By Alexandra Sharp
Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at reactions to the Iran deal in Israel and Washington, reviewing U.S. troops in Europe, and a massive Ukrainian drone bombardment against Moscow.
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Copies of an Iranian daily newspaper bearing an image of U.S. President Donald Trump with the headline “Gone with the wind” are displayed at a kiosk in Tehran on June 18.AFP via Getty Images
Thursday kicked off the 60-day clock to negotiate the future of Iran’s nuclear program, among other critical issues, as outlined by the U.S.-Iran peace deal. The memorandum of understanding, signed on Wednesday, has sparked cheers from many foreign leaders, who are already celebrating the cessation of fighting and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
However, one major U.S. partner appears concerned that the deal gives too much to Tehran.
Israeli officials and analysts have condemned the agreement for its failure to address Iran’s missile arsenal or curb its support for proxy groups, including Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis. They have bashed the deal for including a cease-fire in Lebanon, despite Israel not being party to the MOU, and for enabling Iran to access hundreds of billions of dollars in frozen assets, sanctions relief, and reconstruction aid.
This is a “catastrophic capitulation,” wrote David Horovitz, the editor of the Times of Israel, with Chuck Freilich, a former Israeli deputy national security advisor, calling the MOU an “Iranian victory over the U.S. and Israel.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Thursday that “the struggle is not yet over, and further challenges lie ahead.” While he expressed deep appreciation for the United States’ partnership, he reasserted the need for a “determined stance on our security interests,” including by keeping Israeli forces deployed in southern Lebanon.
U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance dismissed Israel’s concerns on Thursday with a harsh rebuke directed at members of Netanyahu’s cabinet who have criticized both the deal and, in some cases, Trump himself. “President Donald J. Trump is the only head of state in the entire world who is sympathetic to the nation of Israel at this moment in time, and he happens to be the head of state of the world superpower,” Vance said at a White House press conference. “If I was in the cabinet of the Israeli government, I might not be attacking the only powerful ally that I have anywhere left in the entire world.”
Vance defended the deal’s more controversial points, including the lack of restraints on Iran’s weapons arsenal. “You have to have parity,” the vice president said in reference to Tehran’s right to self-defense. Vance also stressed that funding for Iran, including a $300 billion fund for reconstruction and economic development, will only be made available if Tehran complies with the deal’s conditions. “Words don’t matter. … We’re about verification,” Vance said.
Yet the Trump administration may have a tough time securing support at home. “I knew the deal was likely going to be humiliating for the United States of America, but I didn’t know it was going to be this humiliating,” said Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “Well, we went to war with Iran for 100 days, and on the back side of it, they still have their nuclear program, they still have their missiles, they still have their drones, they’re still supporting terrorism.”
Dissent is also growing among some Republicans. The MOU is the “worst foreign policy blunder in decades,” Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy wrote on X. “Iran’s nuclear ambitions were not curbed, and they have learned that threatening the Strait of Hormuz works and will undoubtedly leverage it in the future.”
Still, some U.S. lawmakers appear optimistic about the deal’s long-term implications. “President Trump chose a path to lasting peace—not another forever war,” Republican Sen. Roger Marshall said. “This agreement keeps America safe and helps lower costs at home.” The average price of gas in the United States dropped below $4 a gallon on Thursday for the first time in months.
Up for review. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a review of U.S. troops in Europe during a speech at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Thursday. Hegseth stressed that the review, which could last up to six months, is designed to “ensure that NATO is moving fast and irreversibly toward Europe leading, stepping up to take primary responsibility for the defense of Europe.” However, some experts worry that the review is a smokescreen to allow the Trump administration to reduce the U.S. military’s presence on the continent.
The Trump administration has long condemned its NATO partners for failing to adequately invest in their defense capabilities and relying on the United States to shoulder the responsibility for security. That criticism has compounded in recent weeks, after Trump denounced allies for not doing enough to help counter Iran, including by not allowing U.S. forces to use European military bases to launch attacks.
Hegseth on Thursday threatened to withhold some U.S. dues to the alliance if “free-riding” allies did not meet their defense spending commitments. His comments came a day after NATO chief Mark Rutte downplayed the impact of the recent U.S. decision to decrease the number of troops that it would provide allies if they were attacked.
During Hegseth’s speech on Thursday, the defense secretary also railed against perceived “woke” policies across Europe. “Instead of tanks and fighters and air defenses, the focus has been on gender equity and climate change and defense austerity,” Hegseth said. “Europe’s borders flew wide open, welfare states expanded, defense budgets cratered, along with Europe’s belief in itself and its civilization.” Such condemnation, which analysts say largely mischaracterizes European policies today, does not bode well for the upcoming NATO leaders’ summit in early July.
Targeting Moscow. Ukraine launched a massive drone bombardment against Moscow on Thursday in what appears to be the country’s largest assault on the Russian capital since full-scale war began in February 2022. The strike hit a major Russian oil refinery located less than 10 miles from the Kremlin, and it delayed or canceled more than 500 flights out of four Moscow airports.
“Despite three layers of air defense systems deployed in Moscow, we can still reach them,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters on Thursday. “We certainly do not want Ukraine to be burning because of the enemy. But if Ukraine is burning, your Moscow will be burning as well.” Zelensky characterized Thursday’s strikes as retaliation for Russia’s recent attack on Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, an Eastern Orthodox monastery that is part of a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov responded by declaring that retaliatory strikes on Ukraine would be delivered “on a mass scale,” noting that he had been “convinced for a long time that words are not enough.”
The bombardment came just two days after Zelensky urged G-7 leaders, including Trump, to bolster their military support for Ukraine by supplying Kyiv with more air defense weapons that are capable of countering Russia’s ballistic missiles. On Thursday, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius signed an agreement with his Ukrainian counterpart, Mykhailo Fedorov, to jointly develop such an air defense system.
Eyes on the prize. The northern English district of Makerfield held a special by-election on Thursday that could spell trouble for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Although the race focused on typical local issues—such as funding for schools, the disposal of garbage, and the prevalence of potholes—the vote carried an extra layer of complexity, as one candidate hopes to use a potential win to challenge Starmer for the premiership.
Former Makerfield representative Josh Simons resigned on May 14 to allow Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham to seek the seat, which would make him eligible to run for the prime minister’s office. “Much bigger change is needed at a national level if everyday life is to be made more affordable again,” Burnham wrote on X at the time. As the most popular Labour politician, Burnham is seen by many in the party as the best choice to replace Starmer and win back public trust.
Calls for Starmer to step down have escalated in recent weeks after the far-right Reform UK party swept local elections last month. Alongside Burnham, former Health Minister Wes Streeting has also signaled his intention to challenge Starmer for Downing Street. Still, Starmer has resisted demands to resign.
Lovers of Robin Hood are in mourning this week after experts announced on Thursday that an iconic tree linked to the tale appeared to have died. Legend has it that the 13th-century bandit took refuge in the tree, known as Major Oak, in England’s Sherwood Forest to evade the sheriff of Nottingham. After the tree gained stardom in a 1790 novel on oaks, fans of the story began flocking to Sherwood Forest to pay homage to the famous robber. According to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Major Oak’s root system may have been starved by the footprints of millions of visitors as well as by heat waves and drought.
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Welcome to my geopolitics blog site. This is a Hawaii Island news site focusing on geopolitical news, analysis, information, and commentary. I will cite a variety of sources, ranging from all sides of the political spectrum.