TOP STORIES
U.S. and Iran Have Reached a Deal to Stop Fighting, Reopen Shipping | Wall Street Journal
“Iran and the U.S. have agreed on an interim peace deal, the two nations announced Sunday, a potentially major breakthrough after nearly four months of fighting that created global political and economic turmoil. A deal is set to be signed Friday, President Trump and Pakistani negotiators said. Trump had earlier indicated he hoped a deal would be signed Sunday. Neither side provided a specific list of agreed-upon details in the deal. Trump said the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened on Friday, indicating in a social-media post the time was needed ‘for purposes of mine removal.’ . . . Trump said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal on Sunday that the deal includes an agreement from Iran not to obtain nuclear weapons. But there was no mention of this in his social-media posts late Sunday. Trump also expressed no urgency to extract nuclear material from Iran, saying that could come later. . . . Trump said he wasn’t as concerned about changing Iran’s regime as some of his critics. . . . Trump said there would be strong inspections on the Iranians but didn’t specify how they would work. He said that Iran wouldn’t be provided cash in the deal but sanctions could potentially be lifted. ‘We’ll see how they behave,’ he said.”
“President Trump said in an interview on Sunday afternoon that the agreement he had reached with Iran would ultimately assure that the Strait of Hormuz was ‘permanently toll-free,’ and asserted that, despite the objections of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, he had saved Israel from nuclear obliteration. Mr. Trump also insisted that if Iran failed to reach a final nuclear accord with the United States—a process that his aides say they expect will begin on Friday in Switzerland—he would restart military attacks on Tehran or make the United States ‘the guardian of the Middle East’ in return for 20 percent of the region’s revenues. . . . [H]e insisted that if Iran’s leaders killed protesters, it would prevent them from getting full sanctions relief and access to $25 billion in frozen funds. That requirement, however, is apparently nowhere in the current text of the memorandum of understanding, and it is not clear how central it would be to the next negotiation. . . . He also insisted that Iran would be forever limited to enriching at low levels that ‘could never be used by the military.’ . . . He said the United States would, over time, join with Iran in ‘down-blending’ the enriched nuclear material, which would bring it to reactor-grade. But he offered no deadline and sounded vague about the timing.”
Iran Sealed Uranium Cache and Placed Mines amid Fears of Us Operation to Seize Material | CNN
“In recent weeks, Iran has dramatically escalated efforts to seal off its cache of near bomb-grade uranium, deliberately collapsing tunnels and booby-trapping entrances with explosive mines, according to five sources familiar with US intelligence. Getting to the roughly half-a-ton of highly-enriched uranium is now far more difficult, dangerous and time-consuming than it already was just a month ago, when President Donald Trump was publicly signaling that he might order the US military to seize it, the sources said.”
UANI IN THE NEWS
Interview with UANI CEO Ambassador Mark D. Wallace | Fox News
“Right now Iran’s economy is in shambles, its inflation rate is 130%, there are millions out of work. The Iranian people are fully against this regime, so the clock is ticking. We are seeing a regime in its death throes. The question is when it dies and how it dies. When regime in a death throe that is ideological in nature, that is ‘Death to America,’ ‘Death to Israel,’ [it] can be unpredictable and irrational. I think that economic pressure right now, and the pressure cooker that is the Iranian people, is also something that is very much driving that regime. That regime is in survival mode now. Let’s see if they are willing to take that next step.”
A Submarine Named for Joe Lieberman? It Could Boost His Bipartisan Legacy | Dan Haar for CT Insider
“Sen. Richard Blumenthal is quietly working to name a future Virginia-class submarine after former Sen. Joe Lieberman. . . . The bid to name a submarine after Lieberman received an endorsement from United Against Nuclear Iran, which sent a letter on June 2 from Chairman Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor, and CEO Mark Wallace, a former ambassador to the United Nations. They told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, including Blumenthal, that a submarine name would honor Lieberman's legacy of battling antisemitism. An Orthodox Jew, Lieberman was a former chairman of the group.”
