unconditional surrender Archives - The Automatic Earth

ELON MUSK: "In 5 years, digital intelligence will exceed the sum of all human intelligence."

Within five years, there may be at least 100 million humanoid robots, possibly even 1 billion.

The economy could double in size within 5 to 7 years because AI and robotics may increase… https://t.co/P6vLUAKvAp pic.twitter.com/kw0zudz5db
— DogeDesigner (@cb_doge) June 21, 2026

There’s quite a few people I don’t agree with anymore on the topic. Makes me curious.

• War On Iran: Trump: “It Really Probably Is Unconditional Surrender” (MoA)

On Wednesday, June 17 2026, Trump signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Iran in Versailles. That palace has seen a lot of defeats. Asked about the MoU he called it an “unconditional surrender”: Caputo also asked Trump about his original promise that the war would end with an “unconditional surrender” from Tehran, pointing to the memorandum of understanding he signed on Wednesday. “Well, it really probably is unconditional surrender,” Trump told the outlet. But Trump leaves this open: Surrender by whom? His declared war aims and demands for Iran were regime change, no ballistic missiles and no nuclear program.

Now Trump himself is fearing regime change. He defends Iran’s reliance on ballistic missiles and no longer minds it having nuclear stuff. March 6 2026: President Trump declared on Friday that he would settle for nothing short of “unconditional surrender” by Iran, the latest and broadest expansion of his goals for the conflict, Six days into the Israeli and American bombing campaign, Iran has shown no interest, at least publicly, in surrendering. Mr. Trump declared on Saturday, in the opening hours of the U.S. attack, that Iran’s people should rise up and overthrow their government.
But in the following days, both Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pivoted away from the emphasis on regime change, saying that the United States was simply focused on assuring that Iran’s nuclear program was permanently destroyed, and that it no longer had the missile capability to attack Israel, its Arab neighbors, and perhaps someday America. Trump Demands ‘Unconditional Surrender’ by Iran (archived) – Mar 6 2026 – NY Times
June 18 2026: President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he was motivated to finalize the memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Iran to prevent “economic catastrophe” if the war was not resolved soon. “So rather than possibly going into a depression, rather than having your favorite president be Herbert Hoover, he was always the one I didn’t want to be,” Trump said of the 31st president whose policies are often blamed for starting the Great Depression. Trump also said he was open to allowing Iran to maintain its stockpile of ballistic missiles, claiming it was “unfair” for Iran to not be able to have the weapons if their neighbors do. …
And despite his insistence that the memorandum states that Iran cannot develop or obtain a nuclear weapon — one of his chief concerns during negotiations, Trump also appeared softer during the press conference on Wednesday in his position on whether Iran could develop a nuclear program for civilian purposes in the future. “You know, it’s also, it is a little hard though when you say that somebody wants—other people have it, other adjoining states have it and you’re not letting them have it for purposes of electricity and things like that. It’s always a little tough. You have to use a little common sense,” Trump added.
Trump didn’t want ‘Herbert Hoover’ presidency with Iran; said it has to have ‘some’ missiles – Jun 18, 2026 – ABCnews. Professor Mearsheimer was quite explicit in his latest talk (vid) with Judge Napolitano: Trump must shut the war down, whatever it politically might cost, to save the economy and his presidency.After he had launched the war he had to surrender, unconditionally, to prevent a global depression (which still may well happen). It may still take while, and maybe even another round of fighting, until that really sinks in.

“93.1% said Iran won.”

What did they presumably win?

• Israelis Are Livid Over Trump Ending War, Overwhelmingly Believe Iran Won (ZH)

After roping President Trump into breaking a core campaign promise, watching the United States expend resources and risk American lives to attack Iran, and then watching Trump take steps to end the war via MOU – Israelis are livid because the US didn’t commit to full-on decimation to celebrate America’s 250th, and say Iran came out ahead. According to a survey conducted by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in partnership with the Agam Institute, 92.1% of Israelis believe Iran came out ahead in the conflict and the US-brokered deal that followed.

Even among voters loyal to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s conservative bloc, 93.1% said Iran won. 82.9% of respondents said the six-week military campaign against Iran left Israel’s long-term security weaker, not stronger. Another 86% hold a negative view of both the way the fighting ended and the way Washington negotiated the subsequent deal without meaningful Israeli input. Nearly 88% of Israelis believe their country either fell short of its war aims entirely or achieved only partial success, despite the stated objectives being nothing less than dismantling Iran’s nuclear program, neutering its missile arsenal, and toppling the regime in Tehran. Those were the goals. None of them, by the public’s own assessment, were fully met.
Netanyahu has tried to project confidence in the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding anyway. At a press conference Monday, he insisted Iran will never possess nuclear weapons “as long as I am prime minister of Israel.” As we noted on Tuesday, hardline Israeli politicians are livid over the Iran deal, and want Netanyahu out so they can do ‘real regime change.’ “With an agreement or without an agreement, Iran will not have nuclear weapons – not today and not tomorrow,” he said, calling the mission his “life’s mission.” He has also maintained that the nuclear threat from Iran was an “immediate danger” that Israel removed “together with our American friends.”
Either way, Israelis aren’t buying it. 72.5% of respondents reject Netanyahu’s claim that Israel secured major gains and eliminated an existential threat. Only 26.5% rate his handling of the war as “good” or “excellent,” while 56.4% call it “failed” or “poor.” His personal approval as prime minister has collapsed from 40.5% in early March to 29.4% in June, a fifteen-point swing in roughly three months. And of course, there’s Trump… with 69.1% of respondents rated his handling of the war and the resulting deal as “failed” or “poor,” against just 10.8% who called it “good” or “excellent.” Quite the change in sentiment from his 2024 election win…

Despite the widespread belief that the Iran campaign backfired, 48.2% of Israelis say their country should renew major military action against Hezbollah, including strikes in Beirut, even if that means clashing with Trump, who has made clear he wants the fighting in Lebanon to stop. Only 20.9% oppose that course, with the remaining 30.9% undecided. Israelis appear simultaneously convinced the last war was mishandled and eager for the next one. Just 12.2% of respondents believe Israel achieved most of the stated goals against Hamas and Hezbollah following the October 7, 2023 attacks while 61.3% say Israel achieved none of them, and 26.5% say only some were met.
Across the Atlantic, the reception looks entirely different. A Quantus national poll of 1,000 likely US voters found 43% strongly approve and another 13% somewhat approve of the preliminary US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding. Combined disapproval sits at just 13%.The Trump administration has been trying to respond to criticism of the deal, while Israeli cabinet members are talking mad shit about Trump – to the point where VP JD Vance came very close to asking if they’ve even said ‘pwease’ or ‘thank you.’
Vance defended the MOU during Thursday’s White House briefing, pushing back on what he said was misleading media coverage. “The simple fact is that the only way the Iranians get any of those resources – not a single penny, by the way, from the United States of America under any circumstances – but the only way that they would ever get any benefit of the bargain is if they comply fully, and change their behavior,” Vance said of Iran, adding that Tehran’s military and nuclear program “is still destroyed” if Iran refuses to change course. He also said that compliance would bring “a transformative relationship with the Middle East.”
https://twitter.com/nicksortor/status/2067642712560689401?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2067642712560689401%7Ctwgr%5E3ba43edb00d551c7daaa6ef5f831958df7580c5f%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fgeopolitical%2Fisraelis-are-livid-over-trump-ending-war-overwhelmingly-believe-iran-won-poll
The Hebrew University-Agam Institute survey was conducted June 17–20, using a weighted sample of 3,644 Israelis aged 17 and over, designed to reflect the broader population, and has a maximum sampling error of just 2.2% at a 99% confidence level. Maybe they’ll just keep attacking Lebanon to scuttle the peace deal?
https://twitter.com/MarioNawfal/status/2067192026118926766?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2067192026118926766%7Ctwgr%5E3ba43edb00d551c7daaa6ef5f831958df7580c5f%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fgeopolitical%2Fisraelis-are-livid-over-trump-ending-war-overwhelmingly-believe-iran-won-poll

They immediately denied it.

• Iran Agrees To Invite Nuclear Inspectors Back; Vance Hails Great Progress (ZH)

Axios is reporting Monday morning Iran has agreed to invite IAEA inspectors back to the country, according to fresh words of Vice President J.D. Vance, who focused all day prior and much into the overnight on forging a path forward toward permanent peace. The two sides are seeking to hammer out a long-term nuclear agreement, now amid the technical talks process, as delegation heads depart Switzerland – leaving diplomatic teams behind. The 60-day roadmap begins. If indeed the UN nuclear inspectors are eventually let back into Iran, this would be a hugely significant step. This would be to verify compliance to the preliminary agreement, Vance further hails:

“Our hope is that we get to the final deal and a permanent settlement. But right now, I think we’ve made great progress and we should all celebrate that in terms of when the nuclear inspectors are going to start,” the American Vice President told reporters. He described that he phoned UN nuclear inspectors at 2am last night to update them on the developments, however, he said that no one picked up the call. “As you can expect, not many people are answering their phone at two in the morning,” said Vance. “I expect that will happen at the minimum this week, but we think even some of those conversations with the inspectors and with the IAEA could happen as soon as today.”
Both warring sides appear to finally be in the same page in terms of issuing ‘positive’ and ‘encouraging’ assessments earlier. There were reports of last-minute disagreements, threats, and warnings that the process could collapse near the conclusion of yesterday’s formal round one of talks. “So they didn’t walk out, and their technical team is still here in Burgenstock working with our technical team,” Vance explained. “What we told the Iranians yesterday is, ‘When you guys exchange in what us millennials might call trash talk, you can’t expect the president of the United States not to respond and not to correct the record’.”
Vance conceded that in the end there was a “a little bit of threatening” and “whining but at the end of the day, the talks continued and we made great progress.” He further described that a mechanism had been established to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, while noting that significant work remained and that technical negotiations would continue. Also, importantly he said that a “very good foundation” was laid for a successful final agreement with Iran.
JD Vance:

I can't stay here for the next 60 days. I will go back to the U.S.

The technical teams will be working. pic.twitter.com/s9PSTRvMSR
— Clash Report (@clashreport) June 22, 2026

“. . .They are running the Accords logic to its conclusion: every adversary becomes a counterparty, every conflict becomes a deal, every closed economy becomes an investable market.” —Patrick Wood

• Slouching Toward Peace (James Howard Kunstler)

That squawking you hear is Iran getting dragged kicking and screaming out of its jihad delirium into something that might look like reality-based relations with the rest of the world. They have to loudly declare that it’s not happening, even as it’s happening, to gaslight their own home folks, who might be getting a little sick of economic free-fall — and probably sick of the IRGC regime itself. And, of course, they know that the Lefty-left half of the USA is rooting for this whole business to fail so they can get their mitts back on the levers of power to avoid prison.

