With Friday Treasury Action, There Goes The ‘No New Sanctions’ Clause Of The MOU
The United States unveiled new sanctions on Iran Friday, an act which crucially breaks a key aspect of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) agreement signed last month – namely that no new sanctions can be imposed while the warring sides negotiate to reach a lasting peace.
The ceasefire itself is already out the window, President Trump has said late this week, amid contradictory reports over indirect talks being back on. The new US Treasury action specifically targets an Iranian businessman accused of managing a global financial network for the country’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei
The US is also going after multiple exchange houses that Washington says seek to get around sanctions and maintain access to foreign currency. The three entities named are Mohammad Darbani and Partners, Lavasani and Partners, and Mohsen Khandan and Partners – along with their managing partners.
After earlier boasting that he helped engineer a currency collapse in order to get masses into the streets – related to the last January protests – Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent now says he cares about the “Iranian people”…
The so-called Supreme Leader is hiding in seclusion while his regime crumbles. Treasury will continue using every tool at its disposal to isolate him and other regime elites from the global financial system. We will preserve these assets for the Iranian people. https://t.co/cAtlx2Pplv
— Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) July 10, 2026
The new Friday action is perhaps the single biggest indicator that the United States is ready to abandon the MoU, and that it is already in effect crumbling and defunct, following a couple nights of major tit-for-tat attacks between the US, Iran, and involving strikes on Gulf countries by Iranian forces. But the bombs have stopped as of Thursday night through Friday.
There are a couple of key MoU points which deal with the question of sanctions on Iran during the negotiating process. Number seven of the 14-points reads as follows [emphasis by ZH]:
The United States of America undertakes to terminate all types of sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran, including the United Nations Security Council resolutions, IAEA Board of Governors resolutions, and all unilateral US sanctions, primary and secondary, in an agreed upon schedule as part of the final deal. The Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America acknowledge the critical importance of the sanctions termination issue above mentioned, and expressed their intentions to immediately address these issues in the negotiations in order to achieve mutual agreement on them.
And point number nine spells out no new sanctions:
Pending the final deal, the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran agree to maintain the status quo. The Islamic Republic of Iran will maintain the current status quo of its nuclear program, and the United States of America will not impose any new sanctions and will not deploy additional forces in the region.
It is not only the ceasefire that’s now effectively dead, but the MoU itself is clearly on life-support.
Both sides have already repeatedly accused the other of violating the terms of the MoU, but in many ways these new sanctions are confirmation that a ‘new MoU’ will have to be worked out, if there is a way forward.
You’ve probably heard the refrain before, but it bears repeating: The West is the best.
As I write this, it’s nearly one hundred degrees Fahrenheit here in Brooklyn. Thank God for air conditioning.
The air conditioner, by the way, was invented by the New York-born Willis Carrier in the early part of the twentieth century. Willis was, without question, a product of Western Civilization.
Before the AC – which we, no doubt, take for granted nowadays – our ancestors, when faced with the dog days of summer, would have no choice but to sit on ice blocks, drink cold beverages, and fan themselves to stay cool.
Many non-Western countries still resort to these old methods.
The computer in which I am typing this article is also a product of Western innovation. After I finish writing this, I’ll use it again later today to schedule a doctor’s appointment, wherein I’ll likely be prescribed Western medicine.
Okay, okay. What am I getting at here? Well, simply, I am proud to be a product and inhabitant of Western Civilization.
Not all, however, feel such gratitude.
In his latest book, Suicidal Empathy: Dying to Be Kind, Gad Saad documents the myriad ways in which Westerners today engage in ethno-masochism and self-flagellation.
“The suicidally empathetic person,” Saad writes, “feels guilty that they were born in the West, whereas others were not as fortunate.”
To be sure, we do indeed have it good here. And there’s nothing wrong with having empathy for those who’ve never experienced Western living.
Under Maduro’s rule in 2017, starving Venezuelans were literally stealing animals from the Zoo with the intention of eating them.
That’s not a problem we have here in the West. It’s natural to pity such people.
It is when our pity becomes excessive, to the point where we are hurting our own in the pursuit of altruistic ends, that we encounter civilizational decay.
