By Anthony Blair NYP June 28, 2026
Iranian Airborne Cruise Missile (By Tasnim News Agency, CC BY 4.0, Wikipedia)
Iran has “no choice” but to develop a nuclear bomb, a media outlet linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said — the latest threat to the peace deal.
Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger | “Second Thought: a US-Israel Initiative” | June 28, 2026
Iran’s then Supreme Leader, the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, prepares to award a medal to the late General Amir Ali Hajizadeh (L), then commander of the Aerospace Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), in the presence of the senior IRGC leadership, in Tehran on October 6, 2024. (Image source: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader)
*A regime that merely changes tactics under pressure – and is not forced into foundational restructuring – is not reformed, but temporarily constrained. A durable reform away from the Ayatollah’s Islamic Republic requires more than a leadership turnover.
Peloni: This is a very important article, and it is very revealing to the truth behind the deep disconnect which exists between Trump’s description of Iran’s “non radical” leadership and its unmistakably radical behavior, which has never even paused. Iran is not deterred. They are not beaten. And they are not begging for a deal. Instead, they feel that they are in control, and that the US is being defeated. In fact, the Iranians are reading from the same script which Trump keeps referencing, where Iran is diminished and cooperating because they need a way out of their current crisis with America, only the Iranians see America in the position of weakness, frustrated by Iranian resolve, and in need of a way out of its current crisis with Iran. Not only has this emboldened the Iranians to act more aggressively, but it has simultaneously reassured them that their ideology, and their steadfast devotion to it, has brought them a great victory in which America is caving to Iran. Instead of praising the Iranian leadership as being smart, non-radical, and cooperative, Trump should use these ceasefire violations to eliminate Vahidi.
By | June 27, 202
Ahmad Vahidi. Photo by Tasnim News Agency, CC BY 4.0, Wikipedia
And their next objective, after their smashing success against Trump, is this: “We now need to make the Americans understand that Israel is the evil force in the Middle East. That is our goal.”
Peloni: Like trying to train a rabid dog to sit, the MOU has always been destined to fail.
Tehran claims sovereignty over Hormuz, threatens ships using unauthorized routes
U.S. forces and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) continue to trade blows and accusations of ceasefire violations over the weekend, as transit through the Strait of Hormuz remains a sticking point.
Peloni: US Strikes respond to continued Iranian agression with Trump asserting that “There may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable, and will be forced to militarily complete the job that we very successfully started. ” See Trump’s Truth Social Post Below Fox News Report below.
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Peloni: Security cameras to replace the presence of an armed force in a secured buffer zone. I am old enough to recall the failures of such technical safeguards on October 7. Am I the only one who sees a problem with what does appear to be the manner in which the campaign in Lebanon will be rendered the latest rendition of mowing the grass in Lebanon?
CAMERAS AND DEEP SURVEILLANCE ARE THE KEY
Jafaj.net | June 27, 2026
Photo by Matthew Henry on Unsplash
Summary: A senior Lebanese official with close connections to the Lebanese Prime Minister’s Office has told JAFAJ that Israeli withdrawals from Shiite villages and towns in southern Lebanon will take place under the recently signed Israel-Lebanon peace framework, but only under an extensive and highly advanced surveillance system. According to the source, cameras and other surveillance equipment will be installed throughout southern Lebanon, including Hezbollah strongholds and other sensitive areas such as the southern district of Beirut. The source said this was one of Israel’s key conditions and that implementation will be overseen through the U.S.-backed Military Coordination Group for Lebanon.
Peloni: Netanyahu describes a radical shift in his political strategy going forward, from leading a Right wing govt to heading a broad national govt. The question remains, however, if there is any more appetite today for a broad national govt in support of Netanyahu today than there has been over the past many years. The political freedom of such a possibility would be vital to his political future, but the question remains how Bibi will gain support from any of the anti-Bibi factions.
Full Engish text for the Q&A is provided below. Topics discussed:
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Translation of the Q & A session:
Peloni: Hezbollah’s show of force in the streets of Beirut threatens Lebanon’s Prime Minister from the streets of his own capital. It would be a mistake to believe that these threats are not material in nature, or that their effect will not have the desired effect of reminding both the Lebanese people and the Lebanese govt of the power which Hezbollah commands in Lebanon. Only by eliminating their masters in Tehran will this Iranian organization cease to form a basis of control in Lebanon and a consistent threat to Israel.
