Gaza ceasefire tests Trump-Netanyahu bond

US President Donald Trump's push for a ceasefire in Gaza is testing his bond with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. That relationship was on full display this week during the Israeli leader’s third visit to Washington this year, reports The Hill.

Even when Trump and Netanyahu have diverged in private, they have usually remained publicly in lockstep — apart from Trump dropping a bomb last month during the shaky start of the Israel-Iran ceasefire.

As Trump turns his attention to ending the fighting in Gaza, Netanyahu risks drawing the president’s ire once again. 

“The president gets frustrated because he wants this victory of having brought peace,” said Elliott Abrams, US special representative for Iran during Trump’s first term. 

“I think when it comes to Gaza, he recognizes that the problem is Hamas. So, it’s frustrating to him that he can’t get the hostages out and get a ceasefire, but he’s not blaming Netanyahu.”

Trump and his top envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, say a deal is close. 

“There’s nothing definite about war, Gaza and all the other places, there’s a very good chance of a settlement, an agreement this week, maybe next week if not,” Trump told reporters on Wednesday when asked about the progress of his talks with Netanyahu. 

Witkoff said Tuesday the two sides were now in “proximity talks,” having whittled their disagreements down to one point.

A Palestinian source told the BBC that talks in Doha have stalled over disagreements on the delivery of humanitarian aid and Israeli military withdrawal.  

It’s not clear whether Trump will respect Netanyahu’s red lines — getting Hamas out of Gaza and Israel retaining freedom of military operation — or push the Israeli leader to accept a deal that would infuriate his right-wing allies and risk toppling his governing coalition.

Trump has repeatedly broken with Netanyahu’s desires in the Middle East, as demonstrated by his dropping sanctions on Syria’s new government and engaging in direct talks with Iran. Yet this week the president was notably deferential to his Israeli counterpart on questions about the future of Gaza. 

“Trump is the only US president who in his first 6 months has both sidelined Israel and made it central to his successes and policies,” Aaron David Miller, a veteran Middle East negotiator and senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, wrote Monday on the social platform X.

“The Trump-Netanyahu bromance will last until it doesn’t.” 

 

 

Historic agreement signed between US and Israel

In a milestone moment for US-Israel relations, the two nations signed a historic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Tuesday, formalizing a powerful new alliance in the fields of artificial intelligence and energy infrastructure. The agreement was signed at Blair House in Washington, with high-level participation from both governments.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Secretaries Doug Burgum (Interior) and Chris Wright (Energy) joined US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and Israel’s Ambassador to Washington Yechiel Leiter for the landmark signing. Also leading the effort was Israel’s Energy Secretary Eli Cohen, whose vision helped shape the strategic framework.

The MoU aims to accelerate joint research and policy development in applying AI technologies to fortify national energy grids and drive energy innovation across both countries. Israel’s Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, the Prime Minister’s Office, and several US federal agencies including the Department of Energy and the White House National Energy Dominance Council are key parties to the agreement.

“The future belongs to those who innovate,” Netanyahu declared. “America and Israel are the prime innovation nations on the planet. AI is the thrust of innovation now… This day will be remembered. Not every signing ceremony is as significant as this. This is very significant.”

This agreement follows weeks of deepened US-Israel cooperation in the wake of Israel’s successful 12-day air campaign against Iran’s nuclear sites. As Secretary Burgum emphasized, “The planning, the execution, the world has never seen anything like it truly eliminating one of the existential threats that was facing the entire world.”

He continued, “This step takes us into the future… Defense would not be working without AI, and Israel’s incredible startup community and technological leadership make it the perfect partner.”

Secretary Wright echoed this sentiment “Israel has been a great American ally for a long time, and our partnership has never been tighter, never been stronger than it is today.”

The MoU sets the stage for concrete collaboration in key strategic sectors and reinforces Israel’s status as a premier global innovation hub. From securing critical infrastructure to driving forward breakthroughs in clean energy and machine learning, this partnership opens new frontiers for both nations.

As Netanyahu noted, “It will make both of us greater again.” This is not just diplomacy it’s shared destiny.

 

Devastating civilian toll in Iranian capital

Tehran’s Mayor Alireza Zakani has laid bare the human cost of the Israeli regime’s 12-day military aggression against Iran, disclosing that 3,600 civilian residential units across the capital were damaged in the assault.

In a somber address on Tuesday, Zakani confirmed hundreds of families remain displaced from their homes, underscoring a "defining experience" for the city’s crisis management infrastructure.

"According to documented statistics, 3,600 residential units suffered damage during this imposed war," Zakani stated.

"Among these, 200 units require complete reconstruction, 250 need fundamental reinforcement, and 1,500 necessitate repairs."

Minor damage, including shattered windows and doors, affected the remainder. The mayor emphasized that municipal teams are mobilizing to complete minor repairs, such as window and door replacements, by late July.

The Israeli assault that took place in June plunged ordinary citizens into profound hardship, with some communities bearing the brunt of the impact.