The Iranian Enforcer Driving Tehran’s Hard Bargaining with the U.S. | Wall Street Journal
“Iran’s decision to fire ballistic missiles at Israel for the first time in months demonstrated the power wielded by the new head of the regime’s feared paramilitary force. Ahmad Vahidi, commander in chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, had advocated striking Israel hard to stop attacks on Hezbollah in Beirut, said Iranian and Arab officials. . . . Despite holding various roles in the regime, Vahidi doesn’t have extensive experience as a wartime commander, said [UANI Senior Advisor] Saeid Golkar, an expert on Iran’s security services who teaches at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Most of his background has been in intelligence, he said. ‘This is almost unprecedented for someone at this position,’ he said, adding that his ascent was a result of more competent and less controversial commanders being killed in wars with the U.S. and Israel.”
Interview with UANI Director of IRGC Research Kasra Aarabi | BBC News
“If we assess this realistically, you have a regime in Iran that is deeply ideological. It has doubled down on its ideology. [T]he three men in charge: Mojtaba Khamenei, [Ali] Khamenei’s son, an individual who is part and parcel of this antisemitic ideology. He lives and breathes hostility towards the West and Israel. You have Ahmid Vahidi, the commander in chief of the IRGC, an individual who is on the Interpol wanted list for his role in terrorist attacks on a Jewish cultural center in Argentina. And Mohammad Ali Jafari, the individual who carved up and created the asymmetric warfare strategy the regime is using against Israel and the United States. So long as these individuals are in power, so long as this regime exists, there will not be peace and stability in the Middle East.”
Interview with UANI Director of IRGC Research Kasra Aarabi | BBC News
“A dangerous new status quo is emerging: the IRGC appears to believe it can strike Israel, avoid blame, and use such attacks as a means to widen tensions between Trump and Netanyahu. That perception increases the risk of miscalculation and recklessness.”
“On June 9, a U.S. Apache helicopter was reportedly shot down by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC). Forty-eight hours prior to this, the IRGC fired ballistic missiles towards Northern Israel. These attacks on Israel came just days after Tehran carried out strikes on Bahrain and Kuwait—and as President Trump attempted to pressure Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and move toward a broader settlement. These events should temper Western optimism about the negotiations currently underway between Iran and the United States. Even if a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and extend the ceasefire has ‘never been closer,’ as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Friday, the issue is that the main actor shaping Tehran’s behavior is not the civilian government but the IRGC. For the Guard, keeping the Persian Gulf in a state of controlled crisis is not just a bargaining tactic; it is also a way to further marginalize civilian institutions and preserve the security order through which it now dominates the Islamic Republic.”
Pushed Missile Fire on Israel, Complicates Trump Deal: Iran’s New Strongman | Yedioth Ahronoth
“Ahmad Vahidi was appointed commander of the Revolutionary Guards after his predecessor, Mohammad Pakpour, was killed on the first day of Operation Rising Lion. Despite his long career in Iran’s security establishment, he is seen as coming mainly from an intelligence background rather than as an experienced battlefield commander. [UANI Senior Advisor] Saeid Golkar, an expert on Iran’s security services at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, told the [Wall Street] Journal that such an appointment was ‘almost unprecedented’ for someone in that role. He said Vahidi’s rise was partly the result of more experienced and less controversial commanders being killed in confrontations with the United States and Israel.”
Product Tanker Was on ‘Ghost Armada’ List Before Deadly US Strike | TradeWinds
“A product tanker targeted in a US strike that killed three seafarers was previously identified as a dark fleet ship that had carried Iranian cargoes for years. Vessel tracking experts pointed out the dark fleet status of the 47,200-dwt Settebello (built 1997) after it became the eighth of nine vessels disabled by the US military for allegedly violating the blockade of Iran. United Against Nuclear Iran, a US-based advocacy group, said the ship had been on its ‘ghost armada’ list since April 2021.”