BREAKING: Complete chaos on the streets of Beirut, as Iran-backed terrorists riot in the streets.
Notice how they wave Hezbollah and Islamic Republic flags.
Zero Lebanese flags can be seen. pic.twitter.com/E1IYQgPTZI
— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) June 27, 2026
Peloni: Khaled Hassan, Egyptian-British national security and geopolitics expert, provides some honest truths which would be best understood by Trump and his team.
“US response is actually very limited and if you ask me I would probably say it’s pathetic to be honest”
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Peloni: In recognition of the advantages which were abandoned by Trump’s preference for Peace thru Negotiation, the simple reality is that this gambit can only end in Trump entirely surrendering to Iran, or the resumption of the war which was the only basis of advantage which Trump ever had with the Iranians.
The new US-Iran memorandum offers Tehran sweeping concessions, but raises questions about whether Washington is relinquishing its leverage before securing meaningful restrictions
Janatan Sayeh
Excerpt
Pres. Donald Trump. Photo by The White House from Washington, DC – President Trump Travels to NC, Public Domain, Wikipedia
The odds had never been worse for the Islamic Republic than in early June 2026. Its missile infrastructure had been devastated, senior military leaders killed, nuclear facilities bombed, the repression apparatus weakened, oil exports reduced to zero, and inflation driven to its highest level since World War II. Through military action, the maximum pressure campaign, and a naval blockade, US President Donald Trump had assembled the strongest leverage ever brought to bear against Tehran.
Peloni: A truly great loss, Rael Isaac’s pro-Israel commentaries over the years served as the staple of wisdom and acuity, and they still serves as a significant guide of truth in a world once again marked by increasing fantasies of Jew Hatred. May her Memory Be a Blessing, as was her life’s work.
Remembering A Founder of Americans For a Safe Israel.
Moshe Phillips | TheJ.ca | June 25, 2026
Rael Jean Isaac. Screengrab via Youtube
Social scientist and pro-Israel author Rael Jean Isaac passed away in New York this week at the age of 93.
Peloni: Disarming a terrorist organization by an state armed force which has been complicit in protecting that terrorist organization for decades seems to be something of a forced comedy routine. Yet when it is linked to the hand over of lands which have been seized as part of a security operation to protect Israel’s Northern communities, this comedy routine becomes rather a dangerous undertaking. The LAF, UNIFIL and the Lebanese govt, have all acted to shield Hezbollah over the years, with the LAF and the Lebanese govt most recently claiming that they had disarmed Hezbollah as recently as this past January. Yet, we should believe the sincerity of this too often played charade which is openly tied to the US linkage of preserving Hezbollah so as to satisfy the demands of their Iranian partners to keep the masquerade of negotiations over the summer from going bust. Forgive me if I raise an objection to the credulity of any of this. As was seen in Oslo, forcing terrorists and their associates into binding agreements does not bring peace. As Hezbollah’s associates, the LAF can not be trusted to disarm Hezbollah in earnest, and turning over one pot hole to the LAF only assures Hezbollah that they can and will return to arm and occupy that pot hole at their own discretion. The LAF can’t disarm Hezbollah, the internation community won’t disarm Hezbollah, and Israel is religiously prevented from any attempt to react to these realities by meaningless agreements as staged as the photo below for public consumption to pretend that the lipstic rather than the pig is what we are being asked to marry.
By Pamela Geller |
Signing of a framework agreement at the State Department. From left: Israel’s Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter, counselor Dan Holler, and Lebanon’s Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and others standing behind them. Friday, June 26, 2026, in Washington.Screengrab via Youtube
Israel, Lebanon, and the United States have signed a framework agreement that begins a limited, conditions-based Israeli withdrawal from parts of southern Lebanon—but only after the IDF has destroyed Hezbollah’s terror infrastructure.
Peloni: Daniel Greenfield perfectly describes price of paying Iran’s price. The circular reality of Trump’s impossible deal explains why it isn’t working and why it never can work.
Iran only has one card to play and it’s not going to stop.
by
Via Memri.org
Iran only has one card to play and that’s shutting down the Strait of Hormuz. So it’ll never stop doing it.
Peloni: Such celebrations and pronouncements as being made by Bibi and Katz should be held until at least the first evidence supporting these grand conclusions can be reported. Recall we have been here before.
UPDATE: Katz hails Lebanon deal as ‘strategic blow to Iranian axis
Peloni: It appears that this is the season to sign agreements which describe how to work on actually substantive agreements and frame all of it as victory. Remember to look behind the lipstick.
