Good morning everyone. We are now entering week three of the war in Iran.
President Trump has privately acknowledged to his staff that he did not expect Iran to close the Strait of Hormuz. He believed Iran’s government would quickly capitulate. That did not happen. The strait has become a central pressure point in the conflict, global energy markets are reacting, and the war is proving far more complicated than the administration anticipated. At the same time, Trump is increasingly lashing out at the media over coverage he believes is biased.
Meanwhile, investors behind the TikTok deal are paying the U.S. government 10 billion dollars tied to the administration’s role in executing the agreement. Laura Loomer is also facing backlash internationally after being called out in India for posts widely criticized as racist and Islamophobic.
On another note, if you ever want to cancel your subscription please just email me and let me know. Please do not dispute the charge through your bank or card company because it ends up costing the account more than double in fees. If you ever have questions about me, my relationship with my family, or anything else, you can always message me directly. I am always happy to answer.
Today I will spend time digging into several major stories that many people have stopped talking about. That includes the Epstein files, developments in Minnesota, ICE, and much more. These issues are still unfolding and deserve continued attention.
Here’s the news:
- More than two weeks after Donald Trump launched U.S. strikes on Iran that killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, the conflict has expanded into a wider regional war with Iranian retaliation, disruption of oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, rising global energy prices, and growing concern among U.S. officials and allies that the administration lacks a clear strategy or exit plan.
- Donald Trump proceeded with military action against Iran despite warnings from advisers that Tehran could shut the Strait of Hormuz, betting Iran would back down; instead, the waterway has been largely blocked, oil prices have surged, and the conflict has expanded with casualties, economic fallout, and uncertainty over how the war will end.
- U.S. law enforcement officials warn of elevated terrorism risks in the United States amid the war with Iran, following several recent violent incidents and concerns that staffing cuts and departures at the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Department of Justice could weaken the government’s ability to detect and prevent potential attacks.
- Donald Trump claimed Iran could have up to 1,700 “sleeper cells” in the United States, but the White House said there is no credible threat to the U.S. homeland, highlighting conflicting messages from officials as tensions rise during the ongoing war with Iran.
- Donald Trump attacked the media for, what he views as, improper coverage of the war in Iran:
- An Iranian missile strike damaged five U.S. Air Force refueling aircraft at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, according to U.S. officials, marking a direct hit on American military assets in the region amid escalating conflict tied to the war with Iran. This was Trump’s response:
- As the war enters its third week, Donald Trump threatened to strike Iran’s vital oil export hub on Kharg Island if attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz continue; Iran responded defiantly, downplaying damage from U.S. strikes, launching missiles and drones toward the UAE, and warning it could target regional energy infrastructure and U.S. facilities, while disruptions to oil loading in the UAE and uncertainty about the conflict’s duration have caused volatility in global energy markets.
- United States Central Command said U.S. forces carried out a large-scale precision strike on Kharg Island, destroying about 90 Iranian military targets while avoiding oil infrastructure at the strategic terminal that handles most of Iran’s exports, prompting Iran to warn it could retaliate by attacking oil and gas facilities tied to the U.S. and its allies across the region.
- A strike hit a helipad inside the United States Embassy Baghdad compound in Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone, according to Iraqi security officials, marking the latest attack on the facility frequently targeted by Iran-aligned militias amid escalating regional tensions.
- Mohsen Rezaei said the Strait of Hormuz will not reopen unless the United States leaves the Persian Gulf and regional states control the waterway, adding that Iran would only consider ending the war after receiving compensation and security guarantees from Washington.
- An explosion lightly damaged a Jewish school in Amsterdam in what Mayor Femke Halsema called a deliberate attack against the Jewish community; no one was injured, but authorities increased security at Jewish institutions amid rising antisemitic incidents, including recent attacks on synagogues in the Netherlands and Belgium, and broader tensions linked to the ongoing conflict between Israel, the U.S., and Iran.
- Major General Mohsen Rezaei said Iran controls whether the war ends and would only agree to stop fighting if the United States fully compensates Iran for all losses and withdraws from the Persian Gulf, which he framed as a necessary guarantee against future conflict.
- Donald Trump attacked Maggie Haberman in a post, calling her a “sleazebag writer” and saying he may add her and other reporters to his Florida lawsuit against The New York Times, accusing them of publishing false stories about him.
- Rajdeep Sardesai criticized Laura Loomer for remarks about Kamala Harris, Indians, and immigrants, calling them “brazenly racist and Islamophobic” and condemning the comments as offensive toward immigrant and Indian communities.
- According to the New York Times, investors backing a U.S.-controlled version of TikTok — including Oracle, Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi’s MGX — are set to pay a $10 billion fee to the U.S. Treasury for the government’s role in arranging the deal championed by Donald Trump and led by JD Vance, an unusually large government charge tied to resolving national-security concerns over TikTok’s former Chinese parent ByteDance.
- North Korea fired about 10 ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast in a show of force during joint U.S.–South Korea military drills, underscoring rising regional tensions as Pyongyang condemns the exercises, signals defiance toward Washington and Seoul, and links the standoff to broader global instability amid the Middle East war.
- A recruiting pitch by headhunting firm Heidrick & Struggles sought to lure Wall Street bankers to join a new investment team at the United States Department of Defense by promising high salaries, privileged access to senior officials and foreign sovereign investors, and the chance to help deploy up to $200 billion in government-backed investments in strategic industries—an effort tied to the economic and national-security strategy of Donald Trump but criticized by ethics experts as potentially enabling conflicts of interest and corruption.
- According to the Atlantic, Donald Trump’s personal cellphone number has widely circulated among journalists, executives, and political figures, leading to a surge of direct calls to the president that sometimes influence news coverage and even financial markets, while White House officials worry the informal, unscripted conversations—especially during the war with Iran—can create confusion or spread inconsistent messaging.
- Palestinians in Gaza Strip say their humanitarian crisis is being overshadowed by the expanding regional conflict involving Iran, as ceasefire progress between Hamas and Israel stalls, aid deliveries decline, crossings close, and many displaced families continue living in tents or even cemeteries while facing severe shortages of food, water, and medical supplies.
- A large Russian missile and drone barrage struck the Kyiv region, killing at least four people and injuring more than 15 while damaging homes and energy infrastructure, as stalled peace talks and the global focus on the Middle East war raise concerns that Russia may exploit the distraction to intensify its campaign against Ukraine.
- Iranian lawmaker Ebrahim Azizi warned that Ukraine could become a “legitimate and lawful target” after Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv would help the U.S. and Israel counter Iran-designed Shahed drones in the Middle East, escalating rhetoric as the wider regional conflict expands.
- A federal jury in Fort Worth convicted eight people on terrorism charges linked to a 2025 shooting outside the Prairieland ICE detention center, a case pursued by the U.S. Department of Justice after Donald Trump designated antifa a domestic terrorist organization; prosecutors said the defendants were tied to antifa, while defense attorneys argued the protest was not an organized terrorist plot and warned the verdict could have major implications for protest rights.
- The United States has formally intervened at the International Court of Justice to defend Israel against South Africa’s genocide allegations over the Gaza war, arguing that the legal standard for genocide is being misapplied, while countries such as the Netherlands and Iceland have also joined the case, with the Dutch urging scrutiny of whether aid was deliberately withheld from Gaza.
See you soon.
— Aaron
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