Attacks on Ships ‘Unacceptable’, Says India; Trump Blames Iran | The Hindu
“Settebello had been flagged by the United Against Nuclear Iran, a U.S.-based non-profit, which had included it in its ‘Ghost Armada’ list for trading in Iranian oil.”
“Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran, told JNS that the president has been ‘practicing his own brand of coercive diplomacy.’ Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-linked media outlets denying that there is a deal is not the same as Iranian officials denying it, according to Brodsky. ‘I’ll believe there’s a deal when I see there’s a deal,’ he said. ‘This is not a final deal,’ he added. ‘This is a memorandum of understanding that paves the way for more talks about Iran’s nuclear program.’”
DIPLOMACY
US, Iran to Hold Preparatory Meetings in Doha Before Signing Deal: Diplomat | Arab News
“The United States and Iran are to hold indirect meetings in Doha this week ahead of the formal signing of a deal aimed at ending the Middle East war, a diplomat told AFP on Monday.”
Iran Is “Not Receiving Any Cash” for Signing a Deal, Vance Says | CBS News
“Iran is ‘not receiving any cash’ just for signing a deal, Vice President JD Vance said Friday. Vance said in a post on X that he was ‘seeing a lot of fake information about a potential deal.’ ‘The Iranians are not receiving any cash, and no funds are being released for simply signing a deal or attending a meeting,’ he said, adding that the agreement on the table had been structured, ‘to ensure that the U.S. and its allies' concerns are prioritized.’ Only if Iran ‘meets its obligations, then economic benefits will flow to them and to the entire region.’ ‘This deal has the potential to remake the region and lead to lasting peace,’ he said. ‘The president is going to get us a good outcome, one way or the other.’”
Vance Says U.S. Expects Strait of Hormuz to Be Open ‘Toll Free’ Long Term | CNBC
“Vice President JD Vance said Monday he expects the U.S.-Iran deal will open the Strait of Hormuz without tolls for the long term, but shippers say the arrangement to cross the sea lane remains unclear.
“A senior administration official told reporters on a call Friday that ‘what the deal does is actually quite simple here.’ First, the tentative deal ‘reopens the strait and lifts the blockade,’ the official said, referring to the Strait of Hormuz. Number two, it ‘leads to the dismantling of’ Iran's nuclear program. Number three, it leads to the U.S. ‘getting the enriched material’ which would then be ‘destroyed on site and then taken out of the country,’ the senior administration official said. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the tentative deal also ‘guarantees a long-term peace in the region,’ allowing Iran to no longer fund terrorist violence. ‘Finally it has an inspection regime that makes sure that this is a long-term commitment and that it’s long-term enforceable,’ the official said. If Iran complies, they will be relieved of many of the economic pressures placed on them for years so they can be reintegrated into the world economy, the official said. The benefits only accrue if Iran delivers, the official said.”
Iran Media Publish Purported Details of Iran-US Draft Agreement | Iran International
“Iran's state-affiliated Mehr News on Sunday published what it described as details of a 14-point draft memorandum of understanding between Tehran and Washington, provides for the release of $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets during the 60-day talks. The reported draft has not been independently verified, and neither Iranian nor US officials have publicly confirmed its contents. . . . According to Mehr, the draft begins with an immediate and permanent end to military operations across all fronts, including Lebanon, alongside a US commitment not to interfere in Iran's internal affairs and to respect the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic. The report says Washington would commit to lifting the naval blockade within 30 days, withdrawing forces from around Iran and allowing the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz under Iranian arrangements during the same period. The draft also reportedly provides for the release of $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets during the 60-day talks, with half the funds becoming available before negotiations begin.”
