President Trump signs the Memorandum of Understanding with Iran at Versailles in France, Jun. 17, 2026. (White House via X)

1. President Trump signed a 14-point memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Islamic Republic of Iran at France’s Palace of Versailles while the Iranian President signed his copy from home. Senior officials will meet in Geneva tomorrow to kick off negotiations on a final deal to be reached in the next 60 days.

• What’s in the deal: Among other points, the MOU requires that the United States, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and their allies permanently terminate military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon. For America’s part, the United States will remove the naval blockade in proportion to Tehran restoring traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Washington will also issue oil waivers upon the MOU’s signing, “make fully available” the regime’s frozen assets upon the MOU’s implementation, and “terminate all types of sanctions” against Iran as part of the final deal. As for Tehran, it will make “its best efforts” to allow for commercial vessels’ toll-free safe passage for 60 days. Tehran also “reaffirms” it will not procure or develop nuclear weapons. Lastly, someone will be footing the bill for Iran to get “$300 billion for the reconstruction and economic development.”
• What the admin is saying: In the face of criticism about the deal, U.S. officials are claiming the deal is better than it looks, calling it a “gentleman’s agreement” and saying it does not reflect other backchannel efforts. To be clear, this MOU is not supposed to be the final deal. The nuclear terms, including “the disposition of stockpiled enriched material,” remain to be negotiated, and many of the MOU’s points only apply to the 60-day negotiating window. President Trump had also answered criticism that Tehran will not comply by insisting, “If they don’t behave, we’ll go right back to dropping bombs right smack in the middle of their head.” Nonetheless, there is still plenty of room for concern.

The financial angle…

• Ceding leverage too soon: The administration insists any relief will be tied to performance, but sanctions waivers to facilitate Iranian oil sales take effect immediately under Point 10 of the MOU. That means “The MOU could amount to a $25 billion toll payment to Tehran from oil sales, to keep the Strait of Hormuz open through the midterm elections,” cautions FDD’s CEO Mark Dubowitz. The other side of this equation is the estimated $20-50 billion of Iranian oil proceeds in Chinese bank accounts that are inaccessible to the regime due to U.S. secondary sanctions, among other frozen assets.
• Sanctions architecture at risk: The totality of these sanctions waivers would result in “the normalization of Iran as a participant in the global economy, through resumed trade, monetary transactions, and the transformation of its shadow networks into legitimate infrastructure,” explain Dubowitz and FDD’s Miad Maleki. If the White House tears this leverage down, it will soon realize that building it back up when nuclear negotiations inevitably fail is a “titanic task.”
• More questions than answers: All this being said, there is still a lot we do not know. FDD’s Max Meizlish points out a key question will be, “How much money will Tehran receive simply for continuing to negotiate, rather than for fulfilling meaningful commitments?” Dubowitz also points out we do not know how the money the regime earns from these oil sales will be handled, “How much of that money can be repatriated? How can the regime use those funds?” These are just some of the critical questions Congress will need to raise. See the rest here.

The nuclear angle…

• To make a deal: Washington must not end maximum pressure on Tehran when the future of the strait and Iran’s nuclear program remains to be negotiated. To ensure all leverage is not lost, “Revenues from renewed oil sales should remain locked in escrow accounts, with no access to frozen assets or side deals that allow Tehran to repatriate the funds,” urges FDD’s Janatan Sayeh. Otherwise, Washington further reduces any incentive for Tehran to make meaningful compromises on the nuclear file.
• The MOU’s low bar: Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile, currently entombed at damaged Iranian nuclear sites, would be enough for roughly 11 nuclear weapons. While that stockpile’s future will be negotiated over the next 60 days as part of a final deal, the MOU does provide certain parameters by laying out the bare minimum. That low bar would be the on-site downblending of uranium under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) supervision. “Yet any enriched material left on Iranian soil carries an unacceptable risk that the regime could relocate it or rapidly enrich it to weapons-grade levels should Tehran opt to renege on its commitments,” FDD’s Andrea Stricker warns.
• A better plan: Instead, Stricker recommends that the best solution for handling Iran’s enriched uranium is “the immediate destruction of the material upon retrieval.” Failing that, the next most favorable option “is packaging and exporting it to the IAEA fuel bank in Kazakhstan for safekeeping,” she adds. Anything less is not worth the concessions Washington could end up making under the MOU.