While reading Saad’s book, which relates dozens of stories of “privileged” white Westerners forgoing their own welfare to appear morally virtuous, I recollected the now-famous tiff between Trump advisor Stephen Miller and then-CNN journalist Jim Acosta, wherein Acosta basically argues that our immigration policy should be dictated by the Emma Lazarus poem tacked onto the Statue of Liberty.
“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…”
I don’t know, Emma. I’m not sure that’s always such a good idea.
As Saad rightly notes throughout the book, non-Western immigration has fundamentally altered the identities of many once-great European nations, rendering them nearly unrecognizable.
That Islamists come here with the intention of bringing with them their illiberal and theocratic cultural attitudes is of no concern to the wide-eyed liberal, who is more fearful of coming off as “Islamophobic” than they are of being sexually assaulted by Muslim grooming gangs.
“Suicidal empathy,” Saad writes, “leads to caring more about the rights of rapists and felons than their victims.”
Right-wing shock jock and host of Get Off My Lawn Gavin McInnes once quipped that the Left is so tolerant that they tolerate the intolerant.
Truer words have never been spoken.
Equipped with a sardonic wit, Saad plays the Left’s language game. Just as we’ve been coached to say “undocumented immigrant” when referring to illegal aliens – the correct term – Saad, in a dark but humorous attempt to demonstrate his Suicidally Empathetic bona fides, refers to rapists as “undocumented lovemakers.”
To be sure, some readers might find this dark humor to be flippant and distasteful. I’m a bit ambivalent about it myself. Still, the point holds: to the Suicidally Empathetic Left, it is more important to demonstrate tact and
China Shuts The Helium Valve As Qatar Outage Deepens Global Supply Squeeze
China has abruptly banned helium exports, a key component in semiconductors, which adds yet another serious constraint to a global market already reeling from the loss of production in Qatar.
In a two-sentence Friday announcement, China’s Ministry of Commerce and General Administration of Customs said helium covered by customs code 2804290010 was subject to a temporary prohibition on exports, effective immediately. The agencies cited China’s Foreign Trade Law but provided no explanation, expiration date, transition period or exemptions. Any future adjustments, they said, would be announced separately. See the official Chinese government announcement.
The decision is more restrictive than an export-licensing requirement. It appears to prevent covered shipments to all foreign destinations, regardless of buyer or intended use. The announcement does not explain how customs officials will treat previously signed contracts, cargo awaiting departure or helium originally imported into China and subsequently repackaged for re-export.
Nor does it carve out exceptions for hospitals, scientific laboratories, semiconductor manufacturers or humanitarian users.
The physical volume removed from the international market may be relatively small. China accounted for an average of 5 percent of U.S. helium imports between 2021 and 2024, compared with 47 percent from Canada, 28 percent from Qatar and 10 percent from Algeria, according to the U.S. Geological Survey’s 2026 helium commodity summary – but the significance of the move lies in its timing.
China produces only a fraction of the helium it consumes and imports roughly 85 percent or more of its requirements, according to reporting by Reuters, with the Associated Pressplaces China’s domestic production at no more than ~ 15 percent of its needs. This suggests the ban is principally an effort to conserve helium for domestic industry rather than a measure capable, by itself, of depriving foreign buyers of large quantities. It also implies that Beijing expects the present shortage to persist.
Chinese companies have increasingly acted as intermediaries – importing some Russian helium and re-exporting volumes to overseas markets, including Europe. The ban could therefore remove more internationally traded material than China’s domestic production figures alone would suggest.
Qatar Shock Ripples Through A Concentrated Market
The global helium market was already under severe pressure before China’s announcement. Helium is generally recovered as a byproduct of natural-gas processing. When a large gas complex stops operating, helium production cannot simply continue independently. That vulnerability became evident after attacks forced QatarEnergy to stop production of liquefied natural gas and associated products at its Ras Laffan complex – causing them to subsequently declared force-majeure on affected contracts.
Further missile attacks damaged LNG Trains 4 and 6. QatarEnergy said the damaged facilities could take between three and five years to repair and estimated that the attacks had removed 17 percent of Qatar’s LNG export capacity. See the company’s statement on the damage and repair timetable.