Things are at a pretty pass, all righty. The sticking point of the moment is Lebanon. Everybody is twanging on Israel to quit fighting Hezbollah. Okay, but does Hezbollah not have some obligation to quit its provocations? And is Iran, which controls Hezbollah, not responsibile to make Hezbollah stop?
Notice, you don’t hear any of the kibitzers calling for that. That’s because getting Hezbollah to poke Israel in the eye with a sharp stick is Iran’s favored device for dragging out negotiations which, they apparently hope, will put POTUS in fear of the looming midterm election. But time is running out on their playing for time. What they’re actually playing is pretend — pretending to be living large and in-charge. They’ve got nothing else, really. They’ve driven their country into a ditch.
The US is in a straight-up good-cop / bad-cop mode. VP Vance, on-the-ground in Switzerland, presents the very picture of a smooth, cool, rational figure where it counts: face-to-face with Iranian leaders, after all these years. He calmly tells the world news media that “encouraging progress” has been made the first day toward a ceasefire in poor, sore-beset Lebanon. As of Monday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi concurred on “X.”
Meanwhile, President Trump was going mad-dog on social media. Of his relations with irksome Israeli PM Bibi Netanyahu, POTUS said, “It’s good, but we have to keep him a little bit sane.” He added, “Iran must stop their highly-paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble. If they don’t, we’ll hit Iran very hard again. . . bomb the shit out of them.” He advised the Iranian negotiators that they “won’t even make if back” to their country if they keep playing games, and declared that the US will take over the Strait of Hormuz, if necessary. A bit harsh, admittedly. Any trouble parsing it out?

“Remember the Episode With Jerry and the Tennis Pro?”

• The ‘Seinfeld’ Theory of Iran Negotiations (Scott Pinsker)

This theory seems especially appropriate today: Between Schrödinger’s Strait being both open and closed, Hezbollah’s rockets bombarding Israel, and Iranian negotiators demanding billions in bribes, the ongoing drama at the Bürgenstock Resort in Switzerland is — very likely — “a show about nothing.” It’ll get great ratings. Lots of people will watch. (It’s Must-See TV!) But after all the hype and all the hoopla, DJT’s MOU is DOA. (There will be no TCB.) When all is said and done, the U.S.-Iran negotiations will be about as successful as Kramer’s lawsuit against Java World: JD Vance will get free coffee (I assume), but that’s pretty much it.

Sorry, but that’s the stone-cold truth. You can’t negotiate a peace deal with apocalyptic psychos whose bloodlust surpasses Newman’s waistline. These Iranian hardliners make Crazy Joe Davola look sane. Which is why our peace talks will sink like the 1956 SS Andrea Doria (but then again, “All vacations have to end eventually”). There is no hope! (Nor any hugging or learning.) Or, perhaps, the exact opposite is true — a Bizarro-version of “conventional wisdom,” if you will — and America has Iran by the short hairs.
On Jan. 30, 1997, episode #147 of Seinfeld aired: “The Comeback.” It is, perhaps, the most prophetic episode in Seinfeld’s entire catalog. There were four major storylines:
First was George’s obsession with settling the score with a snarky coworker who made a mean-spirited comment: “Hey George, the ocean called. They’re running out of shrimp!” George went through hell and high water to get even, making himself look utterly preposterous in the process. This storyline, of course, is an allegory for the Tucker Carlson-Mark Levin feud. (Or maybe it’s the Ben Shapiro-Megyn Kelly feud? Or possibly the Candace Owens-Laura Loomer feud? At this point, it’s getting kinda difficult to keep track of who’s feuding with who.)
The second storyline was Kramer’s desperate attempt to annul his living will: He no longer wanted to have his life support terminated. (Thus, becoming pro-life, I suppose.) Yet his frantic attempts to find his attorney were thwarted at the last minute — a chilling commentary on Canada’s euthanasia policies, where a poor shlub with IBS at a Tim Hortons was just “canceled” by a Canadian doctor.
Third was Elaine’s interest in a mysterious video store employee whose taste in cinema was sublime. Alas, when she went to meet him (bringing fireworks, cigarettes, and vodka), she learned he’s only 15. The kid’s mother shamed her, yet Elaine walked away without any legal consequences. Obviously, this was a clever callback to the shocking “industrial scale” sexual assaults that were (allegedly) committed by gangs of Muslim men against 250,000 UK little girls, yet the police declined to prosecute the evildoers. Fun fact: The name of Elaine’s 15-year-old love interest was Vincent — whose name is derived from the Latin word vincere, which means “to conquer.” (Hey, is Seinfeld good or what?)
But it’s the fourth storyline that’s most relevant today: A snooty, self-important employee at a tennis pro shop pressured Jerry into buying an expensive new racket. Later, Jerry learned the employee’s horrible secret: The guy can’t even play a lick of tennis! The desperate employee begs Jerry not to tell anyone — or his reputation will be ruined! His wife will leave him! Nobody at work will respect him! Eventually, Jerry agreed to let the employee beat him in a tennis match while his wife, friends, and coworkers all watched.
Behind-the-scenes, the employee gave Jerry everything he wanted: He refunded the racket. He apologized. He acknowledged how pathetic he is. He promised Jerry a full year of free club membership. He even offered Jerry a one-night stand with his wife! So Jerry decided to let the poor guy save face by giving him a “win” that didn’t really matter. The parallels here to the U.S.-Iran MOU are uncanny: Our military has inflicted between $1.5 and $2 trillion in damage to Iran. Its air force, navy, air defense, nuclear program, and Supreme Leader were all blown to bits.
Behind-the-scenes, Iranian negotiators are telling the Americans how weak and vulnerable they are — and how badly they want to make a deal. But to save face, they asked to “win” the MOU. From CNN: The officials described the text of the [MOU] agreement as incredibly vague, mainly intended to create a more favorable environment for the highly technical, in-person talks to come. They added that the framework is aimed at providing Iran the ability to sell it politically to their internal audience.
Additionally, the officials said that the text of the memorandum of understanding — which Vice President JD Vance told CNN Monday is one-and-a-half pages long — didn’t reflect critical back-channel commitments Iran has made to the US, which they argued gave them more confidence in signing on to the arrangement. “People shouldn’t read too much into the language of the MOU,” one of the officials said, describing the agreement as a “political document.”
[…]
The official added that the president’s team of negotiators “came up with language that allows (Iran) to say what they need to say for their domestic politics.” [emphasis added] When the Iran War began, plenty of Americans were cheering for regime change, hoping that freedom-loving Iranians would rise up and overthrow the mullahs. We assumed that they were the #1 threat to the Ayatollah’s power. But it’s entirely possible we misread the tea leaves — and Iran’s rulers are far more terrified of being killed by hardline Islamists than freedom-loving reformers.
When the Iranians talk about “saving face,” they mean it literally: Pissing off the hardliners is instant death. If so, it would explain the posture of the Trump administration: Iran has already committed to signing a one-sided peace deal, but only with the face-saving cover of an equally one-sided MOU. Otherwise, all the Iranian negotiators will be executed when they return home, and the White House will have to start the peace process all over again. On the outside looking in, it’s unclear how likely this explanation is, but it deserves careful consideration for two important reasons:
The Trump administration insists that it’s true. (And it knows more details than we do.It would certainly explain the administration’s behavior, patience, and tolerance for Iran’s tomfoolery.But even if it’s true, Iran had better tread very, very carefully. Because, as the Seinfeld prophecy foretells, the pro shop employee couldn’t resist gloating about “beating” Jerry. In the middle of their match, he called Jerry names. He mocked his ability. He invited others to laugh at him. He called Jerry a baby, a chicken, and “not a man.”

He won’t turn his back on either of the two. Let them fight it out.

• Trump May Have Given Us a HUGE Hint About His Successor (Margolis)

For more than a year, the corporate press has treated Donald Trump’s eventual successor like a riddle they alone can solve, parceling out clues from offhand remarks and body language. A new book suggests they’ve been chasing a story that doesn’t yet exist because Trump himself hasn’t made up his mind. Or has he?

The book, titled Regime Change, by New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, chronicles the first year of Trump’s second term. One notable anecdote is that once, during a walk-through with reporters, Trump showed off new flagpoles he had installed on the White House North and South Lawns, something he said he had wanted to do during his first term but had avoided for fear of bad press. Not this time. “You guys were after me,” Trump told the reporters. “I was the hunted. And now I’m the hunter.” That confidence extends to how he talks about who comes next.
According to the book, Trump has repeatedly quizzed his own aides on whether Vice President JD Vance or Secretary of State Marco Rubio would make a better president after him. And Trump may have given a hint about his preference. Trump is also said to be impressed by the background of Rubio, who is the son of Cuban immigrants. The book describes how, after Trump redecorated the Oval Office to fill it with gold flourishes, someone asked the president about the likelihood that the next president would undo all that he had done. Trump retorted: “Cubans love gold.”
But, Haberman and Swan write, Rubio and Vance are also friends. An example they offer is Rubio texting Vance after the 2024 Republican vice presidential nominee’s comments about “ childless cat ladies ” became a scandal. Rubio offered to campaign with Vance to show his support. Speculation about who Trump prefers as his successor has been rampant pretty much since Trump took office again. In February 2025, Fox News anchor Bret Baier asked Trump if he sees Vance as his successor and the 2028 Republican nominee. Trump’s answer wasn’t the easy yes everyone expected. “No, but he’s very capable,” he said, before pivoting to praise. “I think you have a lot of very capable people. So far, I think he’s doing a fantastic job. It’s too early; we’re just starting.”
That answer rattled plenty of people who had assumed that Vance would simply inherit the MAGA movement when Trump’s term ends. A Mediaite report the following month claimed that Trump wants his political dynasty to outlive his own presidency, and three high-level sources claimed that Donald Trump Jr. was seriously weighing a 2028 run of his own.
Donald Trump Jr. wasted no time torching that theory. “I accurately predicted that my buddy JD would be an instant power player in national GOP politics, so your theory is that I worked my a** off to help get him the VP nomination because I want to run for president in 2028?” he said. “Are you f****g retarded? I’m actually glad you’re printing this b******t, though, because at least now the rest of the press corps will see how s****y your ‘sources’ are and how easily you’re played by them. Congrats, moron.”
That’s not the response of a man choosing his words carefully for a future campaign launch. It’s the response of someone who finds the entire premise absurd. So after a year of speculation, here’s what the evidence actually shows: Trump is weighing Vance against Rubio on the merits, and probably seems to be leaning toward Rubio right now.

Don’t sound good.

