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How badly does President Trump want out of the Iran war? He says an agreement is “two or three” days away. By cnn’s count, since late March he has declared a deal imminent at least 38 times. Each time, it has fallen through.

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The latest complication—or rather, the latest sign of how farcical the entire process is—is a barrage of Iranian attacks in defiance of a supposed “ceasefire”:

• Last Friday, Iranian forces fired warning shots near Larak Island and sent drones after tankers in the Strait of Hormuz; American forces shot down four of them.
• Sunday night, Iran launched a missile barrage at northern Israel, the first direct fire between the two nations in two months.
• Monday, an Iranian drone knocked an American attack helicopter out of the sky over the strait. The two pilots barely escaped with their lives.
• This morning, after America’s retaliatory strikes last night, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps hit back at 21 American targets—drones at the Fifth Fleet in Bahrain and the Ali al-Salem airbase in Kuwait, long-range missiles at Azraq airbase in Jordan. It claims it destroyed an F-35 hangar, downed a U.S. surveillance drone, and stands ready to deliver a “crushing and decisive” response to any further American action.
• Meanwhile, the Strait of Hormuz—conduit for a fifth of the world’s oil—has been closed to normal traffic for 101 days and counting.

This is President Trump’s negotiating partner. It is against this backdrop that negotiations are proceeding and reportedly making fantastic progress.

If that isn’t enough to amplify your skepticism over the prospects of peace, perhaps a New York Times report on the substance of the confidential talks will. Here, apparently, are four points of the terms the Trump team is settling on:

1. Enrichment suspended—not ended: Washington demanded a 20-year enrichment freeze. Tehran countered with 10. American officials expect to settle at 15. Trump once called even 20 years insufficient. This is stunningly similar to the “sunset clause” of Obama’s nuclear deal, and it appears to create a timetable for a nuclear Iran.
2. Iran keeps its uranium: Rather than shipping its 11-ton enriched stockpile out of the country, the material would be diluted—likely inside Iran. Tehran could boast that it never gave up the fuel.
3. One nuclear site stays open: The U.S. wanted Natanz, Fordo and Isfahan dismantled. Iran insists on keeping one facility to preserve its “right to enrich.” Remember: The fatal flaw of the Obama-era deal was leaving Fordo intact; Iran later used it to produce near-bomb-grade fuel.
4. Inspections depend on Iran’s cooperation: America wants snap inspections anywhere, anytime. But many suspect that some of the nuclear sites sit inside IRGC bases where inspectors have been turned away at the gates. The entire accord rests on the goodwill of the regime that just shot down an American aircraft.

This is the deal Vice President JD Vance calls a “home run for the American people,” whether or not Israel likes it.

Herbert W. Armstrong said America has won its last war. God prophesied of our people, “I will break the pride of your power” (Leviticus 26:19).

• That broken will is on vivid display: The mightiest nation in history is conceding ground in peace talks, hurrying to ratify Iran’s “right” to remain a threshold nuclear power while still absorbing active attacks from a belligerent enemy that calls it Satan.

Daniel 11:40 describes the king of the south pushing. Iran is pushing at the negotiating table as surely as in the skies over Hormuz. To see where this push leads, read The King of the South.

Platner Nomination Reveals Democrat Hypocrisy

Marine veteran Graham Platner won Maine’s Democratic Senate primary last night in a landslide, 72 percent to 20 percent for his competitor, Gov. Janet Mills. He will now face Republican incumbent Susan Collins in November. His overwhelming victory indicates the current direction of the Democratic Party and shows just how duplicitous it can be.

• Platner, a progressive populist, supports universal health care, increased taxes on the wealthy, and raising the minimum wage.

If his policies weren’t bad enough, Platner comes with a lot of baggage:

• He once had a tattoo of the Nazi SS skull-and-crossbones insignia on his chest. He claimed ignorance of the symbol’s meaning, but past comments suggest otherwise.
• He acknowledged sending sexually explicit messages to multiple women early in his marriage.
• Citing interviews with several of Platner’s ex-girlfriends, the New York Times reported that he has a reputation of demeaning and physically threatening them. One claimed Platner physically abused her more than once. Platner denies these claims.

Some prominent Democrats are keeping their distance because of these allegations. Others, including senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, endorsed Platner. Primary results show his flaws don’t bother average Democratic voters.

• This is the same party that vigorously, even violently, opposed President Trump and his supporters over “fascism” and that pummels any conservative over any allegations of sexual misconduct, no matter how unlikely or disproved. The hypocrisy is deafening.

The notion that a man’s character has no bearing on his leadership is dangerous. Americans’ increasing acceptance of this is strong evidence of national moral decline. Learn more by reading Gerald Flurry’s free booklet Character in Crisis.

Political Crime in Germany Spikes

In a sign of heightened political turmoil, Germany experienced 85,837 politically motivated crimes last year, the highest ever, according to data from Germany’s Interior Ministry released yesterday. That’s up 2 percent from 2024, which jumped 40 percent from 2023.

• Politically motivated crime in Germany can mean anything from hate speech to assault.

Rising political crime signals dissatisfaction with the political scene, which has, in the last two decades, been dominated by unstable, weak coalitions.

“Violent offenses are rising significantly in both the left-wing and right-wing extremist spheres,” Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said after presenting the report.

• Most of the crimes were “committed by right-wing and far-right perpetrators,” and “the greatest danger currently stems from far-right extremism,” Dobrindt noted.
• However: “Far-left actors were responsible for the largest increase in violent crimes,” he said. These crimes rose 42 percent last year, largely related to protests against the far right.
• The data also show that anti-Semitic crimes rose by 5 percent to 6,548 cases, while religiously motivated crimes increased by 5.7 percent to 1,983 cases.