Qatar produced an estimated 63 million cubic meters of helium in 2025, close to one-third of estimated world production, according to the USGS. A disruption there is therefore a worldwide rather than regional problem.
Helium prices reacted quickly. Spot prices doubled after the Middle East conflict began, according to industry participants interviewed by Reuters. Some market specialists warned that an extended disruption could push prices toward levels last seen during previous severe shortages.
The problem is compounded by the peculiar logistics of the helium trade. Liquid helium must remain at extraordinarily low temperatures and gradually evaporates during transportation. One industry executive told Reuters that suppliers effectively have about 45 days to move liquefied helium to the end user.
Unlike oil, helium lacks a large and transparent spot market. Most volumes are sold under private, long-term contracts, making real-time prices difficult to observe. Supply stress often emerges through customer allocations, surcharges and force-majeure notices rather than through a widely quoted futures contract.
China’s exposure to Qatar is not accidental. In February 2025, QatarEnergy signed a 20-year agreement to deliver 100 million cubic feet of high-purity helium annually to China. It was the first direct, long-term helium supply agreement between Qatar and a Chinese buyer.
The new ban therefore raises an important question: Is China merely stopping helium produced domestically, or is it also preventing imported Qatari, Russian and other foreign-origin helium from being resold abroad?
AltaMed Health Services reported $1.72 billion in revenue in 2024, which is more than many publicly traded healthcare companies. Yet unlike a public corporation, the nonprofit entity answers to no shareholders, enjoys broad tax exemptions, and derives much of its revenue from taxpayer-supported healthcare programs.
AltaMed also reported $1.66 billion in assets and its revenues exceeded expenses by $68.4 million. It operates more than 70 clinics, employs roughly 5,000 people, and serves more than 700,000 patients throughout Southern California, making it one of the nation’s largest federally qualified health center (FQHC) systems.
But AltaMed’s extraordinary growth raises another question that extends far beyond Southern California: What happens when a nonprofit grows into a multibillion-dollar enterprise while retaining the governance structure of a traditional charity?
That question has become increasingly relevant as individual nonprofit hospital systems, universities, and other charitable organizations now control hundreds of billions of dollars in assets while benefiting from tax exemptions, government reimbursements, tax-deductible donations, and public financing. Their primary accountability mechanism is a board of directors charged with ensuring that charitable resources remain devoted to public benefit rather than private profits.
Since 2001, AltaMed has paid more than $32 million in compensation to its CEO, Castulo de la Rocha, his wife Zoila Escobar, and one of their sons – which is significantly higher than most of its peer FQHCs. For instance, the chief executives of Family Health Centers of San Diego, Family HealthCare Network, and Comprehensive Community Health Centers each earned substantially less than de la Rocha in 2024 despite overseeing similarly large healthcare organizations.
Following scrutiny of excessive executive pay more than a decade ago, AltaMed adopted a split-dollar life insurance loan program designed to help retain selected executives. The program has provided substantial loans to a small group of senior leaders to finance life insurance policies. Split-dollar arrangements are technically legal, although federal officials have cautioned that similar structures have been used improperly in certain tax-avoidance schemes.
Executive compensation is only one measure of nonprofit governance. Equally important is how charitable organizations deploy their resources and whether those expenditures advance the mission for which they receive tax-exempt status.
However, AltaMed’s involvement in the arts extends far beyond decorating clinic walls – it owns a collection of approximately 4,000 works of Chicano, Mexican, and Latin American art, the value of which exceeds $6 million. It has spent as much as $2 million on art-related activities outside the United States in places like Mexico City, Rome, Berlin, and Madrid. More recently, it has supported plans for a Museum of Chicano and Mexican Art in downtown Los Angeles, spending at least $150,000 on lobbying related to the proposal.
The organization has unquestionably expanded access to healthcare for hundreds of thousands of Californians. But AltaMed’s growing role as an arts patron raises legitimate questions about how closely those activities are connected to its charitable healthcare mission.
That is a challenge that extends well beyond AltaMed. Nonprofit executives regularly oversee budgets larger than many cities, yet they remain governed by rules and oversight mechanisms developed for a much smaller nonprofit sector.
