike Pence, who is on tour promoting his new book, "What Conservatives Believe: Rediscovering the Conservative Conscience." Speaking Monday night at the National Press Club, Pence laid out a sweeping critique of the populist right, charging that it questions America's role as leader of the free world, embraces protectionism and what he called "Marxist" industrial policy, and is abandoning allies like Israel and Ukraine. Pence praised President Trump's strikes on Iran as "truly historic" but said he would prefer that the U.S. military "finish the job" rather than pursue the emerging peace deal. As Kelley Beaucar Vlahos reports, Pence's vision is essentially a time machine back to the Reagan era — and one that refuses to reckon with how pre-Trump Republicans helped expand the administrative state, grow executive power, and entangle the country in costly wars. Vlahos argues Pence remains unreflective to a fault, having settled after September 11th on the twin Bushian premises that "they hate us for our values" and "if you are not with us, you are against us" — premises that justified every subsequent war, every civil liberties encroachment, and the mounting war debt. In her telling, Trump-era populism is not the cause of the GOP's troubles, but a reaction to the failures and betrayals brought on by the very conservatism Pence idealizes. Now to the broader strategic picture in the Middle East. As the framework peace agreement with Iran moves toward a formal signing in Switzerland Friday, Doug Bandow offers a sober accounting of what the 110-day war actually revealed. According to a Washington Post analysis of satellite imagery, Iranian strikes damaged or destroyed at least 228 structures or pieces of equipment at U.S. military sites across the region, hitting hangars, barracks, fuel depots, aircraft, and air defense infrastructure. The damage was far greater than the administration publicly acknowledged. Many of America's roughly 40,000 personnel in the region had to be evacuated to civilian hotels across the Gulf, to Europe, and even back to the United States. Bandow argues that the war, though a disaster, has presented what he calls a golden opportunity. The Carter Doctrine that brought American forces into the Gulf was a Cold War artifact, he writes, made obsolete by diversified global energy supplies and by Israel's emergence as a regional superpower fully capable of defending itself. Bandow contends that U.S. bases have become liabilities — literal targets — and that Washington's inability to protect host nations, combined with its open prioritization of Israeli security, is already pushing Gulf states to seek new security partners and greater self-reliance. His prescription: transfer the bases to the host nations and bring American forces home. Staying with the Iran file, President Trump told reporters at the G7 Summit Wednesday that the United States will not contribute "10 cents" to any reconstruction fund for Iran, pushing back on a Financial Times report that the administration had floated a 300-billion-dollar fund tied to a final nuclear settlement. Vice President JD Vance, speaking on Megyn Kelly's show Tuesday, suggested any such fund would be financed by a Gulf coalition, not American taxpayers, and described the framework as a "true regional peace deal" that includes Lebanon. As Harrison Berger reports, the deal was reportedly brokered largely by Qatar, with Pakistan also playing a role. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi says the memorandum includes a built-in mechanism for responding to Israeli violations — including continued strikes on Lebanon. That matters because Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich declared Tuesday that Israel will not withdraw from southern Lebanon "neither by Friday nor afterward." Lebanon's Health Ministry reports more than 3,800 people killed by Israeli strikes since March. On the economic front, three Iranian oil tankers transited the Strait of Hormuz Wednesday for the first time in two

