Trump on Richard Nixon:

Nixon spent a lot of time fighting to stay in office because a lot of people got him into trouble, and he got himself into trouble, I guess.

Trump on Obama:

I don't know if he's a good basketball player. I tend to doubt it.

Actually, his favorite sport is golf. But he won't be in the Masters anytime soon.

Trump on President William Taft:

He was a large man. He was very large.

He was our heaviest president. And I have to be careful because I don't want to supersede his record.

And a thing like that would be possible if I allowed it to happen.

For all of you out there watching, keep yourself in good shape.

Trump:

Maybe I should invite Barack Hussein Obama, Joe Biden, with the Bushes—or Bush.

Maybe I should invite some of those people to watch a football game together. Wouldn't that be a nice story?

The press would go wild.

Russia's Medvedev and the Russian delegation paid their respects to Iran's late Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei.

Sami Hamdi | Geopolitical Analyst | The International Interest:
 

JD Vance is in the ascendancy - positioning himself as America First over Israel First.
 
Marco Rubio is staying quiet - he wants Miriam Adelson's money for 2028 & can't afford to be seen clashing with Israel.
 
The 2028 Republican nomination battle between Vance & Rubio will essentially be America First versus Israel First.
 
Vance is betting he can win by challenging Israel. Rubio is betting no president has ever won after doing so - and doesn't want to be the first.
 
Laura Loomer & Mark Levin backed Trump because he was the closest to Israel. The moment Trump forced a Gaza ceasefire & paused Iran war, they turned on him.

FULL INTERVIEW

Saudi Arabia's Deputy Foreign Minister and the Saudi delegation paid their respects to Iran's late Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei.

Sami Hamdi | Geopolitical Analyst | The International Interest:
 

People assume today's world order has always existed. It hasn't. Just 100 years ago, most of the world was colonized by six powers.
 
Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Vietnam, Indonesia - were all colonized. None are colonized today.
 
This is not because the colonial powers became militarily inferior, but because injustice naturally doesn't survive. It collapses.
 
Chaos means the oppressor no longer has the power to fully subjugate the oppressed - and a wrestling match has begun.
 
The US has only been a true hegemon for 30 years - from Soviet collapse in 1990 to roughly 2020.
 
Now, with the rise of China, that hegemony is already eroding. 30 years. That's all it was.

FULL INTERVIEW

Sami Hamdi | Geopolitical Analyst | The International Interest:
  

The EU recognizes Türkiye's value - but wants it as a security guard, not an equal member. A gatekeeper against Russia & the East.
 
That's why customs union negotiations stall. That's why, when Syrian refugees arrived, Europe said: keep them in Türkiye, here's money.
 
The Islamophobia dimension is real. When Syria was liberated from Assad, the German FM requested assurances there would be no Islamic identity in politics.
 
The same bogeyman was used against Bosnia - Izetbegovic was repeatedly accused of building an Islamic jihadist state. It wasn't true, but it kept Europe from supporting the Bosnians.
 
The same bogeyman works in Paris & Berlin today: let Türkiye in and 90 million Muslims overnight become free to move across Europe.

FULL INTERVIEW

Sami Hamdi | Geopolitical Analyst | The International Interest:
 

Palestine has a long history of Muslims, Jews, and Christians living side by side. Zionism ruined it by expelling Muslims & Christians.

Today, Israel operates as an apartheid state, mirroring America's Jim Crow laws with segregated infrastructure.

Israel's greatest fear is not a military conquest of Tel Aviv. Its greatest fear is equality of all Palestinians.

If forced into a one-state solution with equal voting rights, the apartheid system would collapse. Israel lacks the demographic numbers to maintain control.

A one-state solution means coexistence. And going back to a time where everybody lives together side by side is exactly what Israel fears.

FULL INTERVIEW

WATCH: Iran’s Ghalibaf cries during the farewell ceremony of late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Sami Hamdi | Geopolitical Analyst | The International Interest:
 

Iran has emerged stronger by exposing the limitations of US power that are now driving a schism between the US and Israel.

Its regional proxies, like Hezbollah and the Houthis, have been preserved.
Gulf states that once hoped the US and Israel would defeat Iran are now quietly going to Tehran to negotiate their own safety.

Iran has proved it can squeeze the global economy through the Strait of Hormuz, even without weaponizing the Houthis in Bab-el-Mandeb.

The next challenge is turning this geopolitical power into lifted sanctions, unfrozen funds, and economic reconstruction.

It remains unclear if Iran can actually secure these economic victories in negotiations with the US.

FULL INTERVIEW

NEW: Houthis say they forced Saudi warplanes out of Yemeni airspace after they tried to stop an Iranian civilian aircraft from landing in Sana'a.

They warn that future Saudi actions will be met with attacks on Saudi airports and other vital targets.

Sami Hamdi | Geopolitical Analyst | The International Interest:
 

Iran demanded Lebanon be included in the ceasefire to protect Hezbollah. Israel, conversely, wants Hezbollah destroyed.

The Gulf states share Israel's goal. They fear that if Iran successfully protects Hezbollah, it will embolden pro-Iran militias in Iraq and Yemen to attack the Gulf.

This dynamic explains why the Lebanese government signed an agreement without a guaranteed Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon.

If Israel withdraws & Hezbollah retakes control, it proves Iran successfully defends its allies against imperialism while other Arab states facilitate it. This optic is disastrous for the Gulf.

Ultimately, both Israel and the Gulf states oppose the current MOU because it grants concessions to Iran and risks further Iranian expansion.

Even a proposal for Turkish peacekeepers in southern Lebanon was firmly rejected by Israel and the Gulf, out of fear that Turkish forces would never leave.

FULL INTERVIEW

UK Archives Unearth Lost US Declaration of Independence After 250 Years

Seized by the Royal Navy from an American privateer off the coast of Spain, the 1776 copy of the document lay hidden in naval intelligence files until this May.

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Egypt is set to inaugurate the Octagon, its new centralized defense ministry headquarters.

▪️Spans 22,000 acres in the New Administrative Capital
▪️Features 8 octagonal military structures
▪️Hosts a closed cyber network

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NATO Ankara Draft Affirms Defense Pact

A draft NATO summit declaration approved by all 32 members affirms an ironclad commitment to collective defense and outlines an $80 billion military aid package for Ukraine in 2026 and 2027.

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Netanyahu spoke with Trump and they agreed to meet soon in the United States.

Source: Axios

Iran Pursues Oil Sales to Japan Under US Sanctions Waiver

Tehran launched initial negotiations with Japanese firms to revive crude oil exports under a temporary 60-day U.S. sanctions waiver, though buyers are demanding extended legal guarantees.

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France weighs a strategic reset with Türkiye amid a changing European security landscape.

▪️Paris sees Ankara as a vital security pillar.
▪️Defense ties grow after French-German project collapse.
▪️Geopolitical interests converge on Russia and Levant.

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Tusk Warns Ukraine Must Reconcile with History to Secure EU Membership

Polish PM revealed that Kyiv is actively attempting to defuse a severe diplomatic crisis and warned that Ukraine must reconcile with its World War II history before entering EU.

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