PM Netanyahu
PM Netanyahu statement following the signing of a framework between Israel and Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah. Screengrab via X
“Citizens of Israel, before the Sabbath begins, I want to share with you a major achievement for the State of Israel.
As you know, we have been conducting negotiations in Washington between representatives of Israel, Lebanon, and the United States. It has been a lengthy negotiation, and today it has borne fruit.
Peloni: One point must be made clear while playing witness to this ongoing back and forth drone diplomacy. The only benefit from the American perspective which Trump’s MOU was intended to achieve from the outset was that the Strait of Hormuz was to be open. It is notable that Trump was playing this game of dialogue amid drone attacks before the MOU was signed, and yet, 10 days later, the Strait is still being managed and controlled by Iran, who has only been emboldened by the MOU to now eliminate even Oman’s role in overseeing this essential waterway, all while untold number of vessels still remain held like prisoners in the Persian Gulf by Iran. Vance’s remarks about violence will be met with violence can only be useful if the response is both significant and painful. The minimal attacks raised on Iran in response to breaking the terms of Trump’s deal with Iran, ie attacking shipping, deserves a substantive and meaningful response. Iran does not respect Trump’s or Vance’s bluster. Painful attacks on high valued targets inside Iran should be the preferred strategy at this moment.
Update: Iran fires drones at Bahrain
Aircrafts, attached to Carrier Air Wing 9 (CVW9) fly over the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Daniel Kimmelman)
United States military strikes were launched in retaliation against Iran on Friday.
Peloni: A very interesting discussion which raises the question about the motivation behind US funding for Jihadism over the years and whether the motivation for doing so has changed or remains consistent. Dr. David Wurser joins Prof. Francisco Gil-White to discuss the trend of US support for Jihad over the decades. Gil-White seems somewhat dismissive of Wurmser’s explanations about the changing parameters which fueled the support of Jihad stemming from the 1970 during the Cold War to the post Cold War period to today. Wurmser goes on to note that while the motivations US State Department apparatus has changed over the years, it has currently come to a point in which there are currently real advocates whose true interests are explicitly supportive of Jihadism, but that this was previously not the case in previous decades. So, have the motivations for US funding of Jihadism over the years changed, or is this simply a veil to manage reality, as Gil-White suggests?
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Stephen Bryen Weapons & Strategy
Trump announcing strikes on Iran, February 28 2026, Donald J. Trump, Public domain
There are many who think Trump’s about face on Iran, virtually embracing the radical IRGC (now they are linked up to CENTCOM in Doha, Qatar) is a sellout of US and allied forces, not to mention his now frequent denunciations of Benjamin Netanyahu (and by Vice President Vance who also is the sponsor of the IRGC-CENTCOM hook up). Embracing dictators and spurning those who are fighting for democracy is bad policy and is destabilizing in the long term.
Peloni: Indeed, it is interesting that Israel worked quite closely with the US during the Iran war only to wake up facing the Trump’s wrath on the day afterwards, in which the IRGC is being invited as partners in the deconfliction mechanism which OVERSEES Israel rather than including Washington’s former partner in the war. We have seen some serious shifts in US policies in recent days, but the formal linkage of Lebanon to Iran, and including Iranian oversight to determine US policy on Israel’s activities in Lebanon presents significant support for the conclusion that Washington has switched sides.
The newly established five-nation deconfliction mechanism for Lebanon is a catastrophic strategic betrayal by Washington, a former Israeli intelligence official warned, saying that US President Donald Trump has effectively “switched sides” by handing Iran a diplomatic victory and curtailing Israel’s freedom of action against Hezbollah.
Peloni: Vance’s commentary about Iranian bad behavior would seem to be relevant to the firing of missiles at the shipping lane, which was the only benefit which Vance gained by entering into this gambit with the Iranian terrorist regime. So, where is the military resolve which should be responding to this outrage? While the control of the Strait is being further captured by Iran, the US continues to do nothing to stop it. So of course Iran moved to reinforce their authority in the power vacuum left by US inaction as Iran began its threats and instructions regarding passage thru the Strait. This is simply more evidence of Iran testing the US, without the US following thru on postured warnings. Where is the mentioned ‘Strength’ in Trump’s avowed policy of ‘peace thru strength’. Certainly the Iranians don’t see it, which is why they continue to act as if they can do what they want.
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