    5 min

  4. 3d ago

    June 17, 2026

    Good morning! Today is Wednesday, June 17th 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. Eldar Mamedov argues the U.S.–Iran peace deal set for Friday's signing in Geneva exposes the limits of American military power and opens the door to a long-overdue strategic recalibration in the Middle East. As the Iran War hits day 109, Trump publicly rebuked Israel's conduct in Lebanon at the G7, even as Israeli ministers vowed to continue strikes and reject any U.S.–Iran agreement. Iain Macwhirter reports that right-wing divisions between Reform UK and Rupert Lowe's breakaway Restore Britain could hand a key by-election—and eventually Downing Street—to socialist Labour challenger Andy Burnham. and now for the details. We begin with the U.S.–Iran peace deal, set to be formally signed this Friday in Geneva. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif confirmed this week that intensive talks have produced a cessation of hostilities between Washington and Tehran. Vice President J.D. Vance is expected to sign the agreement alongside Iran's Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the same official with whom he negotiated in Islamabad in the first U.S.–Iran talks at this level since 1979. Under the terms, military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon, are to end, and the Strait of Hormuz is to reopen. The memorandum of understanding also kicks off sixty days of further negotiations on Iran's nuclear program. Writing for The American Conservative, Eldar Mamedov argues that the deal's significance reaches well beyond a transactional ceasefire. He says the war revealed the limits of American power: Washington entered believing conventional superiority would compel Iranian capitulation or regime change, but air campaigns and strikes against the IRGC produced entrenchment, not surrender. The threat of force, Mamedov writes, had preserved American leverage, while the actual use of force destroyed it. Mamedov identifies the diplomatic coalition that wound the war down—Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey—as the template for a new regional architecture. He contrasts them with Israel and the United Arab Emirates, which he says pushed for escalation in an attempt to outsource their security dilemmas to American forces. The opportunity now, Mamedov contends, is for the United States to become the offshore balancer it long claimed to want to be, sharply reducing its Gulf footprint while ensuring no single regional power dominates. He notes that spoilers remain on every side, from neoconservatives in Washington to hardliners in Tehran to the Israeli government, and warns the agreement could still collapse before reaching its second stage. The fragility of that deal was on display Tuesday, as the Iran War entered its 109th day. At the G7 Summit in France, President Trump publicly criticized Israel's conduct in Lebanon, saying Israel is fighting Hezbollah too long and that too many people are being killed. Trump added that, in his words, you don't have to knock down an apartment house every time you're looking for somebody. As Harrison Berger reports, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reiterated that any continued Israeli military action or occupation of Lebanese territory would constitute a violation of the memorandum of understanding. Israel nonetheless continued strikes on southern Lebanon, where at least 3,826 people have been reported killed since March 2. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the occupation of southern Lebanon would continue indefinitely, and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said Israel is not bound by any agreement between the U.S. and Iran. Berger also reports, citing the Financial Times, that the Trump administration is prepared to establish a $300 billion investment fund for Iranian reconstruction if a nuclear deal is attached to the broader agreement. Haaretz reports that up to $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets could be released, tied to toll-free passage through the Strait of Hormuz during the negotiating window. Brent crude stood at $80.46 a barrel Tuesday, with the national average price of regular gasoline at $4.04—both easing on hopes for a diplomatic settlement. Those are today's highlights. For the full stories and more, visit theamericanconservative.com. Thank you for starting your morning with us.

    5 min

  5. 4d ago

    June 16, 2026

    Good morning! Today is Tuesday, June 16th 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. Trump says the U.S.–Iran peace deal is "all signed," with terms reportedly including the return of $25 billion in Iranian funds, a mutual lifting of Strait of Hormuz blockades, and a sixty-day window to negotiate Tehran's nuclear program—though Israel signals it does not consider itself bound. Hawkish commentators from Mark Levin to Marc Thiessen are in revolt over the agreement, but Andrew Day argues the deeper shift is rhetorical: Trump is reframing the Islamic Republic as a rational, normal state after a war that exposed the limits of regime-change ambitions. Brent crude slipped to $82.84 a barrel as markets weighed the prospect of a regional de-escalation, even as Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon continued and the death toll there since March 2 climbed to 3,798. and now for the details. We begin with the latest from the Iran war, now in its 108th day. President Trump told reporters in France that the U.S.–Iran peace deal announced Sunday evening is, in his words, "all signed." Vice President J.D. Vance told Good Morning America that the deal was signed digitally over the weekend, although Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said the formal memorandum of understanding is scheduled to be signed on Friday. Trump said the text would be made public sometime after Friday. According to Reuters, the terms include the United States returning twenty-five billion dollars in confiscated Iranian funds, a mutual lifting of the blockades of the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran reaffirming its longstanding position not to develop nuclear weapons. Once signed, the memorandum opens a sixty-day window for negotiations on Iran's nuclear program and other outstanding issues. Iran's Supreme National Security Council added that military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon, would conclude. As Harrison Berger reports, Israel is signaling it does not consider itself bound. Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel will remain "indefinitely" in Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza, and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said Israel is not bound by the agreement. Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon continued Monday, with Lebanon's Health Ministry reporting the death toll since March 2 has risen to 3,798. On markets, Brent crude fell to $82.84 a barrel, and AAA reported the national average price of regular gasoline at $4.07. The deal has set off sharp reactions among hawkish commentators. Fox News host Mark Levin called the agreement a "suicide pact" for Israel, since it covers the regional war, including Lebanon. Former Bush speechwriter Marc Thiessen objected to the sanctions relief and reconstruction fund reportedly included, comparing it to "a Marshall Plan for Germany while the Nazis were still in power." Mark Dubowitz of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies insisted he had never been more confident in the end of the Islamic Republic. As Andrew Day writes for The American Conservative, the more important shift is rhetorical. Since 1979, Iran has been portrayed in American political discourse as an implacable enemy. Even President Obama, after striking the JCPOA, did not publicly reframe Iran as a normal state. Trump now describes the Islamic Republic as "rational" and "very smart," and says, quote, "We got along very well with Iran." Day argues that Trump arrived at this reframing not through naive trust, but through a war in which Iran demonstrated real military leverage. If the regime cannot be toppled, and if global economic stability depends on Washington and Tehran getting along, then continued hostility becomes harder to justify. Day notes that Trump can swing back as easily as he swung forward, but says the president has at least opened a pathway toward a more realistic peace. Those are today's highlights. For the full stories and more, visit theamericanconservative.com. Thank you for starting your morning with us.

