MoU signed, sealed, and Israel still bombs Lebanon

• India is being cut out of the title of the US forces dominating Asia, it was just revealed. US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth tweeted on X  that “US Indo-Pacific Command” will revert to its old name, “US Pacific Command”.
• President Trump: ‘The agreement is not final. This is a Memorandum of Understanding. If I don’t like it, we’ll go back to shooting at them, dropping bombs on their head. If I don’t like it, if they don’t behave, we’ll go right back to dropping bombs smack in the middle of their head, okay?’

• Iran’s President Pezeshkian and his US counterpart Trump signed the MoU between Tehran and Washington digitally and remotely.
• Trump confirmed the unfreezing of Iranian assets as part of a peace agreement to strengthen confidence in the dollar. "We took a lot of money from them. I think we will have to return it, you understand? If we didn't return it, no one would ever invest in the dollar again," the U.S. president stated. This is in relation to the unblocking of $24 billion in Iranian assets and investments of another $300 billion.

• Sovereignista: We know that this MoU gained instant notoriety when Iran was within an hour away of pummeling Israel. The MoU so far saved Israel. It got the gas price to reduce to fill up the reserves and it gives time to gather upgraded weapons of war. The MoU buys time. Trump is not at all interested in peace in West Asia. Note the casual comment that Syria could take over the fight against Hezbollah at the G7 meeting. Syria declined as far as we know. The Empire is an Empire. It is not a peacemaker. It is a warmonger. Never think a MoU and 60 days of promised negotiation will change these facts.
• The Chinese Foreign Ministry: We are committed to facilitating the negotiation process between Iran and the United States. Humanitarian aid shipments will soon be sent to Iran and Lebanon.

• Sergey Lavrov and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi hold phone call: The two foreign ministers discussed the memorandum of understanding between Iran and the US. Lavrov expressed his support to his Iranian counterpart,  Araghchi, on the understanding reached through the mediation of Pakistan and Qatar to de-escalate tensions in the region.
• Israeli forces continue shelling southern Lebanon despite the US–Iran agreement, which requires Washington and its allies to halt military actions against the Arab country.
• Another body exchange was carried out between Russia and Ukraine. 33 fallen Russian soldiers for 522 Ukrainian militants. All that western corporate media talk about Russian losing to Ukraine is BS. The body exchanges have always been this lopsided. 

• The White House and Congress are working on a deal to clamp down on what US citizens are allowed to say online. According to new reporting by Axios, the Trump administration is negotiating with key senators in an effort to shoehorn a massive legislation package which would limit states’ abilities to regulate AI in exchange for placing broad federal limits on digital speech. Plenty of ink has been spilled about the Trump administration’s push to revoke AI regulation from individual states. Though the White House and its allies frame this as a matter of “safety” and “national security,” the timing is telling, coming as progressive state governments move to restrict the building of AI data centers and hold tech companies liable for harms their AI systems cause. What makes this deal particularly insidious is the trade-off at its core. Per Axios, congressional lawmakers lead by Republican Marsha Blackburn are essentially offering to surrender their ability to regulate AI in exchange for three federal censorship bills: the Kids Online Safety Act, the NO FAKES Act, and a federal age verification mandate. While the language around these three measures suggests common-sense cyber regulation, activists say they really amount to a massive censorship regime that is fundamentally anti-democratic.

• Oh gee, another coincidonk!! Just after Indonesia says ‘NO’ to US military flight access over Indonesian territory, guess what, US funded student groups start up street riots again. Just like clockwork. This time the regime change color is YELLOW — for this latest in orchestrated US-sponsored Color Revolutions! Watch for more reporting of the ‘chaos’ in Indonesia, until the US gets its own way and gets its flight access — so it can squeeze the Malacca Strait closed to choke Chinese trade. Of course BBC is all over the story....

• RIA Novosti: The drone strike by the Armed Forces of Ukraine on a bus with Belarusian children in the Bryansk region was purposeful, said presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov. "Obviously, this is another inhumane terrorist act. Drone operators have a great view of where they are hitting. It was not a military vehicle, it was a bus that transported civilians, in this case children." The bus was carrying a children’s soccer team from Belarus to a Russian seaside resort. The attack killed an adult woman who was accompanying the underage passengers to the resort town of Gelendzhik in Krasnodar Region and injured six others, including four children. One young victim was rushed to hospital in serious condition, while the injuries of the others are considered moderate. 

• Lula at the G7: “Brazil’s elections are a Brazilian matter.”  That was President Lula’s message to Trump.  As Brazil heads toward a crucial presidential election, Lula has publicly warned Washington not to interfere in the country’s democratic process.  The warning comes after months of tension surrounding the Bolsonaro family, US tariffs, sanctions on Brazilian judicial officials, and repeated comments from Trump criticizing Brazil’s courts.  Lula says Trump is free to support the Bolsonaro family if he wants.  But Brazil’s elections, he insists, belong to Brazilians alone. He also quipped that Trump talks too much and listens too little and still believes he is the ultimate emperor.