Congress created the tax-exempt status because charitable organizations provide public benefits that markets alone may not deliver. That public trust depends on confidence that charitable assets are being used primarily to advance charitable purposes, and not the financial interests of insiders. As nonprofits continue to grow in both size and complexity, policymakers should ask whether the accountability standards governing billion-dollar charities have kept pace with the institutions they now oversee.
Jeff Patch is an Iowa-based writer focused on legal, regulatory and political challenges that impact businesses and markets. Patch is a former Des Moines Register correspondent and Politico staff writer.
Turkey Seeks Moscow Permission To Offload S-400s, Paving Way For US F-35 Deal
In a move that could break a years-long defense procurement deadlock with Washington, Turkey is finalizing the sale of its Russian S-400 air defense systems to Gulf states, potentially clearing the way for Ankara to buy US F-35 fighter jets, Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reports Friday.
For Ankara, offloading the Russian hardware resolves a years-long costly diplomatic and military bottleneck and controversy – a situation which dramatically improved after President Trump gave a clear greenlight during the annual NATO summit in Ankara this week.
But apparently it needs Moscow’s formal permission before doing this, as Bloombergreports, “Turkey is seeking Russia’s consent to transfer air defense systems it bought from Moscow to a third country, an effort aimed at clearing the way for the purchase of US-made F-35 fighter jets.”
“Ankara made the approach in recent weeks, just months after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan proposed returning the S-400 missile systems to Russia — an idea that gained little traction, said Turkish officials, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private,” the report continues.
When asked by reporters whether he would lift legal restrictions on the transfer of the stealth fighter jet to Turkey, Trump responded, “We have a better relationship with Turkey, and Turkey has been in many ways much more loyal than other countries that we think would be loyal. And certainly something we will consider – yeah.”
By disposing of the Russian equipment, Ankara is resuming talks on F-35 fighter jets and securing supplies of critical engine components for its own KAAN combat aircraft program, Hurriyet wrote further.
“Hopefully, when the F-35s are delivered to Turkey, the whole world will say America kept its promise,” Erdogan said at a Wednesday closing news conference for the NATO summit.
Dumping its Russian S-400s could allow Turkey’s government to be released from US sanctions under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, or CAATSA.
However, this would have to get past Congress first. The law, adopted in 2017, requires the US government to impose strict economic and political restrictions primarily on Russia, Iran and North Korea. But Turkey was subsequently hit by these sanctions after purchasing S-400 air defense systems from Russia in a deal signed in September 2017, with deliveries having begun in July 2019.
The big fear over NATO-member Turkey having the S-400 systems and F-35s at the same time was that secret technology critical to the American fighter jet would be compromised. Possessing the S-400s requires Russian advisory guidance and know-how.
Saturday Deadline: US Orders Iran To Declare Hormuz Open, Toll-Free…Or Else
Update(1855): The US is back to setting deadlines, coupled with new military threats, apparently. Judging by this week, which marked a dangerous return to guns-a-blazing in the Persian Gulf, it seems Trump is ready to back these warnings with new bombing raids. The only question will be the extent to which the Islamic Republic escalates in return. So far it has shown willingness to ‘answer’ US attacks with its own missile and drone launches, against US and allied bases and facilities among the Arab Gulf states.
Axios newly reports (…just after market-closing on Friday, it should be noted), that if Tehran doesn’t declare the complete opening of the Strait of Hormuz and safe passage to all ships by close of Saturday, then the… or else!
“The Trump administration is demanding that Iran publicly acknowledge that the Strait of Hormuz is open and pledge to stop firing on commercial ships,” the report says. The US has also renewed calls for Iran to immediately hand over its “nuclear dust” – amid the warnings. Axios reports the message was conveyed “directly” and “through regional mediators” – citing three officials.
Both sides have already accused the other of severely violating the terms of the MoU. And US Treasury issued fresh sanctions on Tehran Friday, which violates the ‘no new sanctions’ clause of the memorandum. So the MoU is clearly on life support as it is. Diplomacy is still moving on some fronts: “Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Omani Foreign Minister SayyidBadr al-Busaidi are expected to meet Saturday in Muscat to discuss the Hormuz crisis,” Axios continues. But here’s the deadline:
The U.S. officials said they expect Iran to issue a statement after Saturday’s meeting in Oman.