• Fail, Britannia: Meet the New Commie, Worse Than the Old Commie (Green)

The U.K.’s most destructively feckless prime minister (since the last one) is history, but Keir Starmer’s likely successor could prove Britain’s final undoing — if the radical Liberian-born advisor who serves as Andy Burnham’s “brains” gets her way. Burnham, former Mayor of Greater Manchester, won the Makerfield by-election on June 18 with an impressive 55% of the vote — a full rebuke of Reform U.K., too — sending him to Parliament where he’ll make a run at Number 10 Downing St. At least one potential rival, Wes Streeting, stood aside and endorsed Burnham on Monday, pretty much clearing his path.

In his endorsement, Streeting said he wants Labour to pursue “a progressive capitalism focused on wealth creation as much as wealth distribution,” but nobody seems to have told the “brains” behind Burnham: the Liberian-born daughter of lefty radicals, Miatta Fahnbulleh. CutMyTaxUK reported last year that Fahnbulleh “was born in Liberia as part of a prominent leftist revolutionary family, has served as a junior energy & housing minister in the Starmer government before resigning to support Burnham.” Previously, as the “former head of the far-left New Economics Foundation,” she proved “adept at churning out socialist policy proposals.”
Or as CMT-UK put it, “Keir Starmer has appointed a Housing Minister who hates private housing.” Another U.K. publication, Guido Fawkes, put all of Fahnbulleh’s most radical proposals in one handy list on Sunday:
• A wealth tax and yet another windfall tax on oil and gas.
• Mass nationalization e.g. of land, transport, and energy.
• Extending national [welfare] insurance [tax to include] to investment income.
• A cap on interest rates and charges on every form of consumer credit.
• Hiking capital gains tax to income tax levels.
• Hiking the dividend tax to income tax levels.
• Abolition of the upper earnings limit for national insurance.
• Huge expansion of the benefits system, including a “minimum income guarantee” paid to everyone apart from the rich.
• Nationalization of banks and creation of new “green” banks with taxpayer funds.
• Block on private banks lending to anyone with a “large amount of greenhouse gas emissions” and “penalization of banks that provide too many carbon-intensive loans.“
• Forced sale of existing businesses to employees.
• A tripling of the stamp duty [property tax, basically] surcharge to 9% for multiple homeowners and an increase to 6% for non-residents.

So, apart from urging the destruction of the energy industry, banking, and investment, ending private ownership of industry and housing, and a massive expansion of Britain’s welfare state, she’s practically a right-winger. Cough, cough. Here’s a quick look at Fahnbulleh’s background:
https://twitter.com/kunley_drukpa/status/2068249442067571024?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2068249442067571024%7Ctwgr%5Efd6865bfde3ade186354994b7afb9adff6e690c6%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpjmedia.com%2Fvodkapundit%2F2026%2F06%2F22%2Fuk-meet-the-new-commie-worse-than-the-old-commie-n4954224
Britain isn’t just importing mass numbers of Third Worlders; it’s importing Third World lefty radicalism that the West once pounded into smithereens under Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan during the last years of the Cold War. The New Statesman’s Nick Plumb describes Fahnbulleh’s governing philosophy as “radical co-operativism,” but all these generations later, Karl Marx couldn’t help but notice the family resemblance. But what’s the big deal about a former Housing Minister with a radical laundry list of ways to destroy what’s left of the British economy?
As CMT-UK also put it, there are “two worrying aspects to this New Statesman article.” The first is that “Burnham apparently doesn’t have many brains,” and the second is that “Fahnbulleh is filling the gap.” Fahnbulleh is one of Burnham’s key allies, campaigned for him in last week’s big by-election win, and previously helped shape policy for a potential Burnham government, according to the BBC. By trading Starmer for Burnham, Britain very well may be going out of the frying pan and into the fire.

Elizabeth was popular. That was it.

• Support For UK Monarchy Hits Record Low (RT)

Public support for the British monarchy has fallen to its lowest level in over three decades, a new poll has suggested. Just under half of Britons still favor removing the monarchy, with support particularly weak among younger people. Support for the monarchy has steadily declined since reaching a peak of 80% in 2012 and fell to 55% in 2026, according to data published by Ipsos on Friday. The figure is the lowest recorded by the market research and polling company since it began tracking the issue in 1993 and is well below the long-term average of 71%.

Support has declined across all age groups but is particularly low among Britons aged 18-34, where only a third of respondents said they favor the monarchy – roughly half the level recorded in 2013. According to Ipsos, 45% of people in that age group would prefer the UK to become a republic instead. Satisfaction with King Charles and his heir, Prince William, remains high, the poll suggested as 60% and 71% of respondents respectively said they liked the way the king and the prince were doing their jobs.
The monarchy’s popularity took a hit over one of the Royal family member’s long-standing association to late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The now former Prince Andrew, King Charles’ brother, was initially accused in 2014 of being one of the persons the disgraced financier sex-trafficked woman to. Andrew settled a civil lawsuit with one of the sex-trafficking victims, Virginia Giuffre, in 2022, while still denying all the allegations. In 2026, the British police opened a criminal case against him after a release of additional files in the Epstein case suggested that he allegedly provided confidential government information to the convicted sex offender.
Buckingham Palace commented on the case in February by saying that the Royal family was ready to support the probe “if we are approached by Thames Valley Police” and adding that the king’s “thoughts and sympathies have been, and remain with, the victims of any and all forms of abuse.” According to a poll conducted by YouGov in April, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor remains the most disliked member of the family by a wide margin, with over 90% of Britons having a “negative” or “very negative” view of him.
The influence of the British monarchy abroad has also declined in recent years, with some former British colonies considering severing their remaining ties to the Crown. Barbados became the most recent Caribbean nation to become a republic in 2021 while remaining within Britain’s Commonwealth. A survey conducted by former Conservative Party deputy chairman Michael Ashcroft in 2023 suggested that six of the 14 overseas countries within the Commonwealth realm – including Canada and Australia – would prefer to ditch the monarchy.

7 prime ministers in 10 years.

American Democrats have nowhere to turn to. The US system prohibits a third party.

The UK has Nigel Farage waiting in the wings,

• Keir Starmer Reveals How Much Labour Resembles American Democrats (Queen)

I counted, and during my lifetime, the UK has had 13 prime ministers. The count is likely to jump to 14 soon now that Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced his resignation as leader of the Labour Party on Monday. Labour is now set for a leadership challenge, with newly elected MP Andy Burnham, formerly mayor of Manchester, as the main challenger. Starmer’s resignation may give rank-and-file Britons (many of whom are discovering the joys of American life during the World Cup) some whiplash, as Noa Hoffman pointed out on Monday’s Coffee House Shots podcast:

I think a lot of people who are not in tune with the day-to-day ins and outs of Westminster politics are going to think, “What the hell is going on?” I think that’s actually going to reflect quite poorly on the Labour Party, because, as Tim said, there was no one major scandal or one major failure that really led to this resignation.
It was sort of a litany of errors, many of them unforced, but nowhere near to the extent of what sort of preceded the big resignations of a lot of Tory prime ministers, so no one is going to say Keir Starmer was doing a great, perhaps even good job, but was he literally the worst thing on earth, or so bad to the extent that everyone thought, given even given the volatile state that the world is in right now, the best thing to do is for you to stand down and bring in a man who nobody, apart from the people of Makerfield voted for, nobody in the general election voted Labour on the basis of Andy Banham leading the party and being a prime minister, and now he’s promising all these big radical changes, unless he U-turns on them, as he has been doing frequently, without a mandate.
So this is going to come as a shock to a lot of people, and I don’t think Labour MPs really understand that. She later said, “But I think the overall question that history will ask is, was that reason enough for him to go and bring on the next sort of big left-wing agenda that we’re about to see that the public did not vote for, and I’m not sure the answer to that is necessarily yes.”
This isn’t an apples-to-apples comparison since the UK’s parliamentary system doesn’t exactly line up with the American democratic republic, but it feels like an echo of the Democrats replacing Joe Biden with Kamala Harris. It’s not clear yet how Labour’s rank and file will take to Burnham’s leadership and policies, so it may drive the country closer to a general election sooner rather than later. In the podcast, the question of Starmer’s legacy came up. Editor Tim Shipman characterized Starmer as one who was good at campaigning but bad at governing — you know, like Barack Obama. Shipman also identified Starmer’s legacy as being much about himself:
The innate thing is that Keir Starmer fundamentally thinks that if you’re a decent chap and you’re going to work and want to do decent things, then decent outcomes will follow. Well, that’s not how politics or government works.
And the other thing he thought was that winning a landslide was some great, massive endorsement of himself, and it was not. It was one of the great two-fingers-to-you [akin to a middle-finger gesture], anyone but the previous lot voters have ever seen in British politics, and that miscalculation, I think, made his government very difficult, and it meant a lot of what he thought he was going to achieve quite easily, like a reset with the European Union. “Oh, which will be fine, because we’re not these wicked Tories. We’re going to go in, and it’s all going to be great, because we’re nice and we’re Labour.”
The Spectator’s Madeleine Grant had another brutal assessment of Starmer’s legacy. In her view, Starmer represents the great gulf between the elites and the great unwashed. There will be much commentariat-painting of Starmer as exhibiting decency, competence and integrity. It probably doesn’t feel like that if you were one of the people he pushed under the bus to save himself, it probably doesn’t feel like that to the pubs and businesses and farms and schools shutting down, it probably doesn’t feel like that if you’re a Chagossian, or a military veteran, or a rape gang victim. Indeed, aside from vibes and the fact that he is ‘like them’, it is very difficult to see where those who laud Starmer as decent, competent, and having integrity have got the idea from.
That perhaps is Starmer’s real legacy: to be the man who embodied more than anyone else the vast gap between those who govern and the governed. The prime minister we were told the nation needed turned out to be the one it deserved. Most deliciously of all, Starmer has embodied the absolute reversal of Blair by proving, even in his departure, that things can, and will, only get worse.
The analogies between Labour and U.S. Democrats are plenty, but Starmer and the upcoming leadership challenge highlight two big comparisons. At the party level, Labour and the Dems are ready to go as far left as they can, and Labour leadership sees itself as an elite class that knows better than the governed, much like Democrats today. It’ll be revealing to watch how this will play out over the next few weeks and what the next general election, whenever it may happen, will bring about.

I still find this strange.

• Tucker Carlson No Longer Supports The Republican Party: ‘I’m Out’ (JTN)

Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson said recently that he is leaving the Republican Party and will no longer support it because the party allegedly “betrayed” Americans with its alliance with Israel. Carlson, who was previously an ally of President Donald Trump, has split with the “Make America Great Again” movement and the Republican Party over the latter’s ties to Israel. “I’m out,” Carlson said on an episode of the “Can’t Be Censored” podcast that aired Thursday but gained traction Monday. “If I’m out, then I think a lot of other people are out. I would not support the Republican Party.

“How could I or any American voter support a political party that’s not loyal to the United States,” he continued. “That puts the interests of a foreign country above those of its own citizens. It’s not possible to vote for people like that, and I’m not going to.” Carlson, who has supported Republican causes for 35 years, clarified that he would not be supporting Democrats moving forward and was not sure who he would be voting for in future elections. The president and Carlson have been at odds in the second Trump administration, with Trump claiming Carlson has a “low IQ,” and the former Fox host has accused the president of trying to “play God” with the conflict in the Middle East.

