The Trump administration declared a “major win” but likewise the Hezbollah chief, Naim Qassem, proclaimed a “great victory” as the text of the 14-point US-Iran memorandum of understanding became public.
Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said: “The agreement is a record of US failure. People will see it and judge.” Irna, Iran’s official state news agency, released a photograph of Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, holding up a Persian-language document apparently showing his signature alongside that of Trump. According to Reuters, Ghalibaf told state TV: “Everything we sought to achieve through military action, we obtained several times over through negotiation; it was not even comparable.”
US releases text of Iran peace plan as Trump says deal averts ‘worldwide depression’
The Trump administration has released the text of its 14-point agreement with Iran, claiming it delivered a “major win” for the United States – even as it made significant political and financial concessions to Iran to reopen the strait of Hormuz and prevent a “worldwide depression”. Donald Trump was shown on a White House video signing the memorandum of understanding at the Palace of Versailles while still in France for the G7 summit. Germany signed the humiliating Treaty of Versailles at Versailles in 1919 after losing the first world war.
In extraordinary remarks on Wednesday, Trump went from threatening Iran with a new wave of attacks to suggesting the country had basic rights to enrich uranium for civilian use, that he would not pressure Tehran to abandon its ballistic missiles programme and the US was “going to have to give back” billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets.
Trump derails confirmation process for Jay Clayton as US intelligence chief
Donald Trump abruptly diverted the confirmation process for Jay Clayton as the US’s top intelligence chief early Wednesday, in a move that will allow the president’s controversial selection for acting director of national security, Bill Pulte, to assume the role and remain in place for at least several weeks until Clayton is confirmed.
Georgia Republicans decline to redraw congressional map in defiance of Trump
Georgia Republicans declined to redraw the state’s congressional map during a special session, defying calls from Donald Trump for widespread redistricting in the wake of a recent US supreme court decision that effectively gutted a major section of the Voting Rights Act.
January 6 defendants pursue millions in claims through obscure federal process
January 6 defendants who assaulted police officers are pursuing legal claims for millions in compensation from the Trump administration using an obscure federal process with minimal oversight, but which offers the Trump administration a way to compensate those responsible for violence even after scrapping its “anti-weaponization fund”.
What else happened today:
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The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged and signaled a possible rate hike before the end of the year.
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Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as a top independent watchdog at the Department of Justice has refused to call the January 6 insurrection an “attack” during questioning by US senators.
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Air force officials have released the names of the eight men killed in this week’s fiery crash of a B-52 during a test flight at Edwards air force base in southern California.
Catching up? Here’s what happened Tuesday 16 June.