Iran Says Draft US Deal Includes Oil Sanctions Waiver, Nuclear Limits and Asset Release | Reuters
“A senior Iranian official told Reuters a final draft of the memorandum of understanding with the U.S. covered a range of issues, from Tehran’s nuclear work to reopening the Strait of Hormuz and U.S. waivers on oil sanctions, with a final deal to be discussed in the 60 days following agreement by the two sides.”
It Will Take “Time” to Figure Out Dismantling Iran’s Nuclear Program, Says U.S. Official | CBS News
“A senior administration official said Friday it will take ‘time’ to figure out dismantling Iran's nuclear program. There will be a ‘technical process to figure that out,’ the official said on a call with reporters, speaking on the condition of anonymity. The official said the technical details need to be figured out, but the official thinks there's a commitment from Iran to do that. Technical negotiations are slated to last 60 days, after a memorandum of understanding is signed, the official said. It's unclear if any timeline is in place for Iran to dismantle its program.”
“Senior Israeli officials quoted in a Channel 12 report say that the emerging US-Iran deal indicates that Washington has agreed to Tehran’s ‘main conditions,’ adding that ‘the Iranians are not agreeing to this for nothing.’ The report says Israeli officials and experts who have worked for decades on the Iran file consider that the terms of the MOU apparently set to be signed tomorrow ‘endanger Israel’s security interests.’ What will happen immediately ‘is the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, the resuscitation of the regime, and a slap in the face for the Iranian public,’ the officials say. . . . ‘This is the same framework as the agreement to end the war in Gaza,’ an official tells the TV station. ‘Ask yourself what has happened since then with the commitment to disarm Hamas? What will be the Americans’ essential leverage if, after 60 days of a ceasefire, the Iranians do not begin the steps required of them? The credible military threat has been all but eroded.’ ‘The uranium extraction has become uranium dilution and the missile system is not part of the agreement at all,’ the officials lament, noting that the main issues that Israel was hoping to deal with during the war remain unaddressed.”
Trump Gives Iran a Lifeline and Calls It Peace | Eli Lake for the Free Press
“President Donald Trump gave himself a birthday present on Sunday and declared that peace has been achieved after his second Iran war. . . . Don’t break out the ticker tape just yet. This is not a treaty, not a deal, and not a peace agreement. It’s a memorandum of understanding to negotiate the terms of a broader peace over the next 60 days. Put another way, it is yet another ceasefire. In this respect, the agreement does not achieve any of the aims that Trump laid out on February 28 when he launched the second Iran war with Israel. . . . Now a battered and impoverished Iranian regime can see a light at the end of the tunnel. The conflict has now moved from the battlefield to the negotiating table. Trump no longer encourages Iran’s people to rise up. Now, if recent reporting holds up, he is paying the regime that massacred Iran’s people in January for the privilege of negotiations. No wonder Iran thinks it’s winning.”
MILITARY MATTERS
U.S. Military Making Plans to Secure Iran’s Nuclear Materials If Deal Is Reached, Sources Say | CBS News
“Amid volatile diplomacy and tit-for-tat strikes between the United States and Iran, American military planners have discussed contingencies that would involve U.S. forces helping secure Iran's nuclear materials if a deal is reached, according to U.S. officials familiar with knowledge of the ongoing planning. The discussions, which remain preliminary and are contingent on a range of battlefield and political developments, center on how the Pentagon could support the Department of Energy in seizing Tehran's highly enriched uranium, the officials told CBS News, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss national security issues. Under one scenario reviewed by defense officials, U.S. troops would be deployed to several countries across the Middle East to support a rapid response operation. Specialized teams from the Department of Energy, working alongside American military personnel and other U.S. government agencies, could then enter Iran to locate, secure and remove stockpiles of enriched uranium, the officials said.”
