Rachel Blevins

RACHEL BLEVINS—Reports say President Trump is considering deploying thousands of U.S. Troops to the Middle East, with air and naval forces to target the Strait of Hormuz, and ground forces to attempt to seize Iran’s Kharg Island. This, as the Trump Admin requests $200 BILLION in funding for the war they just launched. Brian Berletic, a geopolitical analyst and Host of The New Atlas, noted that the war in Iran has been decades in the making and was never meant to just be a four-day operation. He pointed out that the U.S. has its eye on its biggest competition: China.

RB—Israel just sent both tensions and energy prices soaring, with attacks on South Pars, the world’s largest natural gas field, which is operated by Iran and Qatar. Tehran has announced it will retaliate against Gulf and Israeli oil infrastructure, and it has issued warnings to residents near gas fields and refineries in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar.

RACHEL BLEVINS—President Trump is now saying it’s “impossible” for Kiev to get control of Crimea back, or for Ukraine to become a NATO member, less than a week after his summit with Russian President Putin. But while Trump is playing “third-party peacemaker,” and planning in-person talks between Putin and Zelensky, the U.S. is still actively supporting the war.

Patrick Henningsen, Journalist, Geopolitical Analyst and Host of the 21st Century Wire, noted that despite all of the talks we’ve seen in recent days, “it is NOT possible” to reach a deal because NATO has yet to show that they want to address the “root causes” listed by Russia that led us to the brink of WW3 in the first place.

RACHEL BLEVINS—Tensions continue to escalate, as Ukraine launches hundreds of attempted drone attacks in Russia, and Russia carries out some of its largest drone and missile attacks yet in Ukraine. Reports are warning that Russia is preparing a “Summer offensive” with Zelensky claiming there are 50,000 Russian troops amassing near Ukraine’s Sumy region. Brian Berletic, a geopolitical analyst and Host of The New Atlas, noted that while the West focuses on territory, it’s important to understand that Russia’s strategy of attrition in this war is aimed at the “complete collapse” of the Ukrainian military, rather than amassing more land. That’s why the U.S. has been trying to corner Russia into a deal to freeze the conflict, so that NATO can have a shot at rebuilding Kiev’s military.

M. MARANDI—(Quote)—The Trump Admin is back to playing ‘Good Cop, Bad Cop’ as it claims it wants to pursue nuclear talks with Iran one day, and then threatens war with Iran the next. In response, Iran’s supreme leader is warning that the Trump Admin’s threats “will get them nowhere,” as Iran’s Revolutionary Guards unveil new missile systems on three strategic islands in the Persian Gulf that can target nearby “enemy bases, vessels, and assets.” Prof. Seyed Mohammad Marandi, of the University of Tehran, noted that if the U.S. pursues war against Iran, it would “a war of self-destruction,” because it would not only send the U.S. into an economic depression from the impact on oil and gas supplies and prices… it would also create “a global catastrophe.”