Congress’s role is vital…

• Don’t forget the Iranian people: As the human rights situation in the country spirals, the Iranian people have been left off the agenda. The regime has instituted hundreds of de facto extrajudicial killing zones since April, and economic relief would just further fuel the regime’s war on its own people. “Washington must complement any deal with maximum support to the millions of Iranians the regime has held hostage,” explains Sayeh. That starts with enabling satellite internet connectivity for Iranians. Congress can help by passing the FREEDOM Act (H.R. 6469 / S. 3360), the Iran Human Rights, Internet Freedom, and Accountability Act (H.R. 7622 / S. 3900), and the IRAN Act (H.R. 7380). Taken together, these bills ensure that Tehran’s frequent internet blackout efforts are no longer a tool in its arsenal to continually isolate Iranians from the world.
• Oversight is critical: Even as the administration takes the lead in negotiations, there is a legal framework in place that gives Congress a say in Iran-related dealmaking and sanctions relief, too. Most central is the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act (INARA), which mandates that any U.S.-Iran agreement related to nuclear issues – even if only implicitly – must be subject to congressional review. Another pillar of this framework is Sec. 401(a) of the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act (CISADA) of 2010. This law conditions any meaningful sanctions relief to Iran on its government ceasing all nuclear weapons-related activities, dismantling related infrastructure, and no longer supporting terrorism, among other conditions.
• Shore up U.S. sanctions: The Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 sets similar conditions to CISADA for sanctions relief on Iran. While this law has served as the statutory backbone of U.S. sanctions on Iran’s energy sector for three decades, it is set to expire on December 31. Congress can bolster U.S. leverage over the regime in Iran by acting swiftly to pass the Solidify Iran Sanctions Act (H.R. 1800 / S. 1889), which would strike the law’s sunset clause.

President Trump and Russian President Putin at a joint press conference after their meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, Aug. 15, 2025. (Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok)

2. Russia attacked one of Ukraine’s most important religious landmarks this week as the European Union ramped up sanctions on Moscow and advanced Ukraine’s accession.

• Christianity under fire: On Monday, Russian strikes triggered a devastating blaze at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra monastery, killing at least 11 people. The 1,000-year-old UNESCO World Heritage site has been described as a “masterpiece of Ukrainian art.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called it “one of Russia’s most serious crimes against Christian culture to date.” The attack is part and parcel with Moscow’s broader assault on faith in Ukraine. International religious freedom monitors and the Ukrainian government report that hundreds of religious sites have been damaged or destroyed, and clergy have been detained, tortured, or killed. The attack also highlights Russia’s war on the Ukrainian identity.
• The EU steps up: The European Council adopted a new sanctions package targeting Russia’s shadow fleet of oil tankers, its military-industrial complex, and hybrid warfare activity. The package also hits third-country defense suppliers in China and human rights violators, including those responsible for the death of Russian opposition leader, Alexei Navalny. Simultaneously, the Council opened the first phase of accession talks for EU membership for Ukraine and Moldova. Membership would provide these Russian neighbors with a significant extra layer of security.
• About that accession: The EU’s latest move is just the first of many steps that must occur before Ukraine can be granted EU membership, a timeline that typically spans almost a decade. “The European Union should fast-track Ukraine’s accession,” recommends FDD’s Ivana Stradner. “A decade-long wait is too long, and a clearer path to membership could help underpin a durable peace. Ukraine, in turn, must recommit to the reforms needed to meet EU standards.”
• Military support a must: While undoubtedly important, sanctions alone are insufficient to pressure Russia, explains Stradner. Instead, pressure must be exerted on multiple fronts. For one, the United States, France, and the UK should lead a coalition of willing allies to expand military exercises in Poland and along NATO’s eastern flank. This would make clear that any challenge to NATO’s collective defense will trigger a united response. European nations should simultaneously accelerate military support for Ukraine.
• Pass the bill: As Russia intensifies its assault on Ukraine’s most treasured religious and cultural sites, Congress can also step up sanctions by passing the Countering Russia’s War on Faith Act (H.R. 8433 / S. 4379), which seeks to hold accountable those responsible for religious persecution in Ukraine. The bipartisan bill would require the government to document these abuses and sanction those responsible for attacks like that on the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra monastery, as well as the over 800 other religious buildings Moscow has attacked in Ukraine.