“The US’ top general made a secret, rushed visit to US Central Command headquarters in Florida late last month to be briefed in person on plans for the US military to send ground troops into Iran to forcibly seize its highly enriched uranium, the key component necessary to produce a nuclear weapon, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN. The briefings were so urgent and sensitive that they required Gen. Dan Caine, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to rush from a meeting of senior NATO officials in Brussels back across the Atlantic to Tampa, Florida, on May 19, the sources said. The high-level and pressing nature of the briefings underscores how close the administration came to greenlighting the high-risk ground operation, sources said. A Joint Staff spokesperson declined to comment about the preparations for a potential operation. Caine then briefed President Donald Trump on the options for such an operation, one of the sources said. But Trump hit pause after being warned it would likely prompt severe Iranian retaliation, extending the war and plunging the global economy into further turmoil, the sources said. Trump has also voiced concern about the potential for a significant number of US casualties, according to sources familiar with the matter.”
US Shoots Down 2 Iranian Drones Attempting to Strike Ships in Strait of Hormuz: Official | ABC News
“U.S. forces shot down two Iranian one-way attack drones, according to a U.S. official. ‘It appears Iran has attempted to strike commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz tonight,’ the official said. ‘Traffic flow through the Strait continues,’ the official said.”
“Defense Minister Israel Katz says Israel will not withdraw from southern Lebanon, following the announcement of a ceasefire between the US and Iran, which supposedly also includes ending the fighting against Hezbollah. ‘Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I are leading a clear policy that determines that the IDF will remain in the security zones in Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza, without any time limit, to protect, from there, the border and Israeli communities against jihadist elements,’ Katz says in a statement. . . . Katz says that holding onto the security zones is ‘among the IDF’s greatest achievements’ in the war, and therefore, ‘we oppose an IDF withdrawal from Lebanon, despite all the existing pressures and those that will still come.’ ‘Prime Minister Netanyahu made these points clear to US President Trump and to other senior American officials, and I also made this clear yesterday to US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth,’ he says, adding that the IDF also supports holding onto the security zone in Lebanon. . . . Katz also warns that ‘if Iran attacks Israel because of events in Lebanon, we will strike it with full force.’”
PROXY WARS & TERRORISM
How Net Closed in on ‘Mastermind Behind UK Arson Attacks’ | Times of London
“n the early hours a few weeks ago in Baghdad, Mohammad al-Saadi and his colleagues got to work. From their darkened lair in the Iraqi capital the men allegedly used Apple’s FaceTime app to connect with an individual who was about to firebomb a synagogue more than 3,000 miles away in north London. While al-Saadi recorded proceedings in real time, another man in the Baghdad bunker ordered the person in the UK to take a petrol bomb and ‘light one in your hand,’ according to US court papers. ‘Light it,’ the man in Iraq added in English. ‘Throw the fourth one.’ The arson attack on London’s Jewish community in April, in which no one was injured, is one of at least 18 across Europe that US prosecutors claim were masterminded by al-Saadi, 33, at the behest of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).”
IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS
Iranian Daily Says US-Iran Deal Would Only Delay ‘Final Battle’ | Iran International
“Iranian daily Khorasan said a possible agreement between Tehran and Washington would only delay what it described as a final confrontation between Iran and the United States, rather than resolve the underlying conflict. In a commentary, the newspaper said any deal at this stage should be seen as an agreement to end the current war, not a settlement of the core disputes between Tehran and Washington. ‘The issues between Iran and America, and especially Iran and Israel, have reached the level of an existential battle that will in practice end only with the decisive victory of one side,’ Khorasan wrote. The paper argued that negotiations and agreements would have little effect on that trajectory, describing them as a temporary phase before what it called the 'final battle.’”
Anger Among Iranian Hardliners at Terms of Deal Agreed with US | Guardian
“Iranian hardliners have mounted a rearguard rejection of a deal with the US as as they say it does not guarantee sanctions relief, compensation or control of the strait of Hormuz. ‘The fact that they say we won and America has retreated is a blatant lie,’ said the Iranian MP Kamran Ghazanfari. . . . Faced with the onslaught, Iranian officials led by Mehdi Mohammadi, an adviser to the head of the negotiating team, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, mounted a detailed rebuttal in an audio message insisting the deal would end the war, including Israel’s offensive in Lebanon, and that Tehran has not been required to make any new commitments on its nuclear programme, leaving the means of disposal of its highly enriched uranium—including down-blending inside Iran—to future discussions lasting 60 days. Mohammadi also said that by referring to ‘Iranian arrangements,’ the text would allow Iran and Oman to charge fees for passage through the strait of Hormuz, and would even prevent Israeli commercial ships using the waterway.”
