NYTIMES (Matthew Cullen) - Trump Threatens a Middle East Mediator
Also, killings plunge in Baltimore. Here’s the latest at the end of Monday.
AMERICANALMANAC (Melissa Gentry) - Iran's war on American troops started decades ago — and the families still waiting for justice prove it
Federal courts have held Iran liable for killing and maiming U.S. soldiers in Iraq with sophisticated weapons supplied through the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, yet Tehran has never paid a dime, and the families who lost everything say Washington has failed them too. Nearly two decades before the current military confrontation with Iran, a weapon […] The post Iran's war on American troops started decades ago — and the families still waiting for justice prove it appeared first on American Almanac .
Federal courts have held Iran liable for killing and maiming U.S. soldiers in Iraq with sophisticated weapons supplied through the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, yet Tehran has never paid a dime, and the families who lost everything say Washington has failed them too. Nearly two decades before the current military confrontation with Iran, a weapon known as an explosively formed penetrator tore through a U.S. Army armored Humvee on a Baghdad road called Route Pluto. The date was May 3, 2005. Staff Sgt. William Brooks died. Sgt. Robert Bartlett, the driver, survived, barely. Two other soldiers in the vehicle were wounded. The weapon that did it was not a crude roadside bomb cobbled together by insurgents. It was a precision-engineered…Open
AMERICANALMANAC (Sadie Smith) - Kilmeade rips Vance over Israel remarks, compares them to Squad-style rhetoric
Fox News Radio host Brian Kilmeade took sharp aim at Vice President JD Vance on Friday, calling his comments about Israeli government officials "stuff that you would expect extremists, extreme Squad members to say", a striking rebuke from a prominent conservative media voice directed at the sitting vice president. Kilmeade, broadcasting on the "Brian Kilmeade […] The post Kilmeade rips Vance over Israel remarks, compares them to Squad-style rhetoric appeared first on American Almanac .
Fox News Radio host Brian Kilmeade took sharp aim at Vice President JD Vance on Friday, calling his comments about Israeli government officials "stuff that you would expect extremists, extreme Squad members to say", a striking rebuke from a prominent conservative media voice directed at the sitting vice president. Kilmeade, broadcasting on the "Brian Kilmeade Show," played a clip of Vance claiming that people within the Israeli government are working to manipulate American public opinion in order to keep the military campaign going indefinitely. Kilmeade didn't mince words in his response. The exchange highlights a growing fault line on the right over U.S.-Israel policy, and raises questions about whether Vance's framing helps the…Open
NYTIMES (Maggie Haberman and Erika Solomon) - ‘We Love Iraq,’ Trump Tells New Prime Minister in Oval Office Meeting
The meeting comes as President Trump’s administration has been ratcheting up pressure on Baghdad to diminish Iran’s influence in Iraq.
YOUTUBE (Newsmax) - 'WE DON'T NEED TO BE THERE': TRUMP, Iraqi PM announce U.S. withdrawal from Iraq
President Donald Trump and Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi discussed the United States withdrawing from Iraq.
YOUTUBE (The Hill) - Watch live: Trump meets Iraqi prime minister as Iran war intensifies
President Trump will welcome Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi to the White House on Tuesday morning as tensions in the Middle East simmer over renewed strikes between the U.S. and Iran. Al-Zaidi, a political newcomer who took office earlier this year after receiving Trump's backing, has made anti-corruption efforts a centerpiece of his government while seeking to balance Iraq's relationship with both Washington and Tehran. As conflict widens in the region, the White House has pressed Baghdad to rein in Iran-backed militias operating within Iraq. #trump #iraq #middleeast
NYTIMES (Raja Abdulrahim and Falih Hassan) - U.S. Resumes Dollar Transfers to Iraq After Monthslong Suspension
The Trump administration had halted the shipments to Iraq as part of its efforts to pressure the Baghdad government to distance itself from Iran.
NEWSCATS (Diana Zapata) - BAGHDAD LOCKDOWN: Green Zone Sealed as Officials Arrested in Sweeping Corruption Crackdown
Published June 28, 2026 Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone was abruptly locked down as Iraqi authorities launched a sweeping anti-corruption operation, reportedly leading to the arrest of multiple government officials and raising tensions in the [...]
NYTIMES (Raja Abdulrahim and Falih Hassan) - Iraq’s New Leader Faces Resistance Trying to Bring Militias Under State Control
The Trump administration has demanded that Iraqi leaders distance themselves from Iran and rein in Iran-linked militias that are outside of government control.
THEAMERICANCONSERVATIVE (Murtaza Hussein) - The Iraq War’s Disastrous Legacy Rears Its Head
President Bush’s 2003 invasion delivered Iraq to Iranian hands. The post The Iraq War’s Disastrous Legacy Rears Its Head appeared first on The American Conservative .
Foreign Affairs The Iraq War’s Disastrous Legacy Rears Its Head President Bush’s 2003 invasion delivered Iraq to Iranian hands. (Photo by Gilles BASSIGNAC/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images) Last Thursday, President Donald Trump gave a phone call to new Iraqi Prime Minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi to congratulate him on his nomination for the post—a call that came after Trump had publicly opposed former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s bid in objection to the close ties that he enjoyed with Iran. In a Truth Social post following the call, Trump said he wished Zaidi success in forming “a new Government free from…Open