Trump Foreign Policy
June 17, 2026 — Scott Johnson
The text of the Memorandum of Understanding to be signed formally by the United States and Iran has been posted here “as seen by Bloomberg News.” Bloomberg adds: “Iran’s Tasnim news agency cited an unnamed official on Wednesday as saying parts of the text published by Bloomberg are inaccurate. The report did not specify what was different. Bloomberg previously reported that there could be differences in the wording between the
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June 16, 2026 — Scott Johnson
This is the last in my series of posts this morning on the memorandum of understanding the Trump administration has reached with Iran. The administration has not yet entrusted us with a look at it. If it were impressive, it would have been made public. In an appearance on CNN yesterday, Vice President Vance described the memorandum as “a very general document” with specifics of the deal to be worked
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June 16, 2026 — Scott Johnson
This is the second in a series of posts this morning on the memorandum of understanding the Trump administration has reached with Iran. Vice President Vance is out selling it in a mode that recalls the “Always Be Closing” message conveyed by Nick to the desperate real estate salesmen in David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross. In a “you have got to be kidding me” appearance on CNN yesterday, Vance argued
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June 16, 2026 — Scott Johnson
Jack Keane is the retired four-star General, former Vice Chief of Staff of the Army and chairman of the Institute for the Study of War. He is smart and well-informed. He appeared on Sean Hannity’s Fox News show following Vice President Vance’s “always be closing” turn in the previous segments. I think that General Keane has bent over backward to give the administration the benefit of the doubt about the
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June 15, 2026 — Scott Johnson
Vice President Vance has disclosed that that we have closed the deal with Iran by signing it digitally yesterday. The text is to be released later this week when the time is ripe, perhaps “some time after Friday,” as President Trump put it late this morning. Until that time, it might be wise to view this humiliating finale with the cynicism it deserves. It would be cruel to recall that
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June 15, 2026 — Scott Johnson
President Trump has announced the completion of an interim deal with Iran. The deal is reflected in a memorandum of understanding that has yet to be made public by the White House. Perhaps that is because the deal will not be signed until Friday (in Switzerland). Perhaps that is because a wrinkle or two remain to be “ironed out,” as the Wall Street Journal puts it in paragraph six of
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June 14, 2026 — Scott Johnson
Lee Smith has written three books supporting President Trump against his attackers: The Plot Against the President (2019), The Permanent Coup (2020), and Disappearing the President (2024). His most recent book is The China Matrix: The Epic Story of How Donald Trump Shattered a Deadly Pact (2025). Trump himself has praised Smith’s work: “Lee Smith is a great American patriot who has understood, from the very beginning, that the radical
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June 13, 2026 — Scott Johnson
We interrupt this program to report that President Trump has more or less announced peace for our time on Truth Social: “The deal is scheduled to get signed tomorrow.” Below is a screeshot of Trump’s text posted to Truth Social. President Trump is fluent in hyperbole. We will want to take a close like at the terms — the commitments and the mechanisms of enforcement — when they are made
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June 12, 2026 — Scott Johnson
that our attack tonight has been called off. That was President Trump’s big news about our conflict with Iran yesterday. The attack had been advertised by Trump to take place last night. Trump’s announcement put me in mind of the title of Philip Gourevitch’s award-winning book about the slaughter of the Tutsis in Rwanda — We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families (1998).
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June 11, 2026 — John Hinderaker
President Trump says an agreement with the IRGC has been reached “in both concept and great detail,” and has suspended further bombing for the time being: Trump subsequently had a brief call with the New York Post in which he said, “It’s pretty much all wrapped up.” Whether this time is different from the many previous occasions on which the President has said that a deal is very close, remains
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June 11, 2026 — Scott Johnson
The idea of declaring victory and going home is attributed to the late Vermont Senator George Aiken with respect to the Vietnam War in 1966. He didn’t exactly say it or propose it, but the idea lives on. A declaration of victory wouldn’t have been true in 1966 and it wouldn’t be true now. However, might it be close enough for political comfort? Just a few thoughts. Let’s call the
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June 10, 2026 — John Hinderaker
For the second night in a row, US forces are bombing Iran. There aren’t many details: U.S. Central Command said the strikes began at 5:15 p.m. ET “against multiple targets in Iran … in response to Iran’s unwarranted and continued aggression.” A U.S. official told Axios all targets were in southern Iran and included air defense systems, radar systems, and drone command and control units. President Trump has grown impatient
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June 9, 2026 — Scott Johnson
Jesse Watters to the contrary notwithstanding, Israel is not “spying on the United States.” It is not “freelancing in Lebanon.” It is defending itself from attacks by Hezbollah that have depopulated large swaths of northern Israel. The Hezbollah attacks, by the way, violated the purported “ceasefire” negotiated by President Trump. What does Vice President Vance have to say about that? In what has become a characateristically “disappointing” performance, Vance sees
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June 9, 2026 — Scott Johnson
In the early days of Israel’s war on Hamas after 10/7, we frequently relied on the assessments of IDF Lieutenant Colonel (reserve) Jonathan Conricus to understand the state of play. Conricus was the IDF spokesman then. He is now a fellow with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Via X, this is his current assessment of the new status quo — he calls it “the interim score” — following this
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June 8, 2026 — Scott Johnson
As I wrote earlier this morning, I knew it was almost noon in Israel and Amit Segal would be filng his daily dispatch presently. It has now arrived. I see it does not contrast with my own observations, but his are harsher. I thought some readers might appreciate his perspective from Israel. This is a long excerpt of the column he headlines “Israel vs. Iran: Round 3”: * * *
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June 8, 2026 — Scott Johnson
I thought it was difficult to understand the status quo with Iran. Last week I posted General Keane’s assessment here. Suffice it to say that he was dubious about the prospects of a peaceful resolution. John posted Condoleezza Rice’s assessment here. She noticed that Iran’s exertion of control over the Strait of Hormuz constituted a dangling thread. Leaning on Khaled Abu Toameh and Victor Davis Hanson, I posted my own
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June 4, 2026 — Scott Johnson
Jack Keane is the retired four-star General, former Vice Chief of Staff of the Army and chairman of the Institute for the Study of War. He is smart and well-informed. He discusses where we are and whither we are tending in the conflict with Iran. His observations on the status quo help to arbitrate the differences between John and me. He is the guest on the current What the Hell
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