Exterior of the U.S. Department of State Harry S. Truman Building, Washington, D.C., May 2024. (Official State Department photo by Linda D. Epstein)

1. A new State Department report accuses U.S. adversaries of weaponizing antisemitism online, illustrating the threat that foreign information operations pose both to everyday Americans and our national security.

• Division by design: Sent to Congress in late May, the State Department report found, “Iran, Russia, China, and affiliated non-state actors employed antisemitic symbols, graffiti, threats and online propaganda across physical and cyber domains.” Specifically, the report alleges Tehran leveraged social media bots to amplify antisemitic narratives. The report also cited a Chinese social media post that compared Israel to Nazi Germany. But the question that many may ask is “why?” The targeting of Jewish institutions and memorial sites is intended to provoke fear and polarization, the report explained. By eroding public trust and exploiting social division, America’s adversaries can weaken the United States from within.
• The information war: A central piece of the Axis of Aggressors’ strategy to undermine the United States is spreading divisive rhetoric and propaganda online, explain FDD’s Ivana Stradner and Max Lesser. X provides a key vehicle for this information warfare. Russian accounts use memes to try to discredit the United States, Chinese diplomats post messages mocking the West, and Iranians fabricate images of successful strikes on the United States. But what response are they met with? America must not shy away from exposing the flaws of these corrupt and autocratic systems.
• Put embassies on offense: Washington should encourage the State Department and U.S. embassies to more actively combat information warfare on social media. To start, Stradner and Lesser recommend ambassadors and diplomats debunk foreign propaganda on social media platforms. However, “Information campaigns on X should not be merely reactive in their responses to provocation, U.S. diplomats should go on the offensive, hitting Russia, China, and Iran where it hurts,” the two go on. The State Department should highlight for the world when our adversaries place developing countries in debt traps and back bloody warlords by engaging on X and other social media platforms popular abroad.

Footage from the airstrike on Niño Guerrero’s compound in Venezuela, Jun. 12, 2026. (President Donald Trump via Truth Social)

2. President Trump announced U.S. forces killed the leader of Tren de Aragua (TdA) in an airstrike in Venezuela last week.

• A joint operation: The founder of the South American gang, Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores (a.k.a. Niño Guerrero), had been wanted by the United States on charges of terrorism, racketeering, and drug trafficking. President Trump ordered U.S. Southern Command to execute the operation, which was conducted jointly with Venezuelan security forces. This joint effort is a sign of growing cooperation between Washington and Caracas since the U.S. captured Nicolás Maduro.
• Growing criminal network: Amidst the collapse of Venezuela under the Maduro regime, TdA grew from a prison gang to a transnational criminal network stretching south to Chile and Peru all the way to the United States. As FDD Action’s Connor Pfeiffer tells us, “Tren de Aragua has terrorized innocent people from the streets of Venezuela and Colombia to communities here at home. Dismantling this narco-terrorist network must remain a national security priority, and this strike was an important step against TdA as the U.S. works to support security in Venezuela.”
• Targeting international cartels: Last year, President Trump took a step in the right direction by designating Tren de Aragua as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO). FDD Action’s Matt Zweig and FDD’s Elaine Dezenski explained in The Hill that FTO designations alone, however, won’t dismantle criminal networks. Cartels and transnational gangs have long exploited gaps in the global financial system to launder money and evade sanctions. History shows that government enforcement alone has repeatedly failed to stop them.