    4 min

  6. 5d ago

    June 15, 2026

    Good morning! Today is Monday, June 15th 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. The United States and Iran have reached a peace agreement set to take effect Friday, with reported concessions to Tehran including unfrozen assets, though Israel's Sunday strike on Beirut nearly derailed the breakthrough. Israel's bombing of a Beirut apartment building killed at least three as analysts suggest the escalation is designed to sabotage U.S.–Iran diplomacy, while China's mBridge payment system gains traction as a dollar alternative. Once seen as a lock for 2028, J.D. Vance now trails Marco Rubio in some primary polls and ranks as perhaps the least popular VP on record, with Andrew Day arguing the Iran War and his courtship of pro-Israel donors have left America Firsters doubting where he stands. and now for the details. We begin with breaking news out of Washington and Tehran. The United States and Iran have reached a peace agreement set to take effect on Friday, according to officials on both sides. The Prime Minister of Pakistan, which mediated the talks, has confirmed that a peace deal has been reached. The agreement is expected to stabilize the existing ceasefire and open a sixty-day window for further negotiations on thornier issues, including Iran's nuclear program. President Trump announced the breakthrough Sunday evening on social media, declaring the deal complete, authorizing the toll-free opening of the Strait of Hormuz, and ordering the immediate removal of the U.S. naval blockade. Vice President J.D. Vance told Fox News he may attend Friday's signing ceremony in Geneva, and suggested the president himself could be there. As Andrew Day reports for The American Conservative, early details suggest the agreement may be more favorable to Iran than the administration had previously signaled, with reported concessions including the unfreezing of billions of dollars in Iranian assets. Day notes the negotiations were nearly derailed Sunday morning when Israel struck Beirut. Trump publicly rebuked that strike, writing that the attack should not have happened on a day so close to a peace deal. Whether the agreement is signed Friday, Day reports, may depend on whether Israel withdraws from southern Lebanon and refrains from further attacks. Sticking with the Iran War, now in its 107th day. As Harrison Berger reports for TAC, Israel bombed an apartment building in Beirut's southern suburbs on Sunday, killing at least three people, according to Lebanese journalists. The strikes followed Hezbollah drone launches into northern Israel. Tehran has insisted that any ceasefire must encompass Lebanon as well, and Berger notes that some analysts believe Israel's escalations there are designed to hamper U.S.–Iran diplomacy. Iran's Speaker of Parliament warned that Washington either lacks the will or the ability to fulfill its commitments, and that the game of good cop and bad cop is, in his words, outdated. The death toll from Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon has now reached 3,783, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry. Berger also flags a significant economic development: the Financial Times reports that China will soon launch a transnational digital payment system called mBridge to compete with dollar-based systems like Swift. Adoption of Beijing's cross-border payment infrastructure has surged since the Iran conflict began, with investors including the central banks of the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Brent Crude closed Friday at $87.30, with the national average price of regular gasoline at $4.07. Turning to 2028 politics. Vice President J.D. Vance, once seen as a lock for the next Republican presidential nomination, faces a much more uncertain road. As Andrew Day writes for TAC, an AtlasIntel survey in early May found Secretary of State Marco Rubio leading Vance among Republican primary voters, 45 percent to 30 percent. Other polls still show Vance ahead, but his approval ratings have collapsed, making him, by some measures, the least popular vice president at this stage of a presidency on record. Day argues the Iran War is at the center of Vance's predicament. Reports indicate Vance privately counseled against the war, yet publicly he has been obliged to defend it, while simultaneously courting pro-Israel megadonors like Miriam Adelson in his role as GOP finance chair. That has left America First conservatives uncertain where he truly stands. Day cites TAC's own polling showing 79 percent of Trump's 2024 voters would support declaring victory and ending the war quickly, and nearly 60 percent oppose deploying ground troops. He also points to rising concerns about gas prices, inflation, and mortgage costs tied to the conflict. Day's conclusion: Vance built his public identity with Hillbilly Elegy as a man who came from nothing but never forgot his roots. To reclaim the political future once thought inevitable, Day argues, Vance will need to help end the war and become his own man agai