“Paul is expected to question Fauci on whether he lied to Congress during the pandemic about whether his office had funded gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China.”

• Rand Paul Subpoenas Fauci For Testimony in COVID Origin Probe (JTN)

Senate Homeland Security Chairman Rand Paul issued a subpoena Monday to force former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci to testify in front of his panel after the Biden administration official declined to do so voluntarily. The senator claimed Fauci previously agreed to testify in front of the panel, but former Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard on her last day in office last week declassified a several-hundred-page agency report on Fauci related to when he was NIAID director, the COVID-19 pandemic and the continuing, unresolved issue of the origin of the deadly virus.

Paul said the new hearing will take place in a public forum next month. “Last week, Anthony Fauci notified us he will NOT voluntarily testify before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, even though he had previously agreed to do so,” Paul said on X. “Therefore, today I have issued a subpoena requiring him to testify before the Committee, in public, next month.” Paul is expected to question Fauci on whether he lied to Congress during the pandemic about whether his office had funded gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China.
Despite the evidence of a potential lab leak sickening workers at the Wuhan lab, Fauci has continued to double down on his claim that the COVID-19 virus had emerged naturally from a wet-market in the same areas as the lab, not a leak from the lab itself. No date for the new hearing has been released.

Rand Paul can use Tulsi’s material,

• Tulsi Gabbard Biolab Releases (CTH)

Promethean Action PAC’s Barbara Boyd takes a look at the last two declassification releases from Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard prior to her resignation. Boyd argues that outgoing DNI Tulsi Gabbard’s recent document releases reveal a global, US-funded biolab network centered on Dr. Anthony Fauci, traced back to January 2014—the same start date cited in Joe Biden’s pardons of Hunter Biden and Fauci. She claims Obama’s 2014 gain-of-function ban pushed the research overseas, with NIH funding routed through EcoHealth Alliance to Wuhan, while Pentagon-backed contractors—especially Metabiota—expanded work in Ukraine after the Maidan coup.

Boyd also highlights a May 2020 Lawrence Livermore assessment describing Wuhan as fitting criteria for an accidental release of an engineered coronavirus and alleges Anthony Fauci steered Biden-era COVID origins reviews toward natural origin while lying to Congress. She links Ukraine lab inventories and broader COVID-era policies to a larger geopolitical and technocratic agenda.

He wants to invite in 500,000 people for starters?! Not everyone’s happy with that.

• Spanish PM’s Wife Faces Trial On Corruption Charges (RT)

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s wife, Begona Gomez, will stand trial before a jury on corruption-related charges, EFE news agency reported on Saturday, citing a ruling issued by the investigating judge following preliminary hearings held earlier this week. Gomez was formally charged in April with embezzlement, influence peddling, corruption in business dealings, and misappropriation of funds. Prosecutors are reportedly seeking a 24-year prison sentence for the 55-year-old university director, who was also ordered to surrender her passport and appear in court twice a month pending the subsequent proceedings.

Her adviser, Cristina Alvarez, who is accused of similar offenses, and businessman Juan Carlos Barrabes will also stand trial. The investigation into Gomez was launched in 2024 following a complaint filed by anti-graft campaign group Manos Limpias, whose leader is reportedly linked to Spain’s far right. The organization alleged that Gomez used her position as the prime minister’s wife to influence government contracts given to a group of tech companies.
The scope of the probe later expanded after additional accusations that Gomez misused public funds in the hiring of a consultant and improperly used software while working at Madrid’s Complutense University, where she co-directed an academic chair.Her legal team denied any wrongdoing and argued that the proceedings are politically motivated.Sanchez, the leader of the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party, has not been implicated in the case.
However, after the probe became public, he suspended public engagements “for a few days” and said he was considering stepping down, denouncing what he described as a campaign of political and personal harassment against his family. Sanchez later announced that he would remain in office and continue leading the government. Former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Zapatero also became the subject of a corruption investigation in May over the alleged misuse of €53 million in state aid granted to Plus Ultra airline in 2021. Earlier this week, a court rejected the request of prosecutors to impose precautionary measures, including the surrender of his passport and a travel ban.

South Florida.

• Go East, Young SpaceX Millionaire! (Stephen Green)

Aside from fueling Elon Musk’s orbital data center ambitions, the recent SpaceX initial public offering minted thousands of new millionaires — and where they put their money will have ripple effects lasting a generation. Can you guess where that money won’t go? In a charmingly outdated New York Post piece from May, Lydia Moynihan predicted that the SpaceX IPO would create “dozens, if not hundreds” of millionaires, including one anonymous early investor who told Moynihan that “she’s already hired someone to run her newly created family office, which manages her investment portfolio.”

“There are going to be a lot of single family offices that come out of this IPO,” founder of the Family Office Division at Compass, Cindy Scholz, told the Post. The paper reported that with dozens or hundreds of SpaceX millionaires, “Family offices have already grown 25% over the last five years, and she expects to see that number skyrocket in the coming month.” The actual number of new millionaires (and even a few billionaires) created was a bit north of 4,400. Of those, Moynihan’s “hundreds” had eight-figure net-worth paydays when SpaceX went public. That’s a lot of new family offices and whatnots.
Scholz, according to the Post, also said last month that the SpaceX windfall will “accelerate the exodus from California.” Well, guess what? Here comes Kristen Altus from Fox Business, who reported Monday that a “fresh wave of Silicon Valley wealth could soon flow into South Florida.” “With OpenAI quietly filing for a confidential IPO alongside market debuts from aerospace giant SpaceX and AI rival Anthropic,” she wrote, “billions of dollars in overnight liquidity are about to be unlocked for executives and middle management alike.”
However, Altus reported, “Instead of reinvesting in the Golden State, this incoming class of newly minted tech multimillionaires is already flooding Florida real estate brokers with calls — triggering what experts say could be a rapid-fire ‘Tech Exodus 2.0’ measured in months, not years.” Nobody tell Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has already spent all those new income tax dollars.
And Another Thing: I was able to buy exactly one (perhaps overpriced) share of SpaceX the day it went public, and then went into waiting mode. When SPCX share dropped from IPO-hysteria highs on Wednesday, I started buying just a little. I’m now the proud owner of 10 (!!!) whole shares, and am a couple hundred dollars poorer as the shares keep falling. But I don’t care, because I own 10 whole shares of the world’s most exciting company.
Even before SpaceX went public, Frank Jacobs went through the numbers for Big Think in May and found that since 2018, “around 103,000 millionaires moved out of California,” and that “133,000 millionaires moved in to Florida,” mostly from the Formerly Golden State and New York. “Wealthy Americans are migrating in large numbers from high-tax states to lower-tax ones and reshaping the nation’s economic geography,” Jacobs wrote, concluding that “steep marginal tax rates may be counterproductive, driving away the very revenue” Albany and Sacramento hoped to get their greedy blue fingers on.
So it’s no stretch to predict that all these SpaceX/Anthropic/OpenAI IPO winners will follow suit. “The California area codes have already started showing up,” Fort Lauderdale Downtown Development Authority CEO and President Jenni Morejon told Altus. “It’s just that the conversations are evolving.” As it turns out, Florida’s appeal isn’t just about friendly tax and regulatory environments — it’s about the culture. “Silicon Valley is absolutely a boring place to live compared to Miami,” Naftali Group CEO Miki Naftali told Fox. “How can you even compare between living in Miami and Silicon Valley?”
But it’s the lost business opportunities that might come to haunt California and New York the most. “I think you see that this isn’t just a lifestyle narrative,” Morejon added, “it’s actually an operating environment for new businesses. And we have the engineering and infrastructure emerging to prove that.” The money is nice, too — especially when it isn’t flushed down another one of Sacramento’s money pits.

Let's celebrate the resignation of Keir Starmer with this wonderful song. Bye-bye, Keir! We will remember you as the biggest wanker of all UK leaders. Donald Trump and his band are performing this song for your pleasure. The Spotify version is coming soon. pic.twitter.com/id88G2yqJA
— Sith Daddy (@sithdaddyx) June 22, 2026

Interesting article from 2022.
Peter Sutherland was a special representative of the UN for Migration.
The replacement of the English people is part of the UN plan for their New World Order. pic.twitter.com/dYUYabS6kW
— Andrew Bridgen (@ABridgen) June 21, 2026

Starting October 2026, @SpaceX will be generating ~$2.32 billion per month in AI compute revenue from its major deals with Anthropic, Google, and now Reflection AI. pic.twitter.com/mM7RLoxmcR
— Nic Cruz Patane (@niccruzpatane) June 22, 2026

https://twitter.com/WikiLeaksQ/status/2068771868018901445?s=20

Sums it up. pic.twitter.com/upAlumkxmg
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) June 22, 2026

Support the Automatic Earth in wartime with Paypal, Bitcoin and Patreon.

Debt Rattle June 18 2025

Jun 182025

June 18, 2025 Posted by Raúl Ilargi Meijer at 8:26 am Finance Tagged with: Bannon, Big Pharma, Iran, kooky, Trump, Tucker, Tulsi Gabbard, unconditional surrender 48 Responses »

Rembrandt van Rijn Portrait of Rembrandt with gorget 1629

• Trump Eyeing Intervention In Conflict Against Iran (RT)

• Trump Demands ‘Unconditional Surrender’ From Iran (RT)

• ‘If Iran Falls, We All Lose’ (Blade)

• ‘I Don’t Care What She Said’ – Trump Dismisses Tulsi Gabbard’s Iran Claims (RT)

• Trump Calls Tucker Carlson ‘Kooky’ Over Israel-Iran Position (RT)

• White House Seeks Meeting With Iran’s Foreign Minister As Iran Eases Strikes (ZH)

• Israel Risking ‘Nuclear Catastrophe’ – Moscow (RT)

• Trump Snubs Zelensky Meeting (RT)

• Israel Uninterested In Russian Mediation of Conflict With Iran – Kremlin (RT)

• MAGA’s Civil War: Who Dares To Take On The Israel Lobby? (Amar)

• TV Networks Face Advertising Apocalypse After Pharma Restrictions (ZH)

• EU Bosses Back Total Russian Gas Ban (RT)

• Russia Sanctions Would Cost Us ‘Billions’ – Trump (RT)

• Midair Emergencies Force Four Boeing Dreamliners To Divert India Flights (RT)

• Only Bitcoin, Gold Can Stop Governments from Destroying the Currency (Lacalle)

• Musk Publishes Drug Test Results (RT)

Just gonna leave this here. pic.twitter.com/SqSvxq7gdC

— Natalie F Danelishen (@Chesschick01) June 17, 2025

BANNON: “Why was Tulsi Gabbard not invited to the Camp David meeting?”

