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Jul 14, 2026 - World

Foreign policy expert Trita Parsi sounded the alarm Tuesday over what he suspected would be a “major escalation” from the United States, one he predicted would come “in the next coming days.”“I do suspect that there’s going to be a major escalation from the U.S. side in the next coming days… I think it’s going to be quite terrible,” Parsi said in a video interview published by Zeteo Tuesday.Parsi’s warning comes amid resumed hostilities between the United States and Iran, sparked by Iran’s strike on a container ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz, which Iranian officials claimed to be in violation of the tentative U.S.-Iran ceasefire agreement. Iran has since declared the Strait of Hormuz “closed,” sparking multiple exchanges of fire between the United States and Iran.Beyond announcing that the U.S. would reinstate its naval blockade on Iran, President Trump has not disclosed further details about U.S. military plans. He did, however, promote commentary Tuesday morning encouraging him to “take Kharg Island,” a small Iranian island and oil hub. Experts have warned that seizing Kharg Island would result in "considerable" American casualties.Parsi, the co-founder of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, also warned that, even in the “best-case scenario,” the recent flare-up in hostilities would put the United States in a worse negotiating position than it was in last week.“In the absolute best-case scenario, the two sides, through the mediation of regional states, will find some sort of way back to the table. But nothing will have changed even by then – nothing has changed now,” Parsi continued. “The runway for the U.S. before the economic crisis is shorter. The only thing that may have changed is that the illusion that military power can rearrange facts on the ground in a manner that will favor your negotiation position may no longer be an illusion that exists, it may have been dispelled by this. But that’s in a best-case scenario!”‘Major U.S. Escalation’ Against Iran Soon, Experts Tell Zeteo by Mehdi HasanIn a Town Hall Q&A for paid subscribers, Zeteo assembled three Middle East experts to unpack developments in Iran, Lebanon, and Gaza. It’s a conversation you won’t find in the mainstream media.Read on Substack

Jul 14, 2026 - World

US government says it wants to ‘systematically disable’ The Hague-based international criminal courtA spokesperson for the EU has pushed back against the Trump administration’s assertion that the international criminal court poses a threat to US sovereignty, a day after the US government said it would work to “systematically disable” a global tribunal that seeks to prosecute the perpetrators of the world’s gravest crimes.Anouar El Anouni, an EU spokesperson, said on Tuesday: “We stand firm in our support for the international criminal court (ICC). Attacks or threats against the court, elected officials, personnel or those cooperating with the court are simply not acceptable.” Continue reading...

Jul 14, 2026 - World

Exclusive: Emmanuel Macron honours outgoing prime minister for leadership role in supporting UkraineKeir Starmer has become the first UK prime minister to be presented with the Légion d’honneur by a French president, in recognition of his work with France on the security of Europe.Emmanuel Macron awarded the historic honour to Starmer for his leadership in setting up the coalition of the willing – a group of countries chaired by France and the UK that have pledged to support Ukraine – at a critical moment for Europe in early 2025. Continue reading...

Jul 14, 2026 - World

President Trump reversed plans to slap hefty fees on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, but the Iran conflict only intensified Tuesday as the U.S. reimposed a naval blockade and Tehran launched new attacks on Gulf countries.

Jul 14, 2026 - World

America First hardliners are viewing Sen. Lindsey Graham's death as a dark opportunity to purge the Republican Party of its remaining interventionist wing and consolidate control over Donald Trump's foreign policy agenda, Politico is reporting.Graham's sudden passing left a gaping hole in the GOP's hawkish establishment — a void that anti-interventionist Trump allies are openly celebrating as a chance to eliminate their final formidable obstacle within the party.Unlike most Republicans, Graham possessed a durable relationship with Trump, which he leveraged consistently to push aggressive foreign policy positions: unwavering support for Israel, robust aid to Ukraine, and advocacy for military strikes against Iran. With him out of the way, Politico is reporting his right-wing critics see it as a "macabre opening" they need to quickly take advantage of."The McCain wing of the 'America Last' party has taken a mortal blow with the death of Graham and the demise of [Sen. Mitch] McConnell," said Steve Bannon, Trump's former White House strategist. "[GOP Sen. Tom] Cotton and the rest of the cabal have neither the gravitas nor the cunning of those two. The Oligarchs in Ukraine and Imperial Israel Proponents are curled up in the fetal position."According to Politico, a former Trump adviser is also excited about gaining more influence with Graham out of the way. Steve Cortes framed Graham's death in nakedly transactional terms."Broadly, whatever the reason, if there are fewer voices in President Trump's ear advocating for intervention that's a great thing. It's a great thing for our country, it's a great thing for our movement, it's a great thing for our party," he said."Still, not all of the president’s America First allies see Graham’s death as a boon to their cause. Some instead frame him as a bridge between a still-hawkish Senate GOP conference and a more anti-interventionist White House — someone who was able to move between both camps in a way that actually helped the America First cause," the report notes with Alex Gray, a former NSC official in Trump’s first term warning, "It actually hurts the America First movement if we don’t have establishment senators who are willing to give America First views a fair hearing, the way Graham did. He inserted kind of an interpretive bridge between the two sides. He did a lot for America First foreign policy.”