Matthew Hoh

“…regardless of all else that is being said, by all the sides, the proposed MOU is nothing more than an extension of the ceasefire and an acceptance of the de facto reality of Iran’s control of the Straits of Hormuz.” Link in first comment.

Mamdani closed a $12B deficit in 132 days, fixed 100K+ potholes, secured millions for gig workers, fined corrupt landlords millions, raised snow workers to $30/hr, and violent crime hit historic lows. THIS IS WHAT A LEADER DOES!!

JUST IN: Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman, Ismael Baqaei on the Strait of Hormuz: “According to the MoU, Iran and Oman will be responsible for managing passage through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran is not seeking to impose tolls. However, in return for navigation services, environmental protection, insurances and other maritime services, Iran will collect the necessary fees."

💢 Iranian officials are portraying Israel’s Sunday escalation in Lebanon as the trigger that led Washington to accept several of Tehran’s key conditions for a U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding, claiming that the threat of a wider regional war and a direct Iranian response shifted the negotiations in Iran’s favor. 🔸Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said some of Tehran’s proposed revisions to the text were accepted after developments in Lebanon, and warnings from Iran’s armed forces “helped move the negotiations forward,” saying the military pressure “helped finalize the text” and resolve outstanding issues. He also said Iran refused to approve the memorandum until “all of our final points and demands” had been incorporated. 🔸 Vice President JD Vance said that U.S. officials aggressively intervened to stop a major Iranian missile retaliation against Israel today. Speaking to Fox News, Vance said that after the Israeli military launched airstrikes in Beirut, intelligence indicated Iran was heavily preparing a massive missile strike against Israeli targets. Through intense, last-minute diplomatic communications during the finalization of the U.S.-Iran MOU, American negotiators successfully secured explicit assurances from Tehran that they would hold back their military response. 🔸Separately, the New York Times, citing three Iranian officials, reported that Tehran had prepared but ultimately called off a planned retaliatory strike on Israel after President Trump, through intermediaries, urged restraint, with Iranian officials believing an escalation could derail a peace agreement that was close to completion. 🔸The claims have been echoed across multiple Iranian news sources. Fars news agency reported that after the Israeli strike on Beirut’s Dahiyeh, Iran prepared a retaliatory attack on Israel, but returned to the talks after receiving last-minute concessions from President Trump through mediators, including commitments related to preserving Lebanon’s territorial integrity, an Israeli withdrawal from the Lebanese border area, and the immediate lifting of the naval blockade. 🔸Entekhab, citing an informed source, separately reported that following warnings from Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Tehran’s insistence on its “red lines,” the U.S. agreed to lift the blockade immediately rather than phasing it out over 30 days.

🔴 Gaza update: At least 9 Palestinians, including a child have been killed in continuing Israeli attacks across Gaza on Sunday, according to Shehab News. The different incidents include: 🔹 6 Palestinians were killed and several others wounded in an Israeli airstrike on a warehouse near Al-Yemen Al-Saeed Hospital in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza. The deceased were identified as Shadi Hasni Abu Salem, Shadi Khamis Al-Zein, Hani Sweilem, and Muhammad Main Sweilem, while two others remain unidentified at Al-Shifa Hospital, according to local media. 🔹Shehab News reported Zaki Mohammed Al-Qara, 30, was killed by Israeli gunfire near the Bani Suheila roundabout east of Khan Younis, while Mohammed Ramzi Abu Hussira, 39, died from wounds sustained in an Israeli helicopter strike in central Gaza City a day earlier. 🔹Nasser Medical Complex also reported 15-year old child Amir Al-Bashiti killed, and another person wounded by Israeli gunfire east of Khan Younis. 🔹Israeli airstrikes targeted tents sheltering displaced people and the Al-Nusseir area in western Khan Younis, causing additional casualties, while the Israeli military carried out large-scale building demolitions around Tel al-Zaatar in northern Gaza. 🎥 Mahmoud Z Aliwa filmed the aftermath of the Jabalia massacre in northern Gaza.

Fars News has mentioned that Trump told the Iranians to back off retaliation for the Dahieh attack because he guaranteed an immediate end to the naval blockade on Iran and a withdrawal of the Israelis from the Lebanese border. Unclear if such a withdrawal is actually in the text.

And for the last six years, every American who said they felt this in their lives, saw it in the lives of family, friends and neighbors and understood the economy to be toxic and sick was told by the New York Times and others that they didn’t understand how the economy works.

The U.S. Dollar has lost 30% of its purchasing power over the last six years, per NYT