Koen Robeys

NEW: Multiple sources published what appears to be the text of the US-Iran agreement. Neither the United States nor Iran has officially published the text of the agreement at this time. The leaked text of the agreement, if accurate, indicates that Iran has emerged from the conflict in a stronger strategic position, however. ⬇️ The MoU reportedly grants Iran significant economic relief, which Iran would likely use to try to reconstitute its missile, drone, and nuclear programs, as well as the Axis of Resistance. The MoU states that Iran could receive further economic relief by fulfilling its commitments in the MoU and reaching a final agreement that addresses key nuclear issues. ISW-CTP has not observed any indications that Iranian decision-makers are willing to make concessions on the nuclear issues that would be included in a final agreement, however. Iran will likely try to exploit the agreement’s seemingly ambiguous language about the Strait of Hormuz to try to enforce its control over shipping through the strait. The reported text of the agreement does not explicitly bar Iran from “managing” the strait, and Iran could therefore continue to insist on vessels using its illegal traffic separation scheme in Iranian territorial waters and paying “fees” to the IRGC Navy. The Iranian regime is interpreting the clause in the agreement about a ceasefire “on all fronts” as a requirement for Israel to cease operations against Hezbollah and withdraw from Lebanon. This interpretation is part of a broader Iranian effort to preserve Hezbollah by trying to secure Israel’s capitulation in Lebanon. The reported MoU terms indicate that Iran structured the agreement in a way to try to limit the United States’ ability to impose renewed pressure on Iran during the 60-day negotiations period and thereby make it more challenging for the United States to extract concessions from Iran during the negotiations. Iranian officials and media are largely framing the US-Iran MoU as an Iranian victory that codifies Iran’s military achievements. The Iranian regime’s English-language media outlet, Press TV, argued on June 16 that the MoU is not simply a ceasefire, but rather represents the “political codification of a battlefield reality.”

Another woman's job is being threatened over her gender critical views. This time, Agnes Wold in Sweden. Agnes Wold is a much-loved public intellectual in Sweden who is known for her feminism, her level-headed response to the COVID lockdown hysteria (she’s a bacteriologist), and, more recently, for refusing to go along with the transgender dogma that has gripped Swedish bureaucratic, activist, media and political elites. On 20 May, the Swedish parliament approved an amendment to the law that criminalises “psychological violence” and “coercion” relating to “gender identity or gender expression (such as conversion practices)”, among other things. It is widely understood to be Sweden’s version of a conversion therapy ban (a more explicit law is likely if the left coalition gets into power in September). Speaking on a radio programme about the law, Wold told the host that she would take 4 years in prison— the penalty for trying to prevent someone from leaning into their opposite-sex, delusion — before she would allow the gender transition of a grandchild (hard agree). This comment set off major drama, with one famous gay media guy calling her the Swedish equivalent to “old hag” or “old crone”. Specifically, he said “get rid of the old hag. It is unethical of Sveriges Radio to give her access to a microphone,” which is a way of saying she should be fired from her public radio job. Many, many people have called for Agnes Wold to be fired throughout the trans-mania era, and a lot of them seemed to be hoping that this comment would be the final nail in her coffin. But the remarks seem to have the opposite effect. Not only did Swedish people get very offended by this little shithead calling their beloved based radio-granny an old hag, they started to ask questions about the law that she was criticising. And that, boys and girls, is how the omerta on the trans mass derangement got partially lifted in Sweden, and suddenly everyone started to ask: wait, what? Some kids think they’re in the wrong body and you can go to jail for telling them to snap out of it? Yes, dear Swedes, that’s what’s happening. Welcome to the conversation. We’ve been expecting you. As of writing, Wold still has not yet been fired.