TUCKER: “You know why … This is a regime change effort. Why not just say that?” pic.twitter.com/lnZ8JXrWGs

— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) June 16, 2025

TUCKER: “I don't want my country to be further weakened or destroyed by another one of these wars. And if you can't connect the dots after 25 years of this sh*t, you're either too dumb to participate in the conversation or you're like Mark Levin — just a liar who doesn't care.” pic.twitter.com/54KJMVEt7M

— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) June 16, 2025

TUCKER CARLSON: The reason I'm speaking out is because if we get dragged into this, we could be witnessing the end of the American empire.

It could effectively end Trump's presidency.

I've seen it happen myself with George W. Bush and Iraq.@TuckerCarlson pic.twitter.com/bFzAEA7hff

— Bannon’s WarRoom (@Bannons_WarRoom) June 16, 2025

Former Trump chief strategist Steve Bannon on how the president’s enemies are working to destroy MAGA with the war on Iran.

(0:00) Will the Iran War Be the Downfall of MAGA?
(6:55) Fox News’ Pro-War Propaganda
(12:42) The Never-Trumpers Pretending to Be On Trump’s Team
(15:30)… pic.twitter.com/PdUZFiUNNZ

— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) June 16, 2025

https://twitter.com/Stevebannon_sk/status/1934670309166338165

https://twitter.com/JackPosobiec/status/1934622893364957429

Senate

Col Douglas Macgregor on Iran: Netanyahu controls more US Senators than Trump pic.twitter.com/dwlQKtdDaM

— Ignorance, the root and stem of all evil (@ivan_8848) June 17, 2025

Candace

Donald Trump just completely fractured his base.
And he did it for the very neocons who minted the #NeverTrump movement.

Truly unbelievable. pic.twitter.com/ZF9B3TeumR

— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) June 16, 2025

Alex

BREAKING: Netanyahu Double Crosses Trump, Says He Will Not Engage In Peace Talks / Wants Regime Change As China Announces They Back Iran, Along With Nuclear-Armed Pakistan

PLUS, He Claims The US Not Backing Israel's War Against Iran Will Threaten/Destroy Our Homeland, "Today… pic.twitter.com/Gq5ksmlL8k

— Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) June 16, 2025

This is not our war.

But if it were, Congress must decide such matters according to our Constitution.

I’m introducing a bipartisan War Powers Resolution tomorrow to prohibit our involvement.

I invite all members of Congress to cosponsor this resolution.

— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) June 16, 2025

This is Nick Fuentes almost 2 years ago, the day after oct. 7th, predicting everything that is happening today.

When you can predict the future with this level of accuracy, it tells you that his understanding and model of politics is true.pic.twitter.com/K7NQBper1f

— Red5 (@Red5djedi) June 17, 2025

Elected as peacemaker.

• Trump Eyeing Intervention In Conflict Against Iran (RT)

President Donald Trump is seriously considering getting the US directly involved in Israel’s conflict with Iran as he meets with his national security team on Tuesday, multiple media outlets have reported. The president has lauded the Israeli bombing campaign against Iran’s nuclear facilities but has so far held off on joining offensive operations, opting instead to use US military assets to help West Jerusalem shoot down Iranian missiles and drones. Ahead of a national security meeting in the White House Situation Room to discuss the escalating Middle East conflict, Trump was considering entering the US into the fray, Axios and CBS News wrote on Tuesday.

“Trump was seriously considering joining the war and launching a US strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities, especially its underground uranium enrichment facility in Fordow,” Axios wrote, citing three anonymous officials. West Jerusalem believes the US will “enter the war in the coming days,” the outlet said, citing Israeli officials.nThe decision will be discussed at Tuesday’s meeting, but there is no full agreement among Trump’s closest advisers, CBS News wrote, citing fire sources familiar with the matter. nFordow, a heavily fortified uranium enrichment plant built deep inside a mountain, has been hit with Israeli airstrikes, but there is no indication that its underground section sustained significant damage, according to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Grossi.

The Jewish state lacks the bunker-buster bombs needed to fully destroy the entrenched facility, but US forces deployed in the region both carry the weapons and have the capability to field them, Axios wrote on Sunday. nAccording to National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi, the Israeli campaign against Iran “will not end without damaging the Fordow nuclear facility.” While it is unclear “if the US will join,” Israel is in constant communication with Washington on the matter, he said in an interview on Tuesday. A few hours prior to Tuesday’s security meeting, Trump delivered a chain of militant posts on Truth Social, claiming that the US now had unobstructed primacy in Iranian airspace, boasting that he could assassinate Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and demanding that Tehran capitulate.

“The enemy cannot sustain a long war, and as it continues, the back of the Zionist regime will be broken..”

• Trump Demands ‘Unconditional Surrender’ From Iran (RT)

US President Donald Trump has demanded an “unconditional surrender” from Iran, which has been locked in a heated military conflict with Israel, over the past days. In a series of posts on his Truth Social Trump also claimed that “we now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran.” Hostilities between West Jerusalem and Tehran have been intensifying since Israel’s attacks on a uranium enrichment center, nuclear and military facilities, and a series of drone and car-bomb attacks that killed over a dozen senior Iranian military commanders and scientists as well as multiple civilians. Iran retaliated by firing dozens of ballistic missiles into Israel. The two sides have been exchanging attacks since then. “Unconditional surrender,” Trump wrote in capital letters on Truth Social on Tuesday.

The American president also issued a direct threat against the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, claiming that the US and its Israeli allies “know exactly” where Khamenei is “hiding.” Trump called him an “easy target” but stated that “we are not going to take him out… at least for now.” “Our patience is wearing thin,” the US president added. Speaking to journalists earlier on Tuesday, the American leader said his goals in the conflict between West Jerusalem and Tehran go beyond a ceasefire, adding that he wanted Iran to forgo “entirely on nuclear weapons.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made similar statements on Monday, when he claimed that Israel was “in control of the skies over Tehran” and told the city’s residents to evacuate.

Tehran signaled on Tuesday that it was ready to continue fighting. “The enemy cannot sustain a long war, and as it continues, the back of the Zionist regime will be broken,” Iran’s defense ministry spokesman, Brigadier General Reza Talayi-Nik, said in a televised interview aired by the Iranian state broadcaster. The general also announced the use of new missile systems as part of retaliatory strikes. “Today, we used one of our missiles for the first time, and the Zionist regime didn’t even realize it had been deployed. They will see more of these surprises,” he said. Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) reported successful strikes on Israel’s military intelligence logistical headquarters and a Mossad intelligence center in the Tel Aviv area on Tuesday. The targets were hit “despite the presence of highly advanced defense systems,” it said.

West Jerusalem justified its Friday attack by claiming Iran was on the brink of obtaining a nuclear weapon. Tehran has repeatedly denied such accusations, maintaining that its nuclear program is entirely peaceful. In late March, US National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard stated that American intelligence data suggested Iran was “not building a nuclear weapon” and its nuclear arms program had been on hold since 2003. When asked about this assessment on Tuesday, Trump stated that he did “not care what she said.”

“Regime change is more likely in Israel and across Europe than anywhere near Iran,” Marandi said. “These Western governments failed with Russia, failed with China, and they’ll fail with Iran too.”

• ‘If Iran Falls, We All Lose’ (Blade)

Mohammad Marandi, a prominent Iranian academic, political analyst, and adviser to Iran’s nuclear negotiating team, rejects Netanyahu’s claims outright. n“The regime is lying about nuclear programs just to justify aggression and murder,” Marandi told RT. “Tulsi Gabbard, who is the Director of US National Intelligence, just recently said Iran is not developing nuclear weapons. So it’s clear that the issue is Netanyahu, neat escalation, and the Zionist lobby in the United States is behind him.”mnIran’s nuclear program has long been a subject of contention. While Tehran has enriched uranium and developed advanced centrifuge technology, it has consistently denied seeking nuclear weapons. Iranian officials argue that their nuclear program is designed solely for peaceful energy production and medical research – a position grounded, they say, in religious doctrine that prohibits weapons of mass destruction.

To prove its intentions, Iran signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2015, an international accord with the US and European powers that limited uranium enrichment in exchange for sanctions relief. However, in 2018, then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from the deal, reigniting tensions. Since then, Tehran has allowed international inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) limited access to its facilities, but Israel remains unconvinced.nAccording to Marandi, Israel’s true objective lies far beyond neutralizing a nuclear threat.mn“It’s always been so-called regime change,” he said. “Whether it’s the Israeli regime or the Americans or the Europeans. That’s how they are. They don’t want independent countries, and especially countries like Iran, which support the Palestinian cause.”

Marandi is not alone in his assessment. Syrian analyst Taleb Ibrahim, a longtime commentator on Iranian affairs and an author of several books on the Islamic Republic, agrees that Western powers – particularly the United States – are pursuing a broader geopolitical agenda.n“If the United States will put its hands on Iran again [like it was before 1979],” Ibrahim told RT, “they will block the Russian southern wall. This means that Russia will not be able to expand its influence beyond the Caspian Sea. And it will be restricted to a very narrow place between Central Asia and the Arctic.”mnIbrahim warns that China, too, would suffer consequences from a weakened Iran. “China will not be able to reach the Middle East. Because if Iran becomes part of the Western bloc, it will sever China’s access. And the most important thing of all – a new world order will emerge. It will be a new American world order.”

Ibrahim believes this is not a regional conflict, but part of a sweeping strategy to restore American hegemony. “To make America great again is to regain American control across the globe. The war in Iran is just a chapter in that plan.” President Donald Trump has thus far distanced himself from the Israeli operation, saying America’s goals are purely defensive and promising that he will not be starting any wars. But Ibrahim is unconvinced. “In strategy, if you want to make war, talk about peace,” he said. “The United States is preparing for a very big war – first against China, then Russia. After this, they will try to build an American century. One government for the world, headquartered in the White House. That’s the final goal.”

Both Marandi and Ibrahim agree that forced regime change in Iran would unleash chaos across the region. The fall of Tehran’s current government could lead to the fragmentation of Iran – a multi-ethnic nation with Kurds, Azeris, Arabs, and Baloch who may pursue autonomy or independence in the power vacuum. It could ignite sectarian warfare akin to what unfolded in Iraq after the 2003 US invasion, and destabilize fragile neighbors like Iraq, Afghanistan, and even Turkey. Moreover, Iran’s alliances with Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and various Shia militias across Iraq and Syria mean that a collapse in Tehran could trigger cascading violence across the Middle East. Global oil markets, already rattled, could see disruptions on a historic scale.

