👀 This Week So Far
Quick Catch-Up
🇮🇷🇺🇸 Iran-US: US Central Command says it hits Iranian radar and drone-control sites after an MQ-1 shootdown, while Iran claims retaliation against a US-linked air base.
🇮🇷 Iran: Iranian President Pezeshkian faces resignation reports claiming the IRGC has boxed him out of real decisions, but regime-aligned media and a presidential adviser deny he is quitting.
🇪🇺🇷🇺 EU-Russia: Dmitry Medvedev, Russia's former president and Security Council deputy chair, tells EU citizens their "peaceful sleep is over" after Romania says a Russian drone hit an apartment building and injured 2 people.
🇮🇱🇺🇸 ISRAEL & US
Trump Attacks Bibi (Allegedly)
President Trump reportedly unloaded on Israeli PM Netanyahu after Israel prepared strikes on Beirut, with US officials saying the Lebanon escalation was threatening the Iran deal Trump is trying to land.
According to a "US official," Trump said:
"You're fucking crazy. You'd be in prison if it weren't for me. I'm saving your ass. Everybody hates you now. Everybody hates Israel because of this."
Announcements
Publicly, it was a different story:
Meanwhile, Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir urged Netanyahu to start telling Trump “no.”
Reaction
Beyond the usual genocide accusations, anti-Israel rhetoric, and signs of growing “negotiations fatigue,” what stood out was seeing some apparent Trump supporters asking why Trump seemed to be siding with terrorist groups.
📌 Context. Both Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) are officially designated terrorist organizations.
Perhaps aware of the growing criticism over his handling of the Iran conflict, the White House posted the following:
🎙️ PODCAST
“Next Week” For Real
President Trump recently said that he expects to sign a US-Iran deal to extend the ceasefire and reopen the Strait of Hormuz "over the next week."
Wait, I've heard this one before.
Guys, I’m not kidding when I say I’m getting nervous that I might have to keep writing this plug for another few months…
At this point, I have more confidence in Iran's ability to drag out negotiations than in my ability to come up with new ways to promote this podcast.
Please click below before I start recycling CTAs. 👇🏼
🇷🇺🇺🇦 RUSSIA & UKRAINE
Kyiv Under Fire
Russia hit Kyiv with a large overnight missile-and-drone attack, damaging apartment blocks, a clinic, cars, commercial buildings, and sites near a kindergarten as part of a wider strike across Ukraine. Ukrainian officials said at least 11 people were killed nationwide, including 4 in Kyiv and 5 in Dnipro, with roughly 100 wounded.
Is this what all those warnings to foreign diplomats in Kyiv were about?
What We Know:
Kyiv officials reported damage in several districts, including a partially collapsed 9-story building in Podilskyi where people were feared trapped.
The attack used drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles. Early local reporting said Kyiv took a heavy share of the ballistic fire.
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy had warned hours earlier that intelligence pointed to a possible massive Russian strike, after Moscow publicly threatened new attacks on Kyiv.
🇷🇺 RUSSIA
Putin's War Bill
Russian finance and central bank officials have reportedly warned President Putin that war spending is on an unaffordable path, with current defense outlays risking a dangerously wider budget deficit.
The Fight:
Finance officials want defense cuts or new savings after Russia's deficit hit 5.9 trillion rubles ($81.9 billion) in the first 4 months of 2026.
But Defense officials are resisting cuts and reportedly want more money, with a possible shortfall as high as 3 trillion rubles ($36 billion) this year.
Russia cut its 2026 growth forecast to 0.4%, and its rainy-day reserves are roughly 60% below pre-invasion levels.
💭 Thoughts. But don’t read this as Russia being broke.
The bigger story is that war spending has become deeply embedded in the economy.
After years of war spending, more and more businesses rely on government defense contracts for growth and profits, making it extremely painful to dial spending back.
🇪🇺 European Union
Deport to "Return Hubs"
EU governments and Parliament negotiators agreed on a "return law" that would let member states send people ordered to leave the bloc to "return hubs" in non-EU countries, if those countries sign agreements with the EU or a member state.
What Changes:
The hubs could be transit points or final destinations, and the person would not need a proven connection to that country.
Unaccompanied minors are excluded, but families with children are not automatically exempt.
The package also expands powers to search residences and other premises, allows detention up to 24 months with longer security-risk extensions, toughens entry bans, and creates a European Return Order.
However, the deal still needs formal Council and Parliament approval.
📌 Context. Supporters say it’s about time something was done about the effects of years of largely unchecked immigration. But plenty of them still think these measures don’t go far enough and that more still needs to be done.
