🚨 Did Trump Just Save Netanyahu — or Set Him Up? – June 23 2025

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Lead: Symbolic Strike or Strategic Bluff? U.S. Hits Iran, Fallout Absent

AI-generated image (ChatGPT/OpenAI) 

The U.S. celebrated its strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities as a great success but that has been hard to corroborate.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed that the three sites were hit and “assessed that there has been extensive damage” at the sites but this was “based on an analysis of the information available to it,” not imagery or visits.

The IAEA did say that it was in contact with the Iranian regulatory authorities and was informed that there is no nuclear fallout – a critical detail.

This suggests one of two things:

1. There was no weapons-grade material present;
2. The U.S. deliberately avoided striking actual nuclear material.

If either is true, then this wasn’t a strategic dismantling of a nuclear weapons program. It was a symbolic strike, carefully designed to send a message — but to whom?

Political scientist Gilbert Doctorow says that the strikes were “political theater.” He says it doesn’t matter what was demolished.

“By saying that he has essentially deprived Benjamin Netanyahu of all justification to continue the war against Iran and spared the United States any obligation to otherwise intervene in the conflict. Meanwhile, the longer Netanyahu continues attacks on Iran, the more devastating the Iranian counter-strikes are becoming, to the point where critical Israeli infrastructure is being degraded and the viability of the economy is being put into question. The question now is what will come first: the utter destruction of Israel or the removal of Netanyahu from office and his incarceration.”

Could this have been President Trump’s game all along?

Iran has condemned the attack obviously. Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi called the attack a “grave violation of the UN Charter” that “will have everlasting consequences.” He declared that “Iran reserves all options to defend its sovereignty, interest, and people.”

The United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting and UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the attacks as “a dangerous escalation.”

The Iranian U.N. representative said that the U.S. has “destroyed diplomacy” and “sacrificed its safety to save Netanyahu.”

Following these accusations, President Trump called for regime change in Iran.

That’s a jarring turn — especially in light of his own speech just last month in Saudi Arabia, where he said this:

“In the end, the so-called nation builders wrecked far more nations than they built. And the interventionists were intervening in complex societies that they did not even understand themselves. Peace, prosperity, and progress ultimately came NOT from a radical rejection of your heritage, but rather from embracing your national traditions and embracing that same heritage that you love so dearly.”

What happened to that sentiment?

Iran Just Voted to Choke the World’s Oil

Photo credit: FreeWorldMaps.com

Iran’s parliament has voted to close the Strait of Hormuz — but the move won’t take effect unless it’s approved by Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.

If enacted, the consequences would be massive: nearly 20% of global oil trade flows through this narrow waterway. Even the threat of closure has already pushed oil prices higher, with markets bracing for turbulence.

So what happens if Iran follows through?

• Oil prices could skyrocket to $100–150 per barrel.
• Gas prices would climb, potentially past $4/gallon in the U.S.
• Shipping costs surge as tankers reroute and insurance premiums spike.
• Inflation rebounds, especially in energy-dependent economies.
• Supply chains slow down — everything from food to fuel gets more expensive.

For a global economy already under strain, this kind of shock could tip fragile markets into recession. Remember the last time a war tanked the global economy? You don’t have to reach back too far, it was in 2022 over the Russia/Ukraine conflict.

The U.S. and its allies could see this closure as an escalation and respond militarily. Let’s hope they don’t. The U.S. military publication, Stars and Stripes, reports that the “shipping industry was placed on high alert on Sunday with warnings that Tehran could retaliate against commercial vessels following after U.S. airstrikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities.”

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Zelensky Dropped as NATO Shifts Focus to Middle East Crisis

Photo credit: Carnegie Endowment

An upcoming NATO summit has been shortened — and poor President Zelensky has reportedly been dropped from the agenda.

NATO’s World Forum in The Hague was set to kick off Tuesday with a lavish welcome dinner at the Dutch royal family’s castle, followed by high-level meetings between alliance leaders. But in the wake of the escalating conflict with Iran, the event has been scaled back — and Zelensky’s invitation has been quietly rescinded. He may still be welcome at the dinner though.

Remember when Zelensky was the must-have guest at every global ceremony? Now his war has been pushed to the back burner.

Where NATO once stood united against Russia, it now finds itself fractured over the war in the Middle East. Several member states have condemned Israel’s ongoing attacks on Gaza. Will they fall in line behind the U.S. again — this time to back Israel?

I’d love to be a fly on that wall!

Meanwhile, Zelensky is desperate to get the spotlight back. Over the weekend, he threatened Russia with long-range weapons and claimed his “Western backers” were on board.

My dude — your Western backers are starting to forget you exist.

News By The Numbers

Photo credit: Veterans Against the War

87. That is the age of an Army and Air Force veteran who was arrested protesting outside the U.S. Capitol the night before Army parade for crossing a police barrier on his walker. He was there to protest cuts at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

14. That is how many prisoners were released in Belarus at the request of President Trump.

314. That is how many UK politicians in the House of Commons voted to legalize The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. It now heads to the House of Lords.

Glass Bottles: The Latest Thing That’s Trying to Kill You

Photo credit: AI-generated image (ChatGPT/OpenAI) 

You’re used to hearing that plastic bottles are full of microplastics, I get it. Well, a new study is here to tell us that glass bottles are worse!

Researchers tested various beverage containers and found that glass bottles shed between 5 and 50 times more microplastics than plastic or metal ones.

They blame it on the caps, especially the paint or lining inside them, which flakes off and contaminates the drink.

I give up!

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