Trump:

Our Great National Security Facility and Ballroom is moving along on schedule.

When completed, there will be nothing like it anywhere in the World!

BREAKING: The U.S. and Iran have agreed to halt military strikes and will meet Tuesday in Doha, Qatar, to resolve tensions over the Strait of Hormuz, according to U.S. officials.

The talks, originally intended to focus on Iran's nuclear program, will instead center on ensuring safe commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

Officials also plan to discuss implementing a direct military hotline between the U.S. and Iran to prevent future incidents.

Source: Axios

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri says the U.S.-backed deal with Israel won't be accepted in its current form.

The UK will replace plans for Type 83 destroyers and Type 32 frigates with at least six hybrid "common combat vessels" designed to operate aerial and underwater drones.

The move reflects a shift toward autonomous warfare, with the new ships expected to enter service in the early 2030s.

Source: FT

The Belgium-based Hind Rajab Foundation has filed a complaint with the US Justice Department accusing Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir of overseeing a system of torture, abuse, and killings targeting Palestinians, including US citizens.

The group alleges that under Ben-Gvir's leadership, Israeli prisons became sites of starvation, medical neglect, sexual violence, and other abuses that left at least 46 Palestinians dead between October 2023 and August 2025.

The foundation also argues that Ben-Gvir's policies and public statements reflect genocidal intent toward Palestinians and calls on US authorities to investigate him, prevent him from leaving the country during the probe, and uphold their obligations under the Geneva Conventions.

Prof. John Mearsheimer:

On June 17th, President Trump signs the memorandum of understanding, which is a surrender document. That basically means that the blockade didn't work.

Because if the blockade had worked, he wouldn't have signed a surrender document. He signed it because the blockade didn't work.

So, here we are. We've tried air power. It didn't work. And nobody's talking about going back to that. We tried a blockade or naval power. That didn't work, which again is why we signed the memorandum of understanding.

The third option is land power, and I have not heard anybody make a serious argument that we should put boots on the ground.

Prof. John Mearsheimer:

The Iraq War, Afghanistan, and now Iran.

Anyone who supported those wars should seriously question their judgment.

Prof. John Mearsheimer:

Hawks believe the military is a magic weapon.

The military is a blunt instrument and it doesn't always succeed in achieving the goals that's assigned to it.

But if you listen to a lot of hawks in the United States over time, over the past few decades, they seem to be wildly optimistic about what you can do if you turn the American military loose.

Trump:

Israel says its military destroyed a 200+ meter-long underground Hezbollah tunnel in southern Lebanon.

Obama:

I think it's possible to celebrate the founders and appreciate what they did, as well as look objectively and critically at how their values strayed very far from what they professed.

I think when you understand the complexities of America and the contradictions of America, I don't think it makes you love it less. I think it makes you love it more.

Source: MS NOW

Obama:

It is possible for me to be a great admirer of George Washington and also acknowledge he was a slaveholder. And that does not negate his greatness.

That simply acknowledges that there is a profound, deep flaw in these Founding Fathers, who were also geniuses and gave us these tools.

Which is true of all of us, right? It's true of every president. We're this mixed bag.

We've got contradictions and embody the country's contradictions.

Source: MS NOW

Lukashenko visits China and meets with Xi Jinping.

Syria condemned Israeli incursions and shelling in the southern governorates of Quneitra and Daraa, calling them violations of its sovereignty, international law, the UN Charter, and the 1974 Disengagement Agreement.

The Foreign Ministry said the attacks terrorized civilians, undermined regional stability, and risked further escalation, urging the UN and international community to stop repeated violations and uphold Syria's territorial integrity.

The statement followed Israel's announcement that its forces killed two people in southern Syria after they allegedly entered a self-declared "security zone."

Azerbaijan has urged Israel to reconsider its decision to recognize the 1915 events as "genocide," arguing that the move distorts historical facts and politicizes a complex historical issue.

The Foreign Ministry said the decision undermines reconciliation, deepens regional divisions, and hampers efforts to achieve lasting peace in the South Caucasus, reaffirming Baku's commitment to historical truth, international law, and regional stability.

Putin:

None of the Ukrainian terrorist attacks have any impact whatsoever on the situation at the front. That's the key point.

No matter where they strike our infrastructure, those attacks have absolutely no effect on the battlefield or along the line of contact.

Source: Zarubin

Putin:

If Ukraine is really capturing and liberating more and more territory—if it is truly winning—then Western leaders should simply wait.

If all of that is true, Russia's strategic defeat would supposedly happen on its own.

Source: Zarubin

Putin:

European leaders say they welcome the innovative use of drones.

My immediate question was: does that also include the strike on the student dormitory in Starobilsk?

Do Western leaders welcome that as well? I haven't heard a single word about it.

Source: Zarubin

Putin:

Western leaders talk about the successes of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in liberating territory.

That raises a question: where exactly, and which territories?

I'm not aware of any such cases.

Source: Zarubin

Putin:

There are new proposals. For example, to stop strikes deep inside each other's territory.

It's obvious why that proposal is being made: our retaliatory strikes deep inside Ukraine are far more powerful, more painful, and, frankly, more destructive, causing serious consequences for the "Kyiv regime."

Source: Zarubin

Putin:

Overall, I want to say that these attacks on our civilian infrastructure are not carried out solely to inflict damage on us, although I believe that is also important to the enemy.

They are also intended to fuel an information campaign—or, more accurately, an information operation as part of the broader confrontation with Russia.

Their objective is to create uncertainty among us, undermine confidence in our own strength, and, ideally, divide Russian society.

They also seek to force Russia to suspend the offensive of our troops, even if only temporarily, in order to create conditions for starting negotiations on terms favorable to our opponent.

We will not give them that chance.

Source: Zarubin