Iran has not appeared in the mood to ‘compromise’ or admit defeat on any level, and so the world might witness yet more waves of US attacks by Saturday night and into Sunday. A big question remains is whether Israel will continue sitting on the sidelines. Recent reports suggest Washington has been behind the scenes pressuring the Israelis not to act against Iran unilaterally. But the Netanyahu government remains a big wild card in all this.
*US OFFICIALS SAY EXPECT IRAN TO SAY HORMUZ WILL BE TOLL-FREE
The guns have actually been silent in the Middle East overnight, after two days of deadly strikes between the United States and Iran, amid a general return to premarket open headlines of ‘peace imminent again’ as mediators desperately work to get diplomacy back on track. The White House position is that the ceasefire is over but that Washington has agreed to reengage Tehran in mediated talks.
Trump indicates US has agreed to Iran talks, but United States has stated to them, in no uncertain terms, that cease fire is over.
The New York Timeswrites early Friday that “Qatar, which helped broker the U.S.-Iran truce last month, has been in talks with Washington and Tehran to de-escalate the crisis, according to two officials with knowledge of the matter, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy. In recent days, several other regional countries — Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan, all of which host U.S. military facilities — said they have come under Iranian attack.”
The same report further says, “Even as the fighting appeared to subside on Friday, it remained unclear whether the latest mediation efforts could prevent that cycle from repeating.” The situation has devolved into a “dangerous test of wills, with each side trying to show that it can absorb the other’s attacks and respond forcefully, without tipping the conflict back into full-scale war,” NYT continues.
And separately Bloomberg also reports, “Talks between the US and Iran on a permanent peace deal are continuing, according to a US official, despite two days of clashes that threatened an already fragile ceasefire. The renewed hostilities risk undermining efforts to rebuild depleted global oil inventories, the International Energy Agency said.”
Bloomberg continues: “Oil prices steadied on Friday after a bumpy week. While gasoline prices have fallen since the fragile ceasefire, they’ve lagged crude’s sharp decline, prompting one asset manager to buy protection against stickier-than-expected US inflation.”
There appears real movement on this, given also that Reuters is freshly reporting that Qatar negotiators are currently in Iran to meet Iranian officials, as part of the effort to immediately de-escalate tensions and create conditions for broader negotiations.
Still, the crisis is on edge and full-scale war could return at any moment, also as the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency is once again alerting global vessels security threat in the Strait of Hormuz remains at its highest level.
In Iran, the burial of the slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has finally concluded, and the IRGC’s top commander, Brigadier-General Ahmad Vahidi, has pledged vengeance against the US and Israel for the assassination, saying it won’t “be erased from the historical memory.”
The Revolutionary Guard chief called for the “full realization of justice and a fitting response to the criminals, especially the child-killing American army.” An estimated 41-43 million people attended the six-day funeral for the late Khamenei, according to Iranian media.
NEW: Iran warns it will retaliate against infrastructure attacks and strike Israel in response. pic.twitter.com/JmkyZ7Zeyy
In the meantime we commented overnight on who is not seeking permanent Iran peace at this point, on lingering concerns about the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program. The Wall Street Journal in a Thursday evening report says that Israel has provided fresh intelligence to the White House indicating just such a Tehran-linked plot.
The timing is quite curious and interesting given it comes just as the warring sides standing on the brink of returning once again either to talks, or to full-scale war:
Israel shared new intelligence with the U.S. that it said indicated a fresh Iranian plan to kill President Trump, people familiar with the matter said, a finding that would mark an escalation in the war between Washington and Iran.
Iran for years has vowed openly to retaliate against Trump for the assassination of Qassem Soleimani, who was a top general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, in the president’s first term.
The Israeli embassy in Washington declined to comment. Iran’s Mission to the United Nations didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The White House referred The Wall Street Journal to comments the president made on Wednesday.
