Last week during a press conference on Iran, Vice President Vance warned Israel about objecting to the U.S.-Iran Memorandum of Understanding. In particular, he noted that Israel and the United States do not always have the same interests, and that as Vice President, his responsibility is to the United States. While he has received a lot of criticism for these statements, substantively he is, of course, right on both counts....

AI will revolutionize the human experience, for better or for worse — While it is critical that the United States maintains our advantage over China in the development and deployment of critical technologies—including and especially artificial intelligence—there are fears that many in the national security establishment have not yet grappled with the risks and consequences of going full speed ahead. Hamza Chaudhry, AI and National Security Lead at the Future of Life Institute, joins Vandenberg Flash Focus to discuss balancing AI innovation with mitigating the risks involved.

This Is Not a Grand Bargain With Iran. Good — TVC Governance Board Member Michael Singh | The New York Times | June 18, 2026

This initial, bare-bones agreement may satisfy no one. But if it has a silver lining, it is that reopening the Strait of Hormuz will shift pressure away from the United States and onto Iran — putting Washington in a better position to demand the very concessions that critics suggest Mr. Trump should have obtained from this war in the first place.

You Can’t Deter China by Ignoring Europe — TVC Advisory Board Member Mark Montgomery & Rep. Keith Self | National Review | June 19, 2026

America’s task is not to choose between Europe and the Indo-Pacific. It is to manage both, alongside allies — with conditions, and with the industrial capacity to back up the commitment. History does not reward nations that prepare for distant possibilities while ignoring active threats. But it equally does not reward nations that abandon hard-won strategic positions in the name of efficiency and then spend a generation rebuilding what they gave away.

How the G7 Can Reduce Critical Mineral Dependence on China — TVC Advisory Board Member Amb. J. Peter Pham | The National Interest | June 24, 2026

By articulating specific targets for reducing dependence and pivoting to pragmatic fixes, the G7 and its partners have taken important first steps to realistically confront and, hopefully, address their collective crisis of access to the strategic metals and other minerals that key defense and industrial sectors depend on. However, there is still much to be done during the remainder of the French presidency of the bloc and even more to tackle next year when America takes over the role.

Middle East & Gulf

Elliott Abrams: In the U.S.-Iran Agreement, Israelis Fear They Will Lose the Peace

Behnam Ben Taleblu: (with Carine Hajjar) (podcast) Did Trump Achieve His Goals in Iran? | (media) Iran To Allow Nuclear Inspectors In | (media) U.S. Will Be on ‘Uncomfortable Footing’ Trying To Transform Iranian Regime | (media) U.S.-Iran Deal Peace Efforts Underway Despite Mideast Violence, Strait of Hormuz Tensions | (media) What Could Come Next for the Middle East | (media) Trump Signs Iran Memorandum of Understanding As Expert Weighs In on Risks | (radio) New Details of Iran Deal Revealed

Mark Dubowitz: Iran Prioritizes Protection of Hezbollah Over Negotiations With U.S. | (with Miad Maleki) Iran Deal Tosses a Tremendous Cash Lifeline to Terrorist Regime | Why Squander The Greatest Leverage Ever Built Against Iran? | (media) Sizing Up Trump’s Iran Deal | (with Robert Greenway) (podcast) Breaking Down the U.S.-Iran MOU | (with Aaron MacLean) (podcast) Reading Trump’s Iran Deal So You Don’t Have To

Reuel Marc Gerecht & Ray Takeyh: How Iran Plans to Consolidate Its Victory

Richard Goldberg: (media) Economic Relief for Iran Means Higher Demands and Fewer Concessions | (media) What Are the Aims of Trump’s Iran Deal? | (media) Critiques Reported U.S.-Iran Deal Terms

Emily Harding: Iran Won the Negotiation, Even Though It Lost the War

Rebeccah Heinrichs: The MOU Gives the Momentum to Iran | (media) Iran Is ‘Testing’ the U.S.’ Commitment to Their Deal by Provoking Israel | (media) Major Concerns Over Iran Deal’s Impact

Jamil Jaffer: (podcast) Ceasefire

Matthew Kroenig: The U.S. Won the War With Iran

Clifford May: An MOU Is Not a “Peace Deal” | (radio) Why an MOU Is Not a Peace Deal | (media) Trump Signs Iran Deal Over Dinner

Clifford May & Mark Montgomery: (with Bradley Bowman) (podcast) War and Peace and Other Possibilities

Mick Mulroy: (media) Trump Says Iran Agreed to Nuclear Inspections | (media) Trump’s Deal Could ‘Embed’ the Current Iranian Regime | (media) Iran Got ‘Biggest Benefit’ From MOU With U.S. | (media) Iran Deal Is ‘Big Win’ for Iranian Regime | (media) 14-Point U.S.-Iran Draft Deal | (media) Potential Spoiler in U.S.-Iran Agreement

Danielle Pletka: The Iran Debacle? Israel’s Fault | (with David Albright & Marc Thiessen) (podcast) The State of the Iranian Nuclear Program

Joel Rayburn: (media) Trump Threatens Strait of Hormuz Tolls if Iran Fails To Reach Nuclear Deal

Amb. Nathan Sales: (media) Iran Deal Enforcement, Consequences

Ray Takeyh: Trump’s Deal Reflects Iran’s Priorities, Not the United States’

Roger Zakheim: (media) 80 Percent of Americans View Iran as an Adversary | (media) Iran’s ‘Ring of Fire’ Has Been Taken Out

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China & Indo-Pacific

Joseph Bosco: Trump Could Save Taiwan, but He Needs a History Lesson First

Victor Cha: (podcast) Assessing Xi’s Visit to North Korea

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Europe & Russia

Rebeccah Heinrichs: Ukraine Is Advancing. Now Is the Perfect Time for Trump To Strengthen NATO

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Western Hemisphere

R. Evan Ellis: Considerations for U.S. Strikes Against Terrorists in Latin America

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Democracy, Human Rights, & Humanitarian Assistance

Bonnie Glick: American Foreign Assistance Inspector General Needs To Be Able To Do a Vital Job — Investigations

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