These deep divisions will drive Germans to put their faith in a strong leader of an authoritarian government. Daniel 8:23 prophesies that “in the latter time” a “king of fierce countenance” will take power and trigger great destruction.

• The late Herbert W. Armstrong proved that this will be fulfilled by a German leader who will take control of Europe in our time and rule with a rod of iron.

Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry wrote in 2019: “Expect political and social crises in Germany and Europe, and public resentment and anger, to grow even deeper. Then watch for a strongman to take advantage and make his way to power through flatteries!”

Political and social crises are growing in Germany. Watch for a strongman to rise.

Trump Exposes Mexican State-Cartel Alliance

Former Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has accused President Donald Trump of employing “interventionist and unscrupulous practices” to bolster Mexico’s conservative opposition and weaken his leftist movement.

• López Obrador, who remains the de facto leader of morena despite stepping aside for his protégé, Claudia Sheinbaum, to become president, made the remarks in a five-page letter posted on X.

The comments were prompted by the U.S. Justice Department’s indictment of 10 Mexican officials over alleged drug-trafficking ties. Most of these officials were morena politicians charged with helping the Sinaloa cartel import massive quantities of illegal drugs into the U.S. in exchange for political support.

• Both López Obrador and Sheinbaum are accusing the U.S. of disproportionately targeting morena politicians. The main reason the U.S. is charging so many morena politicians with crimes is that morena has created a state-cartel nexus.

Detailed information on the extensive history of Mexican state-cartel collusion can be found in the updated 2025 report from the Texas Public Policy Foundation.

“The Mexican drug trafficking organizations have an intolerable alliance with the government of Mexico,” the White House announced in February. “The government of Mexico has afforded safe havens for the cartels to engage in the manufacturing and transportation of dangerous narcotics, which collectively have led to the overdose deaths of hundreds of thousands of American victims. This alliance endangers the national security of the United States ….”

From the time U.S. President Richard Nixon declared his “War on Drugs” in 1971 to when Mexican President Felipe Calderón left office in 2012, the Mexican government was a committed partner in fighting cartels. But under Enrique Peña Nieto, the Mexican government started ignoring cartel violence; under López Obrador, it began actively helping the cartels.

• Like the Communist Party of Cuba and the United Socialist Party of Venezuela, morena regards its nation’s drug cartels as engines of profit at home and weapons of war abroad.

Shortly after López Obrador was elected in 2018, the Trumpet predicted that he would form a state-cartel alliance. In “Mexico’s New Revolution,” we wrote:

Officials in Mexico’s new government no longer want to help the United States fight drug cartels and deport immigrants. Instead, they want to mimic the economic policies of Cuba and Venezuela, even though the latter’s failed socialist revolution has created an economic crisis and prompted 10 percent of the country’s population to leave in search of better living conditions. López Obrador’s policies on economics, criminal justice and immigration stand to create a perfect storm that could soon transform Mexico into the next Venezuela and send untold numbers of people fleeing north into the United States.

Now we see the fruits of nearly a decade of morena rule. Ten Mexican officials are known to be trafficking drugs into the U.S. with the full support of Mexico’s ruling coalition.

As Isaiah prophesied, God is breaking down His protective hedge around the United States (Isaiah 5:5), and its vineyard is being trodden down and devoured by dangerous criminals.

IN OTHER NEWS

Somalia will re-subjugate its breakaway regions, its ambassador to Ethiopia pledged in an interview published Saturday. Multiple Somali states have cut ties with the weak federal government and acted independently for years, but now the Somali government is gaining power. This interview indicates a renewed effort to re-subjugate these regions. The violence that could result from such a push could give foreign powers opportunities to manipulate the nation and project power into the Red Sea off its coast.

Belfast erupts after attempted beheading: A Sudanese asylum seeker brutally stabbed a man on a street in Belfast, Ireland, on Monday, and videos posted soon thereafter showed him in the middle of the street, apparently attempting to cut off the victim’s head. The attacker was charged with attempted murder, and last night, Irish protesters set fire to the homes of migrants, a Middle Eastern supermarket and several vehicles. These riots are the result of the Irish feeling helpless in the face of repeated outrageous crimes committed by migrants, which the government has facilitated through its unpopular open border policies.

Britain gave billions in covid money to criminals and enemies: An investigation published by the Telegraph on Monday found that the British government handed $37 billion to criminals and enemy nations in the form of loans and covid aid between 2015 and 2021. Millions of dollars were handed to the Islamic State and Russia, while billions went to human traffickers, terrorists and other organized crime institutions inside the UK that claimed the benefits fraudulently. This further reveals the nation’s poor leadership, a curse for disobedience.

German drones stand out in U.S.-led military drill: U.S. soldiers in Lithuania tested German start-up Helsing’s HX-2 drones during Project Flytrap anti-drone drills in April and May, Axios reported yesterday. The 17 HX-2 drones involved succeeded in taking out 15 targets, with just two near misses. German weapons industry innovations like these are building Germany into a military superpower, as the Bible prophesied.

Is America becoming more righteous? A Gallup poll released yesterday suggests public approval of major American cultural vices is dropping. For example, abortion approval is no longer a majority; 49 percent of respondents approve of abortion, down from 54 percent in 2024. Approval ratings of having a baby outside marriage has fallen to 58 percent, from 70 percent in 2023. Gambling has fallen to a 57 percent approval rating, Gallup’s lowest recording since it introduced the question in 2003. These numbers are moving in the right direction, but it will take more drastic changes in opinion and more drastic and difficult actions for America to truly repent.