    5 min

  7. 6d ago

    June 14, 2026

    Good morning! Today is Sunday, June 14th 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. Congressman Thomas Massie used the floor of the House to honor the survivors of the USS Liberty on the fifty-ninth anniversary of Israel's attack on the American ship, drawing fire from Dan Crenshaw and reigniting long-standing questions the political establishment has worked to keep buried. The Iran War entered its one hundred and sixth day with Pakistan's prime minister saying a peace deal could be signed within twenty-four hours, as reports emerge of billions in frozen Iranian funds being released through the UAE. Oil and gas prices are already easing on hopes that more than three months of fighting may finally be drawing to a close. and now for the details. On the fifty-ninth anniversary of one of the most painful and least-discussed episodes in American naval history, Kentucky Republican Congressman Thomas Massie took to the House floor to honor the survivors of the USS Liberty. On June 8th, 1967, the lightly-armed American intelligence ship was attacked by Israeli jets and torpedo boats during the Six-Day War. Thirty-four American sailors were killed and more than one hundred seventy wounded. More than a dozen of the survivors, now in their eighties, sat in the House chamber as Massie recounted their story, including allegations that Israeli forces machine-gunned lifeboats and that U.S. rescue planes were recalled while the ship burned for seventeen hours. As Jack Hunter reports for The American Conservative, the official explanation has always been mistaken identity, a conclusion Texas Republican Dan Crenshaw publicly defended while attacking Massie's motives. But Hunter notes that figures including former Secretary of State Dean Rusk, CIA Director Richard Helms, NSA chief Bobby Ray Inman, and Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Thomas Moorer have all said they never believed the attack was an accident. Rusk later wrote, quote, "I didn't believe them then, and I don't believe them to this day." Hunter notes that Massie's speech came shortly after he lost his Kentucky Republican primary, with his opponent backed heavily by AIPAC and pro-Israel donors. Journalist Michelle Kinnucan, who has filed Freedom of Information Act litigation on behalf of the survivors, told TAC that Massie's act was, quote, "an all-too-rare act of political courage," and that the case for declassifying every government record on the attack has never been stronger. Survivor association president Larry Bowen has said the government spent fifty-five years trying to cover up the attack as an accident. As one survivor told reporters in the Capitol on Monday, they have been lobbying Congress for fifty-nine years, and until now, no member would give them the time of day. The Iran War entered its one hundred and sixth day this weekend, but there are signs the conflict may be nearing an end. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced Saturday morning that a peace deal could be finalized within twenty-four hours and signed shortly thereafter, with technical-level talks to follow next week. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed that the so-called Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding has, in his words, "never been closer." President Trump reposted Araghchi's statement on Truth Social and indicated that nuclear questions would be tabled for later, writing that "at the appropriate time, when all is calm, we will go in and get the Nuclear Dust." As Harrison Berger reports, Reuters sources indicate the United Arab Emirates would release at least ten billion dollars in frozen Iranian funds as part of the deal, with one source saying a first three-billion-dollar installment has already been paid. The UAE has publicly denied any transfer. Tehran's stated position is that any wider settlement also requires an end to Israel's bombing and occupation of Lebanon, where the Health Ministry now reports more than three thousand seven hundred people killed since early March. Oil markets are already responding, with Brent Crude closing at eighty-seven dollars and the national average gas price at four-oh-nine a gallon, both easing on hopes the war may finally close. Those are today's highlights. For the full stories and more, visit theamericanconservative.com. Thank you for starting your morning with us.