Yet, both experts maintain that such an outcome is unlikely. “Regime change is more likely in Israel and across Europe than anywhere near Iran,” Marandi said. “These Western governments failed with Russia, failed with China, and they’ll fail with Iran too.” Ibrahim agrees: “It is impossible to make regime change in Iran by force. The Iran-Iraq war was designed to do exactly that – to overthrow the Islamic Republic established by Ayatollah Khomeini. But after eight years of war, billions of dollars, and support from the US, France, and Gulf states, Iran survived – and emerged stronger. The only way to change the regime is through the Iranian people. And right now, the Iranian people are standing with their leaders. They believe they are fighting the Satan – the US, the bigger Satan, and Israel, the smaller one. And that gives them unity and strength.”

As Israel continues its campaign and the international community watches nervously, the implications of the current conflict are far from limited to the Middle East. “This war,” Ibrahim concluded, “will be the starting point of reshaping the world. If Iran wins – and I believe it will, eventually – the world will shift to a multipolar order. That is the shared vision of Iran, Russia, and China. But if Iran loses, we will all live under an American empire. The White House will rule from Washington to Beijing. This is a decisive battle – not just for Iran, but for the destiny of the world.” As missiles fly and rhetoric intensifies, what began as a regional standoff may ultimately determine the balance of power in the 21st century.

What is she thinking now?

• ‘I Don’t Care What She Said’ – Trump Dismisses Tulsi Gabbard’s Iran Claims (RT)

US President Donald Trump has said he believes that Iran was “very close” to obtaining a nuclear weapon, contrary to the assessment of his director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard. In late March, Gabbard said that the US intelligence community “continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has not authorized the nuclear weapons program he suspended in 2003.” When asked about the stance of his spy chief by journalists on Tuesday, Trump replied: “I do not care what she said.”

“I think they [Iran] were very close to having them,” the president stressed, referring to nuclear weapons. Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman who joined the Republican Party during last year’s presidential campaign, was confirmed by the US Senate as the director of national intelligence in February, following heavy scrutiny and a heated debate. During her political career, the former presidential candidate and Iraq War veteran has been a fierce critic of the US intelligence community that she currently leads, and was known for her support for NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.

https://twitter.com/DD_Geopolitics/status/1934943806597509496

https://twitter.com/MonitorX99800/status/1934935767664529561

Tucker’s not alone.

• Trump Calls Tucker Carlson ‘Kooky’ Over Israel-Iran Position (RT)

US President Donald Trump blasted conservative talk show host Tucker Carlson on Monday, calling him “kooky” after the journalist questioned Washington’s support for Israel following its strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. Israel launched attacks on Iran’s uranium enrichment and reactor sites starting last Friday, claiming it was a preemptive move to stop Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Carlson, normally a Trump ally, condemned supporters of West Jerusalem’s military escalation and hosted guests on his program who shared similar views. ”Somebody please explain to kooky Tucker Carlson that, ‘IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON!’” Trump wrote on his social media platform.

On Friday, Carlson denounced “those who casually encourage violence” and urged Trump not to back Israeli military action against Iran. He argued that the fundamental divide today is not between those supporting West Jerusalem and those backing its adversaries, but “between warmongers and peacemakers.” Carlson also discussed the role of Israel in US foreign policy during a recent interview with Columbia University economist Jeffrey Sachs. The host remarked that warnings about Iran being “weeks away” from developing nuclear weapons have circulated for more than two decades. Sachs, a vocal critic of the entrenched unelected bureaucracies in the US known as the “deep state,” argued that Israel was aiming for regime change in Tehran.

Sachs noted that Iran was the final country on a list of seven that the George W. Bush administration had intended to “take out” in five years, beginning with Iraq. The list, as described by retired US Army General Wesley Clark, also included Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia and Sudan. These nations have all been targeted either through direct US military action or covert operations, the economist said, adding that all were perceived as hostile by Israel.

”America has been doing Israel’s bidding for 30 years. Because of the Israel lobby. Because of the concocted idea that this is US security,” Sachs said. He argued that “arrogance in Washington is the first point of reference” in foreign interventions, asserting that policymakers “don’t believe this is hard.” In a separate interview Monday with former Trump strategist Steve Bannon, Carlson raised concerns that Middle East hostilities could “blow up” the so-called MAGA coalition which fueled Trump’s political resurgence in the 2024 election cycle. Bannon warned that “the American people are 90% against forever wars,” and said Trump faces a crucial battle against the deep state if he is to advance his agenda.

“..what we don’t know is, have they been brought to their knees fully so that they realize that in order to have a country, they have to talk?”

• White House Seeks Meeting With Iran’s Foreign Minister As Iran Eases Strikes (ZH)

As tensions soar and Americans anxiously contemplate the possibility of yet another major US war in the Middle East, the Trump administration has been in contact with the Iranian government, discussing a possible meeting this week between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US envoy Steve Witkoff, Axios reports, citing “four sources briefed on the issue.” The outlet also says Trump officials reassured Middle East allies that the administration doesn’t plan to join the war unless Americans are targeted — a clear red line that incentivizes Israel to find a way to drag Iran across it, or to fabricate an incident altogether, much as Israel did in 1954’s famed “Lavon Affair.” An Arab diplomat in deep contact with Iran says the red line is already very much in mind in Tehran: “The Iranians are very careful so far not to do anything that can push the U.S. to get involved.”

Following those reports, Iran over Monday night pared back the pace of its heavy bombardment of Israel, after consecutive nights of deadly, damaging strikes demonstrating the power of Iran’s hypersonic missiles. In a new twist, however, Iran hit Israel with a daylight barrage on Tuesday morning — albeit one that was reportedly modest in volume, perhaps only 20 missiles. Of course, there’s nothing modest about it if you happen to be in one of the impact areas:

https://twitter.com/Karmabash/status/1934870313160069243?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1934870313160069243%7Ctwgr%5E8b87cee7a94a384916758167eb5a7a5f915a2763%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fgeopolitical%2Fwhite-house-seeks-meeting-irans-foreign-minister-iran-eases-punishing-strikes-axios

Earlier on Monday, Israel struck various targets in Iran, including the state-run television network IRIB in mid-broadcast (though it quickly resumed broadcasting with the same host). The IDF also claimed it killed a highly senior Iranian general who himself succeeded another general assassinated in Israel’s opening of the war. The Axios reports come in stark contrast to a stream of bellicose rhetoric emanating from Trump, along with potentially ominous moves of US military assets. On Monday, Trump used social media to say that “everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!” Also yesterday, Fox News reported that the USS Nimitz-led aircraft carrier group was steaming toward the Middle East from the South China Sea, where it will join the already on-station USS Carl Vinson strike group. At the same time, a large number of military refueling aircraft were being deployed to Europe.

Even if the reports of US diplomatic outreach are true, from Iran’s perspective, little or nothing the Trump administration says can be trusted, and even ostensibly peaceful overtures must be evaluated as a potential tactic to set up a surprise US strike. After all, Israel’s initiation of a war on Iran came two days before American and Iranian delegations were scheduled to meet in Oman for a sixth round of discussions pursuant to a new deal about Iran’s nuclear program. Since Israel’s attack, Trump has repeatedly stated that he knew about it in advance, saying for example that “We were well-informed about everything,” and “I always knew the date.”

Here’s what one official told Axios about the pursuit of a new meeting: “A meeting with the Iranians this week is under consideration…They do want to talk. But what we don’t know is, have they been brought to their knees fully so that they realize that in order to have a country, they have to talk? And assuming they get there, is there any degree of [uranium] enrichment you would allow them to have?”

The suggestion that Iran is anywhere close to being “on its knees” seems fanciful, considering Iran has launched multiple missile barrages, the effects of which have significantly exceeded expectations. Two dozen Israelis have been killed and at least 400 injured, with the country also enduring major hits to government buildings, apartment towers and power plants. The starring role in those barrages has been played by Iran’s highly advanced hypersonic missiles — a weapon that neither Israel nor even the United States has in its arsenal:

Another video of an Iranian Hypersonic missile hitting Israel.

These missiles cannot be stopped.

By anything. pic.twitter.com/qkbmtRN5UP

— ADAM (@AdameMedia) June 15, 2025

The unnamed official’s rhetorical question about whether there’s “any amount of enrichment” the US would allow may offer a glimmer of hope for an end to the Israel-initiated war. Iran sees enrichment as a right it possesses as a sovereign state, and has repeatedly said an outright ban on enrichment is completely out of the question. Iran has long been under a religious order, or “fatwa,” forbidding the development of any weapon of mass destruction, and the country has long assured the world that it has no intention of building a nuclear weapon — an assurance the US intelligence community validated in 2007 and has repeatedly re-confirmed since then — most recently, just this March. Meanwhile, anti-Iran hawks have been warning of an imminent Iranian nuclear bomb for more than three decades.

“The Western camp’s attempts to manipulate the global nuclear non-proliferation regime and use it to settle political scores”..”

• Israel Risking ‘Nuclear Catastrophe’ – Moscow (RT)

Israel’s ongoing strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities pose unacceptable threats to international security and risk plunging the world into a catastrophe, Russia’s Foreign Ministry has said. Israel began bombing Iran on Friday, claiming Tehran is nearing the completion of a nuclear bomb. Iran has dismissed the accusations as groundless and retaliated to the Israeli military operation with waves of drone and missile strikes. “The ongoing intensive attacks by the Israeli side on peaceful nuclear facilities in Iran are illegal from the point of view of international law, create unacceptable threats to international security and push the world towards a nuclear catastrophe,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement published on Tuesday.

The conflict’s escalation risks the further destabilization of the entire region, the ministry added, urging the Israeli leadership to “come to its senses and immediately stop raids on nuclear installations.” The harsh reaction to Israel’s attack on Iran from most of the international community illustrates that the Jewish state is only supported by countries acting as its “accomplices,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said. Israel’s backers pressured the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) board to push through last week’s “biased anti-Iranian resolution” on Tehran’s nuclear program, which “gave West Jerusalem a free hand, and led to this tragedy,” according to the ministry.

“The Western camp’s attempts to manipulate the global nuclear non-proliferation regime and use it to settle political scores” are costing the international community dearly, and are “completely unacceptable,” it added. A day before Israel’s attack on Iran, the IAEA’s board declared Tehran to be in breach of its nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT) obligations. Just weeks prior, Reuters reported, citing anonymous diplomats, that the US, UK, France and Germany were preparing to push the UN nuclear watchdog’s board to declare that Iran had broken the NPT. Tehran has repeatedly stressed that its nuclear program is peaceful and accused Israel of using its military operation to “scuttle” Iran’s talks with the US.

“He has no idea why I am now on my way to Washington, but it certainly has nothing to do with a Cease Fire. Much bigger than that..”