Iranian MP Says Draft US Deal More Damaging than Earlier Versions | Iran International
“Hardline Iranian lawmaker Mahmoud Nabavian criticized the emerging US-Iran agreement, saying the latest text was more damaging than two earlier versions and involved greater Iranian concessions.”
Funeral for Iran’s Late Supreme Leader Khamenei to Begin July 4, Burial Set for July 9 | Reuters
“The funeral for Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will begin in Tehran on July 4 and conclude with his burial in his hometown, the northeastern holy city of Mashhad, on July 9, state media reported on Saturday.”
PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS
“The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk says that Iran has executed at least 40 people on ‘national security grounds’ since the start of 2026, including 18 protesters, amid an intensifying crackdown following anti-government demonstrations earlier this year.”
Kurdish Artist Mehdi Pakmehr Sentenced to 6 Years in Prison | IranWire
“Mehdi Pakmehr, a Kurdish artist from the city of Bojnourd in North Khorasan Province who was wounded and arrested during the January protests, has been sentenced to six years of discretionary imprisonment and 70 lashes across two separate legal cases.”
SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS
“Britain, France, Germany, and Italy said they were prepared to lift some sanctions imposed on Tehran as they welcomed an accord announced by Washington and Tehran to end the war in the Middle East. ‘We are prepared to lift relevant sanctions in response to clear, verifiable steps by Iran on its nuclear program. We will work intensively with the US, Iran and regional partners to seize this moment, maintain momentum and achieve a long-term diplomatic settlement,’ a joint statement read. ‘Iran must never acquire a nuclear weapon. We stand ready to work with the US, Iran and the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] to this end,’ it added.”
CYBERSECURITY MATTERS
Iran-Linked Group Claims Hack of FBI Drones, Threatens World Cup, Monitor Says | CBS News
“An Iran-linked hacker group claims to have breached FBI drones and has threatened to target the World Cup that kicked off on Thursday, a monitoring group said Friday. The SITE Intelligence Group, an organization that monitors jihadist groups, published a statement from Handala saying they've had access ‘for months’ to ‘every image and every suspect’ captured by first-person view (FPV) drones used by the FBI. The hackers said the drones featured facial recognition and license plate screening deployed for counterterrorism.”
Cyberattack Disrupted Services at 4 Iranian Banks, State Media Says | Reuters
“A cyberattack disrupted services at four major Iranian banks, though no customer data was compromised, the country’s banking coordination council says, according to state media.”
CONGRESS & IRAN
Graham ‘Concerned’ That Iran Views Deal with US Differently than Trump Administration | The Hill
“Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.) said Sunday that he is ‘concerned’ that the U.S. and Iranian governments have ‘different’ views of the deal that the two sides have agreed to.”
GULF STATES & IRAN
UAE to Unlock Billions of Dollars for Iran, Sources Say | Reuters
“The United Arab Emirates has agreed to unlock billions of dollars for Iran, four sources said, in a tactical shift after weeks of Iranian attacks on the wealthy Gulf Arab state during the U.S.- Israeli war with the Islamic Republic.”
UAE Denies ‘False’ Reports of Fund Transfer to Iran | CNBC
“The United Arab Emirates said on Saturday that media reports it has agreed to release billions of dollars of frozen funds to Iran are false. ‘The Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirmed that these allegations are entirely false and unfounded, stressing that no frozen Iranian funds have been released, transferred, or facilitated through the UAE,’ the government told CNBC in a statement.”