Iran Says $12 Billion to Be Unfrozen Ahead of Rubio’s Gulf Tour

Nancy Guthrie ransom note says she is 'buried with nature,' source says

Nancy Guthrie was abducted from her home in the early morning hours of Feb. 1, 2026.

​Iran consolidates control over crucial waterway by sidestepping peace talks: experts

Iran is moving unilaterally to tighten its grip on the Strait of Hormuz — and to start collecting revenue from it – even as it negotiates with the U.S. and its Gulf neighbors over future management of the waterway.Iran's top insurance regulator, Mousa Rezaei, announced Sunday that a new insurance company has been created specifically for the strait, according to Iranian state media, and days earlier, the Persian Gulf Strait Authority — an entity Iran established in May — began requiring vessels to register and carry a new mandatory Iranian insurance policy, reported the New York Times.For now, that coverage is free, but shipping experts say the 60-day free period is telling. That matches the length of the cease-fire and free-passage guarantees in last week's U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding ending the war and reopening the strait.Once that window closes, maritime historian Salvatore Mercogliano said, Iran could begin charging vessels for "insurance" against risks — attacks, detained mariners — that didn't exist before Iran itself created them by striking commercial ships earlier this year.Richard Meade, editor of Lloyd's List, called the arrangement effectively a toll by another name, designed to get ahead of the broader negotiations over the strait's security framework that Vice President JD Vance said are still to come.International law generally bars charging tolls for mere passage through a strait, though fees for actual services — like tugging waste disposal — can be legitimate. Iran has not specified what services its new insurance would provide, and the International Maritime Organization said the scheme has not been submitted to it and carries no basis in international law allowing mandatory fees or tolls.The maneuver also creates a trap for shippers. The U.S. Treasury sanctioned the Persian Gulf Strait Authority in May, accusing Iran of trying to monetize attacks on vessels through extortion, and has warned that paying the authority could itself trigger sanctions — leaving companies caught between Iranian demands and U.S. enforcement.The result, Meade said, is that shippers remain stuck in limbo, unable to return to how transit worked before the war and unable to know what rules will govern it next. The Persian Gulf Strait Authority did not respond to a request for comment by the outlet.

Republicans in for a rude awakening: Conservative says Trump won't pivot to economy

President Donald Trump remains fixated on the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act, angrily berating "stupid" GOP senators for not passing the voting bill. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Sen. Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina) and other Republican lawmakers are saying that the votes to pass it simply aren't there — and that Trump should be focusing on the economy instead. But conservative David M. Drucker, in a Bloomberg News column, stresses that Republicans who hope Trump will change course and "pivot" to the economy are dreaming."For Republicans in Congress who've been clinging to hope that President Donald Trump might finally focus on the economy ahead of the midterm elections," Drucker argues, "their time might be better spent searching for proof that the tooth fairy is real. The same day Trump reaffirmed support for an agreement with Iran to end the war, he turned his attention to Capitol Hill. Did he demand or introduce legislation addressing voters' No. 1 priority, what they believe is an unacceptably high cost of living? No. Rather, the president revived his push to strongarm how the 50 states and Washington, DC administer elections — an issue that barely registers on voters' radar, outside of MAGA social media circles."Trump, according to Drucker, is so obsessed with the SAVE America Act that he is "holding hostage renewal of crucial government spying tools, known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act" — much to the frustration of GOP senators."Of course, the president could be focused on more than one issue at a time; that goes with the job," Drucker writes. "But he still refuses to acknowledge that any aspect of the economy is underperforming on matters related to affordability or otherwise."In a June 21 post on his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote, "Our Country is doing GREAT. Record Jobs Numbers and Stock Market. BEST ECONOMY EVER! We are WINNING on all fronts. WINNING LIKE NEVER BEFORE." And he recently told reporters, "The word 'affordability' is a fake word, made up by the Democrats."Such messaging, Drucker notes, is frustrating GOP lawmakers and is "just not reality.""Inflation has spiked since Trump launched the Iran war on February 28, with the Consumer Price Index climbing 0.5 percent from April to May — and a whopping 4.2 percent since the same period in 2025, according to the Labor Department," Drucker observes. "That was the highest rate of inflation since the 4.9 percent during the year that ended April 2023, as Bloomberg reported this month. Theoretically, there's still time for Trump to address the economy to improve his party's prospects in the midterms, still more than five months away…. If Trump's ratings go up, so, too will the GOP's chances of preserving its roughly 10-seat House majority and defending its three-seat Senate advantage. Absent that, Democrats are poised to have quite a bit to celebrate on the evening of November 3."

How Did She Get Released? DHS Says Teacher Helped Tren de Aragua Gunmen

Iran Rushes to Woo Asia’s Top Oil Importers After US Waiver

Iran is racing to court some of Asia’s largest oil buyers as a 60-day US sanctions waiver takes effect, a temporary lifeline that should allow Tehran to resume exports and begin clearing a backlog of cargoes on the water, even as peace talks continue.

Will China mirror Iran’s Hormuz blockade strategy?

The Strait of Hormuz remains a pivotal flashpoint in the U.S.-Iran conflict — an ace card that Tehran repeatedly plays to hedge against American power. At the recent Group of Seven summit in France, President Donald Trump praised Chinese President Xi Jinping for remaining “neutral” during a peak in U.S.-Iran tensions, suggesting that Beijing showed […]

Trump on Iran Negotiations: “We’re Doing Very Well” | Balance of Power: Late Edition 06/22/2026

"Balance of Power: Late Edition" focuses on the intersection of politics and global business. On today's show, Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon says Israel is "very comfortable" with the US representing its interests in Iran negotiations, touting a "strong alliance" with Washington even amid questions about public strains between President Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Joe Twyman, Co-founder and Director at DeltaPoll, says the economy and cost of living, not Epstein-related controversy, will likely be seen as the issue that brought Starmer down after the UK Prime Minister resigned. Representative Dan Goldman (D-NY), a member of the House Judiciary and Homeland Security Committees, discusses New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani's endorsement of his opponent, Brad Lander, ahead of Tuesday's primary, saying Democrats broadly agree that life is "way too expensive" for most Americans. (Source: Bloomberg)

Senate GOP headed for showdown with Trump over SAVE America Act, Iran deal

President Trump and Republican senators are headed for a collision Wednesday, when they will be meeting on Capitol Hill to discuss two major sources of strain: the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act and the Iran peace deal. Republican senators are bracing themselves for an unpredictable, and potentially heated, discussion as tensions have been…