Currently, 350 displaced families are sheltering in hotels leased by the municipality, with another 450 households urgently requiring temporary housing while their homes undergo rebuilding.

For those whose residences were fully destroyed or require major reconstruction, Zakani outlined a support package, "Affected families will receive 1.5 billion tomans for deposits and 30 million tomans monthly rent assistance" to alleviate their burdens.

Beyond housing, the mayor reported extensive ancillary damage. "Claims have been formally registered for 875 civilian vehicles struck during the attacks," he said, adding that municipal teams are now documenting losses of household belongings for future compensation.

The devastation unfolded during the 12-Day War — a coordinated US-Israeli assault launched on June 13, 2025, targeting Iranian nuclear facilities, civilian infrastructure, and military compounds. The offensive extended to the assassinations of senior commanders and scientists, many executed in residential areas.

Iran’s human toll has been severe. At least 1,060 Iranians were martyred, according to Saeed Ohadi, head of Iran’s Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs, who said the figure could rise to 1,100 given the critical condition of many wounded.
 

 

Iran threat to Britain, significant and rising

Iran poses a significant and wide-ranging threat to Britain and, while not in the same league as Russia or China, it is one which is rising and for which the British government is not fully prepared, British lawmakers said in a report released on Thursday, reports Reuters.

Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) said the Iranian risk varied from physical attacks on and potential assassinations of dissidents and Jewish targets, to espionage, offensive cyber capabilities and its attempt to develop nuclear weapons."

Iran is there across the full spectrum of all the kinds of threats we have to be concerned with," the committee chair, Kevan Jones, said in a statement.

Although the evidence given to the committee concluded in August 2023, the lawmakers said their recommendations about action the government should take remained relevant and it is the latest message from the British authorities on the danger they say Tehran poses.

Last year, the head of Britain's domestic spy agency MI5 said since January 2022, his service and British police had responded to 20 Iran-backed plots to kidnap or kill British nationals or individuals based in the United Kingdom regarded by Tehran as a threat.

In March, Britain said it would require the Iranian state to register everything it does to exert political influence in Britain, subjecting Tehran to an elevated tier of scrutiny in light of what it said was increasingly aggressive activity.

British security services say Tehran uses criminal proxies to carry out its work in Britain, and the ISC said the threat to individuals was comparable to that posed by Russia.

In December, two Romanians were charged after a journalist working for a Persian language media organization in London was stabbed in the leg, while just last month three Iranian men appeared in court charged with assisting Iran's foreign intelligence service and plotting violence against journalists.

The ISC said the British government should fully examine whether it would be practicable to proscribe the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), an action for which some lawmakers have long called.

US imposes sanctions on Francesca Albanese

The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on Francesca Albanese, the United Nations' special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, who has been very critical of Israel's war in Gaza, reports Reuters.

In a post on X late on Wednesday, Albanese wrote that she stood "firmly and convincingly on the side of justice, as I have always done," without directly mentioning the US sanctions. In a text message to Al Jazeera, she was quoted as dismissing the US move as "mafia style intimidation techniques."

Since returning to office in January, President Donald Trump has stopped US engagement with the UN Human Rights Council, extended a halt to funding for the Palestinian relief agency UNRWA and ordered a review of the UN cultural agency UNESCO. He has also announced US plans to quit the Paris climate deal and the World Health Organization.

"Today I am imposing sanctions on UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese for her illegitimate and shameful efforts to prompt (International Criminal Court) action against US and Israeli officials, companies, and executives," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.

Albanese, an Italian lawyer and academic, has called on states at the UN Human Rights Council to impose an arms embargo and cut off trade and financial ties with Israel while accusing the US ally of waging a "genocidal campaign" in Gaza.

Israel has faced accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice and of war crimes at the ICC over its devastating military assault on Gaza.

Israel denies the accusations and says its campaign amounts to self-defense after a deadly October 2023 Hamas attack.

In a report published earlier this month, Albanese accused over 60 companies, including major arms manufacturers and technology firms, of involvement in supporting Israeli settlements and military actions in Gaza. The report called on companies to cease dealings with Israel and for legal accountability for executives implicated in alleged violations of international law.

Albanese is one of dozens of independent human rights experts mandated by the United Nations to report on specific themes and crises. The views expressed by special rapporteurs do not reflect those of the global body as a whole.

Rights experts slammed the US sanctions against Albanese. Dylan Williams, vice president for government affairs at the Center for International Policy think tank, labeled them as "rogue state behavior" while Amnesty International said special rapporteurs must be supported and not sanctioned.

"Governments around the world and all actors who believe in the rule-based order and international law must do everything in their power to mitigate and block the effect of the sanctions against Francesca Albanese and more generally to protect the work and independence of Special Rapporteurs," Amnesty International's Secretary General Agnes Callamard, a former UN special rapporteur, said.