• Trump Snubs Zelensky Meeting (RT)

US President Donald Trump has left the G7 summit in Canada early, despite having a scheduled meeting with Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky, the White House has said, citing the recent escalation in the Middle East. White House Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday that the US leader is departing the gathering in Kananaskis, Alberta, “so he can attend to many important matters.” She also wrote on X that Trump “had a great day at the G7,” but “because of what’s going on in the Middle East, [he] will be leaving tonight after dinner with Heads of State.” Zelensky had been scheduled to meet Trump on the sidelines of the summit in what was widely perceived as an opportunity to urge the US to ramp up sanctions against Russia and approve more weapons shipments to Kiev.

Trump, however, has been reluctant to increase pressure on Moscow, with media reports suggesting that he is frustrated with both Ukraine and Russia, and is considering withdrawing from the peace process altogether. French President Emmanuel Macron suggested that Trump’s early departure was linked to ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Iran. “There is indeed an offer to meet and exchange,” Macron said. “The US assured they will find a ceasefire, and since they can pressure Israel, things may change.” Trump, however, pushed back on the claim shortly afterward, rebuking “publicity seeking” Macron for what he saw as disseminating falsehoods. “He has no idea why I am now on my way to Washington, but it certainly has nothing to do with a Cease Fire. Much bigger than that,” he wrote on the Truth Social network.

The recent Middle East escalation kicked off after US–Iran talks on a potential nuclear deal ended up at an impasse. Iran has dismissed a US demand to completely eliminate its uranium enrichment capabilities while not ruling out a potential agreement in itself. Tehran has also insisted it is not seeking to create a nuclear weapon, and that its atomic program is for peaceful purposes only. As the diplomatic process stalled, Israel last week launched several waves of strikes on Iranian nuclear and military sites, killing top commanders and nuclear scientists. Iran retaliated with massive missile strikes on Israel, while the US has backed West Jerusalem’s right to self-defense while reinforcing its assets in the region to protect its long-time ally. Washington, nevertheless, urged Tehran to return to talks.

Russia worries.

• Israel Uninterested In Russian Mediation of Conflict With Iran – Kremlin (RT)

Israel has so far shown no interest in peacefully settling the conflict it initiated with Iran, despite Russia’s offer to mediate a dialogue between the two nations, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said. Commenting on the recent series of mutually devastating strikes between Israel and Iran, Peskov sounded the alarm over what he described as “galloping escalation”. “The situation is continuing to escalate rapidly. The level of unpredictability is absolute,” Peskov told reporters on Tuesday. He emphasized the need for both sides to exercise “maximum restraint” in order to prevent tensions from completely spiraling out of control.

Peskov underscored that Russia stands ready to play its part in facilitating a potential diplomatic solution. “President [Vladimir] Putin said that Russia would be ready to provide such mediation services,” Peskov told reporters on Tuesday. “At present, we see reluctance, at least on the part of Israel, to seek any kind of mediating services or to move onto a peace track.” After Iran-US talks on a potential new nuclear deal ended up at an impasse, Israel last week launched several waves of strikes on Iranian nuclear and military sites, killing top commanders and nuclear scientists. Iran, in turn, retaliated with massive missile strikes on the Jewish state.

In another sign of escalating tensions, US President Donald Trump, a long-time ally of Israel, urged residents of Tehran to flee the city, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to hint that eliminating Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei could be considered an option for ending hostilities. Following the strikes, Putin held separate phone calls with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss options for de-escalation. Later, Trump held a phone call with Putin, which also revolved around the Middle East conflict, saying he was open to his Russian counterpart taking on a mediating

“..a genuine ‘America First’ policy must not obey Israel. Hence, stay out of the war against Iran. Or to be precise, get out of it.”

• MAGA’s Civil War: Who Dares To Take On The Israel Lobby? (Amar)

Steve Bannon – the smart, stubborn, and irrepressible right/far-right public intellectual and once ally as well as chief strategist and bestie of US President Donald Trump – is back in the news. And in a way that speaks to much more than the ups and downs, and ins and outs, of US elite careers. The hill he has chosen to fight on this time is resistance to the US waging another war in the Middle East in the service of Israel and its powerful lobby in America. Bannon, make no mistake, is not taking a de facto stand against Israel because of its apartheid, genocide, and wars of aggression. He ought to, obviously, especially as a man flaunting his Christian belief. (From one sort-of-Roman-Catholic to another, Steve: Our Lord Jesus Christ really didn’t like the child killers, and I am pretty sure he would have found the lingerie-camouflage cross-dressers with machine guns rather off-putting, too.)

But then, if Bannon had principled moral objections here, he would not be Steve Bannon, a very conservative American, who will probably never shake off deeply ingrained mental habits of violence and racism.nBut from Trump’s perspective – and that of the Israeli influence agents surrounding him – Bannon’s line of attack is actually more dangerous than a genuinely moral stance. Because Bannon is positioning American national interest against following Israel’s lead. By declaring that Israel pursues an ‘Israel First’ policy about as egotistically as Berlin’s ‘Germany First’ trip between 1933 and 1945, Bannon has dared to state the obvious: Israel’s interests are not identical with those of the US, and therefore, a genuine ‘America First’ policy must not obey Israel. Hence, stay out of the war against Iran. Or to be precise, get out of it.

And there Bannon is of course right and has the facts and logic on his side, which makes his challenge all the more threatening.mThe background to Bannon’s sally, which as the Financial Times points out, signals a split among Trump’s domestically indispensable MAGA base, is the perfect mess Trump and his team have made over the attack on Iran. Despite their clumsy mixed messaging – really, contradictory lying and boasting – Israel’s unprovoked war of aggression against Iran can obviously only be waged because of massive American support.mIn reality this is already a combined US-Israeli attack, and it makes no difference to this fact that Israel always wants even more, including – as Axios, a network with remarkably easy access to Israeli sources, has reported – open US help in attacking the key Iranian nuclear installations at Fordow.

Never mind, by the way, that deliberately striking a nuclear facility is as criminal as it gets. It constitutes a clear breach of the Geneva Conventions, as the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Mohamed ElBaradei has recently had to publicly school German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul about. The latter is clearly just as ignorant of his job’s basics as his legendarily inept predecessor Annalena Baerbock used to be. Yet, as Bannon’s intervention shows, the key role the US plays in the assault on Iran has caused noteworthy ripple effects inside America and in particular inside the movement now known as MAGA. Originally the abbreviation was an extremely successful 2016 Trump campaign slogan – inspired by a forerunner used by Ronald Reagan in 1980 – meaning ‘Make America Great Again’.

But as a movement, MAGA has a much longer history. Its influences and ancestors include, for instance, nativism, isolationism, the original America First, and the more recent Tea Party. That’s why it is important to understand that MAGA overlaps with but is not identical with Trumpism, as often assumed. In reality, MAGA is part of an older, powerful tradition that Trump has tapped into with great success. But he is not guaranteed to always be in control of it, as the term ‘Trumpism’ may misleadingly imply.

But not a full ban.

• TV Networks Face Advertising Apocalypse After Pharma Restrictions (ZH)

Last week independent Senators Bernie Sanders (VT) and Angus King (ME) introduced legislation that would ban pharmaceutical companies from promoting prescription drugs directly to consumers – including through television, radio, print, digital platforms, and social media. Today, Bloomberg reports that the Trump administration is now ‘discussing policies that would make it harder and more expensive for pharmaceutical companies to advertise directly to patients.’ Although the US is the only place, besides New Zealand, where pharma companies can directly advertise, banning pharma ads outright could make the administration vulnerable to lawsuits, so it’s instead focusing on cutting down on the practice by adding legal and financial hurdles, according to people familiar with the plans who weren’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

The two policies the administration has focused in on would be to require greater disclosures of side effects of a drug within each ad — likely making broadcast ads much longer and prohibitively expensive — or removing the industry’s ability to deduct direct-to-consumer advertising as a business expense for tax purposes, these people said. If this happens, it would mark a major victory for Health and Human Services Secretary RFK Jr., who says he believes Americans consume more drugs than people in other countries due to the ability of US drug companies to directly advertise to consumers.

While running for president, Mr. Kennedy said he would issue an executive order removing pharmaceutical ads from television, citing overmedication and industry influence on news coverage. As we noted last week, the move would mark a sweeping shift in the U.S. advertising landscape, where pharmaceutical companies are among the largest spenders. Prescription drug brands accounted for roughly 13 percent of all ad spending on linear television in 2025, totaling approximately $2.18 billion so far this year, according to iSpot data. In 2024, the industry spent $3.4 billion on traditional TV ads between January and August alone, according to ad-tracking data.

Since 1997, when the Food and Drug Administration relaxed disclosure requirements for DTC ads, pharmaceutical companies have increasingly leaned on consumer advertising to drive demand. Under current rules, companies need only disclose a drug’s “most important” risks during commercials. The result has been a media environment saturated with pharmaceutical messaging. Drug ads made up 24.4 percent of all advertising minutes on evening news broadcasts across major networks — including ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, and NBC — through May of this year, according iSpot. On CBS Evening News, pharmaceutical companies appeared in more than 70 percent of commercial breaks, per Kantar Media.

A not so slow suicide.

• EU Bosses Back Total Russian Gas Ban (RT)

The European Commission has proposed phasing out all remaining Russian gas imports to the EU by the end of 2027.Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen unveiled the plan which would ban new gas contracts with Russia from 2026 and “full phaseout” a year later, on Tuesday, after it was approved by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The controversial legislation, which is opposed by Hungry, Austria and Slovakia, and reportedly by Italy, is expected to be proposed as trade law that does not require unanimity among bloc members to become law, the Financial Times has reported.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto called the plan “absolute insanity,” warning it could fuel price hikes and undermine national sovereignty. Prime Minister Viktor Orban has vowed to block the move. ”Today, we have decided to close the tap on Russian gas,” Jorgensen said in Strasbourg, “because the less energy we import from Russia, the more security and independence we will have in Europe.” Jorgensen told reporters the phaseout was not linked to the Ukraine conflict but rather because “Russia has weaponized energy” against the EU. He added: “Irrespectively of whether there is a peace or not … this ban will still stand.”

The proposed regulation will now move through the EU’s co-decision legislative process, requiring approval from both the European Parliament and the Council. Unlike sanctions, the proposal would not need unanimous backing from all member states – only a qualified majority in the Council, the Commission said, noting it would continue “working closely” with governments most affected by the planned phaseout.A reinforced majority means having the support of at least 15 of the EU’s 27 member countries, representing at least 65% of the EU’s population, according to Reuters. “Nobody will be able to veto [the proposal],” Jorgensen said, as quoted by media outlets. He warned that those who do not implement the measures would face “legal consequences as for any other EU legislation.”

While pipeline flows have dropped sharply since 2022, EU imports of Russian LNG have soared. Russia supplied 17.5% of the bloc’s LNG in 2024, trailing only the US at 45.3%, according to industry data. France, Spain, and Belgium accounted for 85% of the EU’s LNG imports from the sanctioned country, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA). Russia maintains that it is still a reliable supplier, while denouncing Western sanctions and trade restrictions targeting its exports as illegal under international law. The country has successfully shifted exports to ‘friendly’ markets, it added.

