It’s Thursday, June 18. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large. Today: Is the Iran deal worth the paper it’s written on? Batya Ungar-Sargon on the state of liberal American Jewry, Richard Reeves on embracing masculinity, and former Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant on why military aid to Israel isn’t charity. And much more.
But first: Hard-selling the Iran deal.
President Donald Trump signed perhaps the biggest deal of his life yesterday, and so far, he’s struggling to sell Americans on its merits. It isn’t hard to see why. The first proposed benefit to the U.S. is Iran’s promise to open the Strait of Hormuz—a pledge it has repeatedly made and betrayed. Meanwhile, once the deal is negotiated in its first 60 days, Iran would gain access to up to $300 billion in foreign investment. That would help rebuild Iran’s arsenal, which the U.S. spent months attempting to destroy.
By Wednesday afternoon, Trump seemed to admit that he struck the deal under pressure. “I didn’t want to see an economic catastrophe,” he said, suggesting that the stock market would have tumbled if he’d failed to reach an agreement.
Trump condemned any comparison between his agreement and former president Barack Obama’s 2015 deal, saying Iran’s leaders “laughed at Obama” after that deal and “said he’s a stupid son of a bitch.” Trump also defended allowing funds into Iran: “What do you expect me to say: No one is allowed to invest?”
He’s now relying on Vice President J.D. Vance to help sell the deal, and Eli Lake suggests that Vance isn’t faring much better. As a leader among right-wing skeptics of war, but also loyal to the president, Vance is at pains to portray the outcome in Iran as a win for America. Read Eli’s take on Vance’s tightrope walk between the hawks and the doves.
Our columnists also decipher the deal, sorting fact from fiction and exposing its potentially fatal flaws. Niall Ferguson is cautiously optimistic, arguing that a cascade of misfortunes among America’s enemies could yield a new status quo in the Middle East. Douglas Murray takes a contrary view, suggesting that Iran’s record of aggression means there’s little chance of good faith today.
Trump’s deal not only withdraws America from the conflict; it also requires Israel to halt its war on Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu rebuffed Trump this week, saying “the struggle has not ended,” yet Trump says he shouldn’t worry because Syrian forces may head into the breach. Tanner Nau games out the scenario with Ahmad Shawari, a researcher on the region and Hezbollah.
And finally, Mark Dubowitz considers how we got to the deal, and the details Trump and Iran will hash out in the coming two months. Watch Mark on the latest episode of School of War.
—The Editors
Are Jews still welcome in today’s Democratic Party? That’s a question that an increasing number of Jewish Americans have asked themselves as the political left abandons its support for Israel, while inviting antisemites into the party under the guise of progressivism. But it hasn’t always been this way. Jewish Americans are pivotal to the formation of today’s left, according to Batya Ungar-Sargon in her new book, The Jews and the Left. Batya, a Free Press contributor and host of Batya! on NewsNation, sits down with Rafaela Siewert to discuss the state of American Jewry on the left—and how it got this way.
Supporters of Israel—both left and right—vary in their stances on how best the United States should support its ally in the Middle East. Some stand with Benjamin Netanyahu, who has advised it’s best to gradually wean Israel off military aid, both for the sake of Israel and the United States. Former Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant says this is a mistake, as U.S. “aid” to Israel is not charity, but a key to technology and investments in security. He lays out his case calling for a shift in perspective when evaluating whether the U.S. should provide aid to Israel.
American boys are in trouble. And yet, few seem to care. Richard Reeves, president of the American Institute for Boys and Men, sat down with Shilo Brooks for the season finale of Old School to talk about why men have fallen behind, the unique challenges they face, and how a future that embraces masculinity instead of deriding it as “toxic” should look.
For the last week, we have paid homage to Great Americans who blazed new frontiers or broke barriers. We will continue to do so until our country’s 250th birthday, now less than a month away. Today’s installment of Great Americans will have to wait, but catch up on some of our latest favorites in the meantime.
Speaking of great Americans, our own River Page will answer all of your questions at 2 p.m. today in The Free Press Forum. Ask him about the scene at the UFC fight, the Libertarian who may spoil the Texas Senate race, or whatever is on your mind!
MORE FROM THE FREE PRESS
THE NEWS
President Trump abruptly called off the confirmation hearing of his director of national intelligence nominee Jay Clayton, bucking Republican senators, who were scheduled to consider Clayton later Wednesday afternoon. Trump said that Bill Pulte, the embattled federal housing director, will remain acting director, and said he would not sign a bill renewing a key intelligence program if it did not include provisions establishing voter ID laws and banning mail-in voting.
Rex Heuermann, known as the Gilgo Beach serial killer, was sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday after he pleaded guilty to killing eight women between 1993 and 2010. Heuermann was arrested in July 2023 and will spend the remainder of his life in state prison.
The Federal Reserve unanimously held interest rates steady in what was a highly anticipated June meeting, the first of Kevin Warsh’s tenure as Federal Reserve chair. “Economic activity is expanding at a solid pace despite elevated uncertainty that owes, in part, to the conflict in the Middle East,” read the Federal Reserve’s statement on the decision.
The Federal Trade Commission, along with a handful of Republican-led states, is suing the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), alleging that WPATH recommendations misled parents and children about the medical consensus and medical necessity of gender transition surgeries.
Luigi Mangione plans to argue at trial that he was suffering from an extreme emotional disturbance when he fatally shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December 2024. The defense, if successful, would not exonerate Mangione, but could significantly reduce his prison time if convicted.
The Justice Department is suing the New York State Department of Health, the state’s Medicaid director, and Public Partnerships, LLC, which operates a $10 billion home health program for New York. The lawsuit alleges that PPL made false or misleading claims about its ability to take over and manage the state’s Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program.
Louisiana Republican senator Bill Cassidy called the memorandum of understanding with Iran “the worst foreign policy blunder in decades.” “Iran’s nuclear ambitions were not curbed,” the senator wrote on Wednesday, “and they have learned that threatening the Strait of Hormuz works and will undoubtedly leverage it in the future.”
There is a large segment of the US electorate on the Left and on the Right opposed to this war with Iran. The President is the president of all Americans and cannot ignore the perspectives of these American voters. Remember Vietnam War, (a righteous war against a proxy totalitarian, supremacist, and violent enemy committed to world domination although not fanatics like the Islamic “Republic” –see the Constitution of the Islamic State where its intentions are clear). There was no "imminent danger" to the US; the danger was strategic, not immediate like Fort Sumpter, Germany's unrestricted submarine warfare and the sinking of the passenger ship Lusitania, or Pearl Harbor, or 911 or Oct 7th.
I think the " Iran Deal" has delayed the inevitable and yet, like Israel's failure to go to war with Hamas (see While Israel Slept by Yaakov Katz and Amir Bohbot will provide insights into the thinking of the military, the intelligence agencies and the political class like Winston Churchill's While England Slept explain an unwillingness to confront a real threat.
I think, though, many critical of the President will walk away when 1000s of body bags of American young men and women are returned. Vietnam War has lessons, too.
It's complicated. The arrogance of apodictic certainty by so many is a luxury of people who do not, like President Trump and his Administration, decide the life and death of young people , and the economic destruction to millions of innocents resulting from war.
Let us all exercise some humility; The other guy might have a point.
And we remember our Covenant with the Sovereign of the Universe and pray for President Trump and all our political leaders that they choose wisely.
Agree this is deal that will only serve to enhance Irans strength and all that money being released will
Be used to rebuild what the terrorists have lost - weapons and might.
Abandoning the west.
( most don’t seem to care about Islamist extremism)