Iran Nuclear Standoff
US, Iran Disagree on Nuclear Inspections as Senate Votes to Block Military Action
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The United States and Iran are publicly disagreeing over a core part of their ceasefire deal: whether Tehran agreed to let U.N. inspectors into its nuclear sites. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said flatly that Iran does not intend to allow inspectors "to visit the nuclear sites targeted during the conflict," directly contradicting Vice President JD Vance, who called IAEA access a "major milestone" of the Switzerland talks, according to AP News.
The dispute broke on June 23, 2026, the same day the U.S. Senate voted 50-48 to approve a war powers resolution blocking further military action against Iran — the first time in history the Senate has passed such a measure. Four Republicans — Collins, Murkowski, Paul, and Cassidy — crossed the aisle to vote yes. One Democrat, Fetterman, voted no, according to AP News.
US and Iran Clash Over Who Agreed to What
President Trump posted on Truth Social that Iran agreed to "Major Weapons Inspections" to ensure "Nuclear Honesty." But Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian pushed back, saying Iran "will not relinquish our right to enrichment" and warning that "statements outside the agreed text do not help," according to Axios. The agreed text is the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, a 14-point framework Trump signed on June 17 in France.
Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War say Iran is likely holding inspections hostage to get oil sanctions lifted first. The U.S. wants inspections before giving any sanctions relief. That deadlock, they warn, "threatens the ceasefire." Trump has given a 60-day window to resolve it, warning he will "do what I have to do" if talks fail, according to Fox News.
Republican Cracks Widen Over Iran War and Its Costs
The 50-48 Senate vote is a rare bipartisan rebuke of a sitting president's war powers. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) called the Iran deal the "worst foreign policy blunder in decades." Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer called the war "one of the worst foreign policy forays America has ever made," according to Al Jazeera.
The price tag is fueling Republican anxiety. The Pentagon is asking Congress for $80 billion in emergency funds to restock weapons used in the war. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned the military could "run out of money for operations this summer" without it, according to The Wall Street Journal. Trump has also proposed a record $1.5 trillion defense budget for next year.
Supreme Court Bars Dreadlock Lawsuit Against Prison Guards
The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on June 23 that a former Louisiana inmate cannot sue prison guards who forcibly cut off his 20-year-old dreadlocks. Damon Landor is a Rastafarian whose religious beliefs require him to keep his hair uncut. The Court said the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, or RLUIPA, does not allow inmates to sue individual officials for money damages, according to AP News.
In dissent, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson argued the ruling leaves prisoners "remediless" even for "blatant" violations of religious freedom, effectively making federal protections "toothless," according to The Washington Post.
Eight Antifa-Linked Defendants Get Decades for Texas ICE Shooting
Eight people tied to antifa were sentenced to decades in federal prison on June 23 for a July 4, 2025, shooting outside the Prairieland Detention Center in Texas. The attack wounded Alvarado Police Lt. Thomas Gross during a protest at the immigration facility. The lead defendant, Benjamin Song, received 100 years in prison, according to AP News.
The cases were the first prosecuted under a new executive order designating antifa as a domestic terrorist organization. FBI Director Kash Patel said the bureau remains committed to "dismantling Antifa and its funding networks." Civil rights groups warned the sentencings set a dangerous precedent for applying terrorism charges to protest-related violence, according to The Guardian.
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