On the War Against Iran, the Pentagon Has Said Little

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His comments come after 103 House Democrats backed an unsuccessful bid to halt billions in military aid to Israel
Senator John Fetterman said he would consider leaving the Democratic party it ever became “the anti-Israel party”, as more than 100 House lawmakers backed halting military aid to the Middle Eastern ally over its incursions into Gaza and Lebanon.
The Pennsylvania senator has emerged as one of Israel’s most prominent advocates among Senate Democrats, even as others in the party back away from their traditional support for the country amid accusations that prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government committed genocide in Gaza.
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Fracking billionaire Harold Hamm is co-chair of a non-profit that has aggressively pushed for US energy dominance
Tycoon Harold Hamm is one of the US’s most successful oilmen, the son of Oklahoma sharecroppers who hit it rich as a “wildcatter” and pioneered fracking techniques that drove the shale boom in 2008 that reversed declining US oil production. Donald Trump describes him as a “long time” friend and is said to have called him his “original oil guy” behind closed doors.
The Continental Resources founder has also faced scrutiny from climate advocates and groups and some Democratic lawmakers over his influence on Trump and role in pushing him to go all in on planet-heating fossil fuels and gut climate rules.
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Dena Karari, dual US-Iranian citizen, ‘now safely outside of Iran, and in good condition’, president posts on Truth Social
Donald Trump said Wednesday Iran had agreed to release an American citizen who was “wrongfully detained” since December 2024.
“She is now safely outside of Iran, and in good condition,” Trump wrote on social media, without naming the woman. “The United States of America appreciates this gesture of Goodwill by Iran!”
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Chuck Schumer says Republicans are ‘ignoring the nation’s most urgent national security crisis’ amid US exchange of fire with Iran
Senate Democrats on Tuesday blocked the advancement of a must-pass defense bill in protest of Donald Trump’s resumption of hostilities with Iran.
The hold up of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) comes amid the fiercest exchange in fire between the countries in weeks, which has amplified frustration among Democrats that the US remains involved in the conflict despite the passage last month of a war powers resolution intended to force a ceasefire.
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© Photograph: U.S. Central Command/AP

© Photograph: U.S. Central Command/AP

© Photograph: U.S. Central Command/AP

House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, calls amendment ‘overly broad’ as party grapples with backlash over Israel
Top House Democrats split on Tuesday over a proposal to block aid for Israel’s military, with two of the party’s highest-ranking lawmakers saying they will oppose the effort while the chair of the progressive caucus encouraged his colleagues to back the defunding.
The debate over an amendment introduced by Republican congressman Thomas Massie to halt $3.3bn in aid for Israel – the majority of which would go to its military – comes as Democrats grapple with a rebellion among their voters over the party’s support for the Middle Eastern ally, which has fueled the defeats of a series of congressional incumbents in recent primaries.
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Recent strikes have sent oil prices climbing again, with average gas price per gallon up by $0.70 compared with 2025
Inflation cooled to an annual rate of 3.5% in June as the brief US-Iran ceasefire, which has since ended, brought energy prices down, according to new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The consumer price index (CPI), which measures a basket of goods and services, has been elevated since the start of the war, largely because of higher energy prices. After mostly staying under 3% since mid-2024, CPI reached a three-year high of 4.2% in May – up from 2.4% in February. Month-over-month, CPI fell 0.8% in June, the largest one-month decrease since April 2020.
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Energy prices later stabilise after Trump abandons plan for 20% levy on traffic through strait of Hormuz
Oil and gas prices jumped and expectations of interest rate rises in Europe increased on Tuesday after the US carried out a third night of military strikes against Iran.
However, they later eased back after Donald Trump said he would abandon his proposal for the US to levy a 20% fee on cargo passing through the strait of Hormuz.
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American president says ships will be charged for safe passage through strait in apparent policy reversal
The US has launched its third consecutive night of strikes on Iran hours after Donald Trump said Washington would reinstate a maritime blockade on the country and, in an apparent policy reversal, charge ships for safe passage.
“These strikes will continue imposing a heavy cost on Iranian forces and degrade their ability to attack innocent civilians and commercial shipping in the strait of Hormuz,” the US military’s Central Command said.
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Brent crude rises 5% after US president says 20% toll will be imposed on key trade route to cover ‘safety and security’
Oil prices rose 5% on Monday as Donald Trump reinstated the US blockade of Iranian shipping in the Gulf and will charge other countries to pass through the strait of Hormuz.
As the US and Iran exchanged strikes amid an escalating standoff over the vital trade route, the price of Brent crude climbed to $79.37 a barrel.
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L’armée américaine a indiqué qu’elle avait mené de nouvelles frappes contre l’Iran pour répondre à des attaques attribuées aux forces iraniennes contre des navires commerciaux dans le détroit d’Ormuz.
Le gouvernement iranien a dénoncé les frappes américaines.
Le détroit d’Ormuz serait désormais complètement fermé, selon l’Iran.
L’armée américaine soutient néanmoins qu’il est partiellement ouvert, et que les autorités iraniennes ne le contrôlent pas.
[L'article Escalade militaire entre les États-Unis et l’Iran a d'abord été publié dans InfoBref.]

Republican senator, who died Saturday, had a global reach few could rival and was vital in shaping Trump’s worldview
It was revealing that one of the first tributes to Lindsey Graham, a US senator who died on Saturday aged 71, came from Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s national security minister, a far-right provocateur who recently caused widespread anger by sharing footage of himself taunting bound activists who had been trying to sail to Gaza with aid.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, was not far behind, calling Graham a “great friend of Israel and a cherished friend of mine”, and he was quickly followed by Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who described him as “a true defender of freedom and the values that make our world safer”.
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Strikes and bluster on both sides, with Israel urging on Washington, are endangering the progress made
The cycle’s familiarity should not obscure the gravity of the consequences as the US and Iran return to threats, strikes and a futile search for an exit from war via escalation. On Sunday, Tehran said that it had closed the strait of Hormuz again. The World Food Programme is already feeding 1.5 million fewer people this year owing to the illegal war launched by the US and Israel. Vulnerable countries are suffering most as existing crises are compounded: an extra 2.5 million people in Somalia and 2.3 million in Afghanistan are struggling to meet basic food needs.
Even de-escalation would not fix this humanitarian crisis. The full impact on food production has yet to be felt. The strait was key to global fertiliser exports; as prices soared, many farmers cut back on use. The drying up of remittances from migrant workers in the Gulf hurts Asian as well as African nations.
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