His administration imposed sanctions on four judges at the ICC in June in retaliation over the war tribunal's issuance of an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a past decision to open a case into alleged war crimes by US troops in Afghanistan.

 

Trump threatens 50% tariffs on Brazil

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened Brazil with a crippling tariff of 50% starting August 01, according to a letter he sent to the country’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

In the letter posted on Truth Social, Trump alleged Lula is undertaking a “Witch Hunt that should end immediately” over charges against its right wing former president, Jair Bolsonaro.

Bolsonaro, who has bragged about his closeness with Trump, is facing trial for allegedly attempting to stage a coup against Lula.

Bolsonaro and dozens of associates have been charged with attempting a coup d’état, which prosecutors allege involved a plan to potentially assassinate elected President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Lula vowed to reciprocate if Trump follows through with his threat.

“Brazil is a sovereign nation with independent institutions and will not accept any form of tutelage,” Lula said in a post on X.

“Any measure to increase tariffs unilaterally will be responded to in light of Brazil’s Law of Economic Reciprocity,” he added.

This marks the first time in months another country has threatened to match Trump’s tariff threat.

Unlike the 21 other countries that have received letters from Trump this week, Brazil was not set to face “reciprocal” tariffs in April. Goods from there have instead been tariffed at a minimum of 10%, which is the rate Trump has been taxing most goods from countries that were set to face “reciprocal” tariffs.

Unlike the other 21 countries, the US ran a US$6.8 billion trade surplus with Brazil last year, meaning the US exported more goods to there than it imported from there. That means Brazil’s 50% tariff on American goods could severely harm domestic businesses that rely on exporting goods there.

This is not the first time Trump has used the threat of tariffs to try to change other countries’ domestic policy decisions.

Earlier this year, he threatened 25% tariffs on Colombian exports that would grow to 50% if the country didn’t accept deportees from the US. Colombia ultimately accepted the deportees and avoided those tariffs.

Trump also imposed tariffs on goods from Mexico, Canada and China over the role he alleges they play in facilitating illegal migration to the US and enabling fentanyl to reach the country.

In all the letters except the one sent to Brazil’s Lula, Trump wrote that he takes particular issue with the trade deficits the United States runs with other nations, meaning America buys more goods from there compared to how much American businesses export to those countries. Trump also said the tariffs would be set in response to other policies that he deems are impeding American goods from being sold abroad.

JPMorgan economists said in a note to clients on Wednesday titled “Another day, another step closer to Liberation Day” that the 50% tariff threat on Brazilian goods was “most surprising.” (“Liberation Day” refers to April 02, the day Trump held a Rose Garden event to announce “reciprocal” tariff rates.)

 

Trump and Netanyahu partners in killing of Gazans

As Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu, along with their respective delegations, sat down to dinner in the White House on Monday, Israeli forces were busy doing what they have been doing in the killing fields of Gaza for the past 21 months - murdering and pillaging.

And perhaps the most unfortunate development during this meeting was the fact that the Israeli leader — responsible for the murder of tens of thousands of Palestinian men, women and children — announced that he had nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Sometimes reality is far more grotesque than fiction. And though negotiations for a possible ceasefire continue, no one should doubt Israel’s long-term intentions even if the butchery stops - the Israeli state seeks to ethnically cleanse the occupied territories of their Palestinian inhabitants, and forever obstruct the chances of a viable Palestinian state.

Those who believe a two-state solution is still possible should listen closely to what Netanyahu said at the White House. “Never again” he declared when discussing a “complete state” for the Palestinians, while adding that “overall security will always remain in our hands”.

By security, one assumes the Israeli leader means that Tel Aviv will always retain the ‘right’ to butcher Palestinians into submission should they step out of line.

As for Gaza? The Israeli leader repeated the intention to ethnically cleanse the Strip, and ship the Palestinians off to other countries.

His defence minister offered more details, saying that all of Gaza’s Palestinians will be rounded up into a concentration camp in Rafah, and after “de-radicalization”, they will be “encouraged” to leave for other states.

Perhaps starvation and mass murder are amongst the methods the Israeli state uses to ‘encourage’ Palestinians to flee. But the brave people of Gaza are not ready to go anywhere; they would rather die on their land than face expulsion and exile.

Ever since the October 07, 2023 events, over 57,000 people have been slaughtered by Israel in Gaza. However, the Gaza Mortality Survey, conducted by experts from the Britain and other Western states, suggests the actual death toll may be over 83,000.

But to the world these are mere numbers; no one has the moral courage to halt this massacre. What is particularly shocking is how much Zionism in modern Israel resembles Nazism in 20th-century Europe. Both are exclusionary ideologies, with their followers known to perpetrate unimaginable cruelty.

The Nazis sent their victims off to the gas chambers; the Israeli state oversees a genocide in Gaza. But while Nazism is today rightly condemned the world over, the modern followers of Zionism get the best seat at the table, and are wined and dined by the world’s most powerful leaders, as the children of Gaza suffer and die in pain.

Courtesy: Dawn Newspaper