For @TIME, an initial stocktaking of the U.S.-Iran MoU whose first test is at sea, whose biggest test is nuclear, and whose parallel track should be engagement between regional states. time.com/article/2026/06/15/…

Not wild about the headline (which implies a bit too much certainty) but here are some thoughts on what Ali Vaez calls “a plastic moment.” bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg53…

Happy 250th America! 🇺🇸🎂 Remember, in the words of Alexis de Tocqueville, if you ever cease to be good, you will cease to be great.

It was great to join @DAaronovitch alongside always brilliant @shashj & @AliVaez on @BBCRadio4's The Briefing Room to discuss the Iran war and prospects for the MoU bbc.com/audio/play/m002yblh

In my latest on Iran Analytica, I explain how diplomacy has become part of the #Iran-US conflict. Tehran believes Washington is using the 60-day MoU window to dismantle its leverage (Hormuz, Lebanon, the nuclear file, Gulf investment) piece by piece, before serious negotiations even begin. The question in Tehran is whether enough leverage will remain to make a settlement worth accepting. irananalytica.org/p/the-war-…

Iran exploring oil sales to Japan, buyers seek longer sanctions waiver - reuters.com/business/energy/…

Iran nuclear and military damage revealed after restricted satellite images released bbc.in/4v9domS

New: Senior U.S. officials feared that Israel intended to assassinate Iran’s top negotiators this spring as the Trump administration pursued a high-stakes deal to end the war there and reopen the Strait of Hormuz 🧵wapo.st/4awyO69

Strait of Hormuz transits increase as US-Iran ceasefire holds ft.trib.al/pT2COsT

My conversation with @SalzburgGlobal’s President and CEO @martinoweiss on the future of US-Iran relations youtube.com/shorts/NYpxzi2pY…

🇺🇸🇮🇷Witkoff and Kushner have been trying to convey to the Iranians that their demand for tolls could blow up a U.S.-Iran deal that would ultimately be far more lucrative for Iran. 🇺🇸🇮🇷"The U.S. message to Iran was 'Think bigger,'" a U.S. official said. 🇺🇸🇮🇷The official claimed the sums Iran could generate from developing and selling oil and other resources freely — if the U.S. lifted all sanctions under a deal — "would be 100 times more valuable to them than using a gangster tactic to try and charge a toll."

NEW: U.S. officials believed that Israel might have been plotting to kill Iran’s top negotiators while Washington was engaged with Tehran in delicate talks this spring to reach an interim peace deal. w/@farnazfassihi nytimes.com/2026/07/02/us/po…

Over 120 Iranian kids were killed by a US missile four months ago. Their identities - and the repression of their relatives in the aftermath of the strike - have been overlooked. Here's our reconstruction of what happened that morning and who was killed: apnews.com/article/iran-scho…

Told @CBSNews: There is an inverse correlation between Iran's ability to secure sanctions relief and its desire to look at the strait as a source of revenue. cbsnews.com/news/us-iran-war…

Told @nytimes: Iran was a dominant military power in the region in 1968 when the international agreements on Hormuz routes were finalized and did not need to use its geography as leverage. nytimes.com/2026/06/30/world…

🔴 An Iranian delegation led by Gharibabadi will travel to Doha to follow up on the implementation of the MOU 🔴 No negotiations with the U.S. are scheduled at any level over the next few days 🔴 The Doha meeting will focus primarily on securing access to Iran’s frozen assets

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that most nations aren’t yet ready to purchase Iranian oil, wary over the potential of the US reimposing sanctions, and that this is an incentive for Tehran to negotiate with Washington. bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

Steve Witkoff  & Jared Kushner are expected to meet with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani and other mediators in Doha on Tuesday, a White House official tells me On Wednesday, delegations from the US & Iran are expected to participate separately in technical talks with mediators from Qatar and Pakistan, the official said. As of now the two sides are not expected to hold direct talks.

Hormuz Scoop: Oman recently delivered a formal proposal to the United States and other Western allies that outlined a plan in which shipping companies would pay service fees to use the strait, according to the Iranian official and a regional diplomat. nytimes.com/2026/06/30/world…

Trump on Iran: The meeting in Doha is going to be perhaps important, perhaps not. We will find out.