The Israelis have remained deeply dissatisfied with terms laid out in the previously agreed-to MoU, and so have every incentive to goad Washington further into the conflict. Certainly many within the US administration know this, and so might be taking this new ‘intelligence warning’ – which was leaked rather quickly to major media – with the appropriate degree of skepticism.
The US has still – somewhat surprisingly – affirmed it remainsengaged in ‘technical talks’ with Iran, despite the prior days of tit-for-tat bombings. “Technical talks between the US and Iran are continuing, according to a US official, following two days of clashes that threatened to shatter an already fragile ceasefire between the two nations,” reports Bloomberg, also late in the day Thursday. “The US is still committed to finding a solution with Iran, the official said Thursday, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the matter.”
So it appears there’s still hope that things might not spiral further. As for the alleged assassination plot, this isn’t the first time Iran has faced such accusations, and each time Tehran officials have vehemently denied them.
Energy project facilitator GridMarket and nuclear technology developer Deployable Energy have formed a commercial agreement to deploy modular microreactors across the United States. The 40-year contract carries an estimated total value of $145 billion.
The initiative intends to install more than 3 gigawatts (GW) of electrical capacity by 2035, focusing primarily on data centers, cloud infrastructure facilities, and industrial manufacturing plants.
“Demand for dependable, continuous power is growing faster than traditional infrastructure can support,” said Bobby Gallagher, Co-Founder and CEO at Deployable Energy.
The collaboration follows a successful operational test by Deployable Energy. The company recently achieved criticality with its prototype system, known as the Unity Nuclear Battery. This initial test reactor reached a self-sustaining nuclear reaction 150 days after the project began.
Speeding up domestic nuclear power deployment
The development occurred under the US Department of Energy’s Nuclear Energy Launch Pad program, which operates in accordance with a federal executive order designed to speed up domestic nuclear power deployment.
The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence applications and cloud computing infrastructure has created an unprecedented demand for baseload electrical power. Finding locations with sufficient grid capacity has become a primary obstacle for technology companies building new facility hubs.
Under the new agreement, GridMarket will use its database of evaluated commercial sites and current corporate clients to establish a pipeline for the new power systems.
The companies plan to install 500 megawatts (MW) of power capacity annually between 2030 and 2035. According to GridMarket executives, corporate clients are actively looking for alternatives to traditional electrical grid connections because standard power infrastructure cannot keep pace with the power requirements of modern computing facilities.
To shorten construction timelines
The Unity system differs from conventional utility infrastructure because it is manufactured in components at a factory rather than built entirely on-site. This modular design is intended to shorten construction timelines and allow installation directly at the site of demand, bypassing local electrical transmission bottlenecks. The microreactor operates as a combined utility system.
“Unlike the power and cooling systems running today’s data centers, the Unity Nuclear Battery delivers electricity, heat, and cooling in a single system – dramatically reducing the water intensity that has strained local communities hosting large-scale compute infrastructure,” said GridMarket in a press release.
The immediate priority for the two entities involves selecting a host location for a physical pilot installation. This initial project will serve to verify the technology under real-world operating conditions before beginning wider commercial production. Deployable Energy has committed to giving GridMarket’s client base priority scheduling for subsequent reactor deliveries.
Corporate leadership from Deployable Energy noted that current infrastructure cannot support the growth rate of digital data systems. The companies intend to publish specific details regarding the pilot site selection, regulatory approval tracking, and the initial group of commercial participants as the engineering program moves closer to the manufacturing phase.
“We believe advanced nuclear technology can become an important part of the energy mix supporting the next generation of digital and energy infrastructure,” concluded Bobby Gallagher, Co-Founder and CEO at Deployable Energy.
Trump Left Orders To Obliterate Iran If Assassinated: ‘Bomb Them At Levels Never Seen Before’
The Iran war saga has seen its fair share of bizarre and wild twists, and Friday has brought yet another – with the NY Post reporting that President Trump said he “left instructions” for a massive bombing campaign against Iran in the event he’s assassinated by Iranian operatives.
“I’ve been on their list for a long time. That’s what we’re dealing with,” he told New York Post. Then he followed with: “The only thing is, I’ve left instructions – if anything happens, to just literally bomb them at levels that they’ve never seen before.”