Suicide is not Trump’s thing.

• Russia Sanctions Would Cost Us ‘Billions’ – Trump (RT)

US President Donald Trump has said he is not ready to introduce tougher sanctions against Russia despite pressure from allies, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. Trump expressed concern that additional punitive economic measures would cost his country “a lot of money.”The American leader has repeatedly said he is weighing new sanctions on Moscow, but has so far stopped short of adopting any. Speaking with reporters at the G7 summit in Alberta, Canada, he said he first wants to see “whether or not a deal is signed.”v“When I sanction a country that costs the US a lot of money, a tremendous amount of money,” Trump said.

“It’s not just, let’s sign a document – you’re talking about billions and billions of dollars. Sanctions are not that easy. It’s not just a one-way street.”vRepublican Senator Lindsey Graham has advocated massively increasing sanctions in a bill he introduced earlier this year. It includes, among other measures, 500% tariffs on countries that purchase Russian oil and gas, should Moscow refuse to engage in peace negotiations with Ukraine. Graham, who later suggested exceptions for countries that provide military aid to Kiev, described the proposed measures as “bone-breaking” for Russia.

Last week, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that the proposed sanctions could undermine diplomatic efforts, and urged lawmakers to give the Trump administration greater flexibility to negotiate with Moscow and Kiev.Trump told journalists earlier this month that the Senate had prepared “a very strong bill,” and that Washington would “use it if it’s necessary.” However, the president reportedly asked Senate Republicans to delay putting it to a vote. Senator Roger Wicker, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Trump had indicated he was not yet ready to support it.vDuring their latest round of direct negotiations in Istanbul, Russia and Ukraine both put forward proposals to end the conflict. Moscow’s plan would require Kiev to accept the loss of five regions which joined Russia in referendums, pull back its troops from those territories, and adhere to neutrality.

Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky dismissed that plan as an ultimatum and ruled out territorial concessions or neutrality. He also insisted on a full 30-day ceasefire as a precursor to negotiations – a condition which the Kremlin has rejected.vThen President Joe Biden cut most contacts with Moscow in 2022 over the Ukraine conflict and imposed sweeping sanctions on Russian officials and companies. Trump has since criticized Biden for eschewing diplomacy and vowed to negotiate a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. Moscow has welcomed Trump’s initiative, but progress on reaching a settlement has been slow.

Different causes.

• Midair Emergencies Force Four Boeing Dreamliners To Divert India Flights (RT)

Four Boeing 787 Dreamliners on international flights to India have been forced to turn back due to technical issues over the past few days, according to media reports. On Sunday, a Hyderabad-bound Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt returned to the German airport midway through the journey based on a suspected bomb threat, according to sources quoted by the media outlet India Today. Air Traffic Control (ATC) at Hyderabad airport received a message that the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner was returning to Frankfurt after having taken off.nOn Monday, Air India flight AI315 was forced to return to Hong Kong just 15 minutes after taking off, Reuters reported.

The airline confirmed the incident, citing a “technical issue” as the reason for the return, but did not provide further details. The Boeing 787-8 aircraft successfully landed without incident, and alternate arrangements were made for the passengers. Also on Monday, a British Airways flight carrying 214 passengers to Chennai was forced to dump fuel and return to London after the pilots reported a suspected technical issue, Business Insider reported. “The aircraft returned to Heathrow as a standard precaution after reports of a technical issue,” a BA spokesperson told the website, adding that there was no “emergency landing.” nIn a similar incident, passengers on an Air India San Francisco-Mumbai flight were asked to deplane in Kolkata on Tuesday after a snag was detected in the left engine during a scheduled stop, delaying the onward journey by hours, an India Today report said.

These developments come just days after an Air India 787-8 crashed shortly after takeoff in Ahmedabad, killing 290 people. Officials told the Associated Press that early indications suggest the aircraft may not have been correctly configured for takeoff. There have been numerous complaints, whistleblower revelations and concerns regarding the safety of Boeing 787s, according to media reports. In 2019, a New York Times report revealed that John Barnett, a former quality manager who retired in 2017, had filed a whistleblower complaint alleging subpar work on the 787s. In January 2024, another whistleblower alleged that the Dreamliner’s fuselage had improper connections, with gaps that could cause it to break apart in flight.

“More government debt means lower growth, more taxes generate weaker receipts, and more government spending perpetuates inflation..”

• Only Bitcoin, Gold Can Stop Governments from Destroying the Currency (Lacalle)

Allow me to remind you of a few uncomfortable truths. Government spending is out of control in developed nations. Furthermore, no interventionist government wants to cut spending or balance the budget. Government spending empowers politicians, and reducing it means losing the grip on the economy. Interventionist governments aren’t concerned about debts, deficits, or inflation. Inflation is a deliberate policy, and interventionist governments seek to nationalize the economy while imposing total control over productive sectors by issuing continuously devalued currencies. Government spending is printing money. Politicians are happy to promise more free stuff by endlessly spending because they know they won’t pay for it and that it will make citizens and businesses more dependent and submissive to political power. No government can truly reduce debt without cutting spending.

Inflation is evidence of the loss of solvency for the issuer of money. It is a de facto slow default. Inflation serves as a policy that justifies and perpetuates significant government imbalances, shifting the financial burden onto real wages and deposit savings. The fallacy of balancing the budget through higher taxes leads to economic stagnation and more debt. High taxes are not a tool to reduce debt but to justify high indebtedness. Tax receipts are cyclical whereas government expenditures are consolidated and annualised. No interventionist government is going to willingly act to reduce debt and spending because they can always tax more and blame others for their problems. Furthermore, central banks have stopped playing the essential role of curbing fiscal excess to become enablers of rising fiscal imbalances.

Central banks play a crucial role in the fiat world due to the intertwining of monetary and fiscal policy. The system will gradually collapse if central banks do not stop the growth of government fiscal imbalances. However, the independence of central banks is diminishing daily, and their policies tend to conceal excessive government spending and debt. Meanwhile, governments ignore the fact that they have surpassed the three limits of government debt: economic, fiscal, and inflationary. More government debt means lower growth, more taxes generate weaker receipts, and more government spending perpetuates inflation. Now that central banks have stopped being the essential limit to government excess, there are only two alternatives: gold and Bitcoin.

Gold has already overtaken the euro as the second largest asset after the US dollar in global central banks. In a few months, it will be the largest asset. Global central banks have lost confidence in sovereign debt from developed countries as a reserve asset. Thus, developed nations’ long-term bond yields rise above inflation rate expectations. Bitcoin, on the other hand, has shown investors and citizens that a decentralised currency can gradually become a low-volatility reserve asset, a generalised means of payment, and a unit of measurement. As global citizens see Bitcoin as an increasingly viable alternative to fiat money, more are using it to store value and protect themselves against inflation. Investors do not trust developed economies to maintain their solvency. Gold and Bitcoin are now playing the role that central banks have abandoned: reminding governments that they cannot spend and print currency forever. Bitcoin may be a teenager and more volatile, but the powerful message to the world is clear: the years of uncontrolled government spending and printing are over.

Obviously, governments do not like this. And central banks that have stopped being as independent as they should be, like the ECB, are looking to eliminate the risk of independent currencies taking away the monopoly of money by issuing a legally imposed central bank digital currency (CBDC). Interestingly, the U.S. administration is doing the opposite, banning CBDCs and embracing crypto as the next monetary revolution. The ECB is admitting the euro’s enormous loss of utilisation in global transactions and panicking by issuing a surveillance tool disguised as money, the CBDC. The US administration wants to cement the dollar’s reserve status by attracting global investment in crypto. Bitcoin and gold are now playing the essential role that independent central banks should be enforcing. Central banks are unnecessarily dovish and continue to disguise bloated government imbalances. Gold and Bitcoin are essential parts of the answer to the inflationary temptations of governments. The only things that will save us from government excesses are decentralisation and independent money.

Clean.

• Musk Publishes Drug Test Results (RT)

Elon Musk has shared a laboratory drug test showing a negative result for a range of substances. The billionaire took the test in light of a New York Times article from late last month alleging that he had been using drugs in recent years. The drug test, issued by the US Drug Testing Laboratories and posted by Musk to his official X account on Monday with the caption “lol,” showed a negative result for amphetamines, benzodiazepines, opioids, cocaine, and a range of other drugs. The New York Times reported that Musk had been taking a “cocktail of substances,” including LSD, cocaine, ecstasy and psychedelic mushrooms, while serving as an advisor to US President Donald Trump. The outlet also pointed to a similar report by the Wall Street Journal last year, claiming that the billionaire’s drug habits had raised concerns among board members at Tesla and SpaceX.

lol pic.twitter.com/pMe3YfXFxS

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 17, 2025

Citing unnamed individuals familiar with the matter, the NYT also alleged that Musk had used so much ketamine, a powerful anesthetic, that he developed bladder problems. Musk vehemently denied the claims. In a post on X, he insisted that he is “NOT taking drugs” and accused the New York Times of “lying their ass off.” He added that he had already publicly disclosed his limited use of prescription ketamine several years ago, stating that “this is not even news.” “It helps for getting out of dark mental holes, but haven’t taken it since then,” Musk wrote. He has also claimed that anyone accusing him of being on drugs is a “massive liar,” noting that he is “one of the most photographed people on Earth” and is in meetings with a wide array of people every day, suggesting his drug use would have been apparent if it were true.

Trump, who recently had a public falling out with Musk, has also stated that he was unaware of any drug use by his former adviser and doubted that he took anything while in office. “We had a good relationship and I just wish him well,” Trump said.nFollowing the 2018 incident where Musk was seen smoking marijuana on Joe Rogan’s podcast, NASA required SpaceX to implement drug policies and undergo random testing. Musk stated in a separate X post last week that he was tested “randomly for 3 years” after the podcast and that “not the slightest trace of drugs or alcohol was found.”

Not falling for it again. pic.twitter.com/6EbZnNc7Kk

— Dr. Anastasia Maria Loupis (@DrLoupis__) June 16, 2025

https://twitter.com/JackPosobiec/status/1935018161771827632

Hormuz
https://twitter.com/A_M_R_M1/status/1934805393412063259

Repeating the same lie for 30 years. Literally.

Don’t let this psychopath drag humanity into WW3.

pic.twitter.com/O0r2XHoX0N

— sarah (@sahouraxo) June 17, 2025

"We're already at war. This is our war. We're just using Israel as a proxy. The problem for Trump is the war's not going well. We're looking at a situation where Israel is losing this war, and will lose this war, and they desperately need the US to intervene."@RealScottRitter… pic.twitter.com/0n2FFSO2va

— Rachel Blevins (@RachBlevins) June 17, 2025

Goth
https://twitter.com/Rainmaker1973/status/1934966763671974232

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