    4 min

  8. Jun 13

    June 13, 2026

    Good morning! Today is Saturday, June 13th 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. President Trump publicly disputes Iran's leaked terms of the so-called Islamabad Memorandum as a Geneva signing looms, while Gulf leaders reportedly pressed him to cancel planned strikes on day one hundred five of the war. Germany's stunning UN Security Council defeat reflects global backlash against Berlin's unconditional backing of Israel's war in Gaza, with Eldar Mamedov arguing moralistic posturing has hollowed out German credibility. Britain's ban on livestreamers Hasan Piker and Cenk Uygur exposes how vague Home Office powers are turning the UK into a nation-sized safe space, even as illegal Channel crossings go unchecked. and now for the details. We begin with the latest from the Iran war, now in its one hundred and fifth day. President Trump is publicly disputing the reported terms of a potential U.S.–Iran agreement, just one day after he cancelled planned strikes and said discussions had been brought to the highest level of Iranian leadership. On Truth Social Friday morning, the president wrote that the terms Iran had leaked to the press bear no relation to what was agreed in writing, calling Tehran's negotiators "dishonorable" and accusing them of not dealing in good faith. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded by urging the media to refrain from speculation, saying the so-called Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding has never been closer to completion. Pakistan has been mediating the talks. According to Iranian state media, the memorandum would require the United States to lift secondary sanctions, withdraw forces surrounding Iran, end the war on all fronts including Lebanon, and lift the naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, while leaving nuclear issues for a later round. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Friday that Israel will not withdraw from security zones in Lebanon, Syria, or Gaza, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated that Iran will not obtain nuclear weapons on his watch. As Harrison Berger reports for The American Conservative, Politico has revealed that the leaders of Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Pakistan's defense chief personally called Trump to urge him to cancel the planned strikes. Reuters now reports a deal could be signed in Geneva as early as Sunday, with Vice President J.D. Vance and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammed Baqer Ghalibaf as the signatories—though Iranian media deny that timeline. Brent crude slipped to eighty-seven dollars Friday, and the national average gas price stands at four dollars and eleven cents. Turning to Europe, Germany has suffered a striking diplomatic defeat at the United Nations. Berlin's campaign for a rotating seat on the UN Security Council failed this week, with Germany securing only one hundred and four votes, well short of the two-thirds majority required. Portugal and Austria took the two Western European seats instead. This marks the first time since the 1970s that a German bid for the Security Council has failed. As Eldar Mamedov writes for The American Conservative, the result reflects mounting international frustration with Berlin's unconditional support for Israel's war in Gaza, even as UN rapporteurs and the International Court of Justice have raised the prospect of genocide. Mamedov notes that Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul acknowledged Germany's "historical responsibility" to Israel cost it votes, but blamed Russia for organizing opposition—ignoring the contradiction of arming Ukraine to defend the UN Charter while shielding Israel as it tears that same charter apart. Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Mamedov writes, has cheered Israeli and American strikes on Iran and dismissed calls to lecture allies on international law. Mamedov argues the Greens share the blame from their time in government, and points out that Austria, equally pro-Israel, still won its seat—suggesting Germany's moralistic posturing grated more than its policies alone. Domestically, only eleven percent of Germans say they are satisfied with the Merz coalition, and the nationalist Alternative for Germany now leads the polls at twenty-nine percent, in part by taking foreign policy positions—opposition to the Iran war, openness to Russia and China—that align with broad public sentiment. According to Pew, seventy-three percent of Germans now view Israel unfavorably. Those are today's highlights. For the full stories and more, visit theamericanconservative.com. Thank you for starting your morning with us.

    5 min
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