The provocative comment, which has unleashed a flurry of commentary and memes on social media, comes on the heels of Trump stating while at the NATO summit in Turkey this week that the Iranians were seeking to kill him.
He had quipped while in Turkey, “And so far, I guess I’ve been a little bit lucky, but that maybe doesn’t last very long.”
It seems Israel has been seizing on the opportunity for escalation of the crisis, given its leaders have made no secret of being deeply dissatisfied with the terms of the MoU.
Just as Tehran and Washington stand on the brink of returning once again to full-scale war, The Wall Street Journal reported the following late Thursday:
Israel shared new intelligence with the U.S. that it said indicated a fresh Iranian plan to kill President Trump, people familiar with the matter said, a finding that would mark an escalation in the war between Washington and Iran.
But then in the latest NY Post interview, Trump seemed to downplay if not outright deny the Israeli intelligence. He said instead, “No, no. Israel came up with nothing. No, no.” He then clarified that these are old and persisting, vague threats: “I’ve been No. 1 [on Iran’s kill list] for a long time, and it’s the way life is, you know,” he said, before adding, “I hope you’ll miss me.” From the NY Post in fuller context:
Asked about recent reports that Israel this week flagged intel of a plot to take out the US president, Trump indicated there was no fresh plan from Iran — but said Tehran has wanted him dead for years.
“No, no. Israel came up with nothing. No, no,” he said. “I’ve been No. 1 [on Iran’s kill list] for a long time, and it’s the way life is, you know.”
As for leaving “instructions” for the US government to bomb Iran “at levels that they’ve never seen before”… it seems that in Trump’s mind the Executive is some kind of hereditary office, as if a ‘last will and testament’ can be acted upon in the name of the United States merely because a prior president instructed that’s what he personally wants to see done.
The interview also highlights how far away we’ve come from the Constitutional principle of the presidency seeking Congressional approval – or even so much as notifying congressional members – of plans to start major wars.
REPORTER: “Last month you said Iranian leaders were very rational people, nice to deal with, strong and smart. Today you said they’re scum, sick people, and being led by sick people. What changed?”
But it remains that the media will eat it up, and web traffic and clicks will be generated, fearmongering over Iran will increase, and perhaps that’s what it’s all about. The threat has to always be inflated at peak levels, especially in the middle of a hot conflict in the Middle East.
A Russian company has developed a new type of rifle bullets that split into three mid-flight, according to reports. This can help increase hit probability against high-speed drones.
Developed by Russia’s Rostec, these multi-bullet “Mnogotochie” rounds can successfully hit drones. Reports have claimed that the first batches of these bullets have been delivered to Russian troops.
Effective option for combating drones
Vysokotochka, a subsidiary of Rostec, has developed “Mnogotochie”. These bullets reportedly offer high-density fire for combating drones.
Bekkhan Ozdoyev, industrial director of Rostec’s Armament Cluster, had earlier revealed that the Mnogotochie cartridges for rifled automatic weapons provide an effective option for combating drones. These are essentially standard 5.45x39mm and 7.62x39mm cartridges, but with a special bullet that splits into three parts upon exiting the barrel. This provides high-density fire. This means that shooting down a small drone with three bullets at once is much easier than with one.
Rostech previously also revealed that the 5.45x39mm caliber CT 226 and 7.62x54mm caliber CT 228 cartridges contain a three-element bullet that disintegrates in flight.
Standard cartridge case and standard propellant powder are used
The standard cartridge case and standard propellant powder are used, which simplifies serial production of the Mnogotochie at ammunition industry enterprises. Thanks to the design, all three elements are evenly separated upon exiting the barrel, improving firing accuracy and substantially increasing the probability of hitting small targets, reported TASS.
Earlier, Rostec also highlighted that small arms’ performance characteristics remain unchanged when using the Mnogotochie, eliminating the need for modifications or installation of attachments. The cartridge can also be fired with a silencer installed.
Footage released by the company shows the 5.45mm variant downing a drone hovering about 10 meters (33 feet) above the ground from a distance of 100 meters (328 feet) after four shots. Full-scale production is underway, with the first batch already delivered to the Russian military. The Mnogotochie’s three-piece nose separates after leaving the barrel, creating a controlled spread that allows a single shot to release three projectiles, reported NexGen Defense.
Reports indicate that the anti-drone round is effective at distances of up to 300 meters. While that range is relatively limited compared to dedicated air-defense systems, it is intended for situations where troops need to defend themselves against drones flying close to the battlefield.
Small commercial and military drones have become increasingly common in recent conflicts, performing reconnaissance, surveillance, and precision attack missions. Their relatively low cost and widespread availability have created new challenges for conventional military forces, driving demand for affordable countermeasures.
The development of specialized anti-drone ammunition reflects the changing nature of warfare, where inexpensive UAVs have become an important part of combat operations. Instead of relying solely on costly missile-based air-defense systems, militaries are exploring solutions that allow frontline troops to engage drones using standard firearms equipped with purpose-built ammunition.
If the new ammunition performs as intended in operational conditions, it could provide infantry units with an additional layer of defense against low-flying drones while complementing larger air-defense systems.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on July 8 proposed narrowing environmental reviews for new and renewed nuclear reactor licenses, a move the agency said would reduce costs, as the Trump administration pushes to expand nuclear energy.
The proposal would change how the NRC implements the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), limiting reviews to environmental effects that fall within the agency’s legal authority.
The NRC described the proposal as the “most comprehensive update to its environmental review regulations in decades,” adding that it would remove outdated requirements and make the licensing process more efficient.
NRC Chairman Ho Nieh said the proposal, which is open for public comment until Aug. 21, would better align the agency’s environmental reviews with what Congress intended under NEPA.
He told reporters: “For many, many, many years, NRC did much more than required by law in the National Environmental Policy Act. So this really brings us back to what NEPA demands, nothing more, nothing less.”
Nieh also said, “By concentrating on impacts the NRC can address, we’ll strengthen environmental protection while making licensing reviews more timely and predictable.”
He said that the NRC proposes to limit areas where it does not have authority over effects on the environment, such as the construction of nuclear plants.
“Dust, noise, air impacts, non-radiological water, or non-radiological effects, all of those things are examples of where they’re outside of our regulatory authority, and so we won’t be doing those in the future,” he said.
NRC’s chief environmental review and permitting officer, Kimyata Savoy, said the proposal would save reactor developers and the agency about $135 million in licensing costs for new reactors and license renewals.
Other measures under the proposal include new categorical exclusions, an update of environmental review procedures, and greater flexibility for applicants in providing environmental information.
The proposal follows a series of actions by President Donald Trump aimed at expanding nuclear power in the United States. Trump signed four executive orders on May 23, 2025, directing the NRC to license 10 new reactors by 2030 and supporting a plan to quadruple U.S. nuclear power capacity by 2050.
One of them, executive order 14300, directed the NRC to reform its licensing process. The White House said the commission had slowed nuclear development by imposing unnecessary regulatory requirements.
U.S. Energy Information Administration data show that last year, nuclear energy accounted for about 18 percent of U.S. utility-scale electricity generation.
Series of Reforms
The July 8 proposal comes one week after the NRC announced broader changes to reactor licensing and radiation safety regulations.
The agency on July 1 proposed replacing a radiation risk model that has guided U.S. nuclear regulation for about 50 years.
The NRC said the changes would modernize regulations and make it easier to build new reactors without reducing safety standards.
The proposal drew criticism from some nuclear safety experts.
Edwin Lyman, director of nuclear power safety at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said in comments submitted to the NRC in July 2025 that there was “absolutely no technical or practical basis” for changing the agency’s use of the “as low as reasonably achievable” standard.
The regulatory changes also coincide with progress in the administration’s advanced reactor program.
The Department of Energy announced on July 1 that the third advanced nuclear reactor authorized under the administration’s pilot program achieved criticality on June 30 at Idaho National Laboratory.
Criticality is the point at which a reactor reaches a stable chain reaction capable of producing electricity continuously.
The reactor, known as Unity and developed by Deployable Energy, met the July 4 deadline established by Trump’s 2025 executive order, which required that at least three advanced reactor concepts achieve criticality outside national laboratories.
