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Gulf Tour Without Israel: Rubio, IAEA Deadlock & Oil's Peace Bet | Jun 24
Audio is available on Spreaker — see link below.
The US is cutting deals in the Gulf while freezing Israel out — Secretary Rubio toured the UAE, Kuwait, and Bahrain without stopping in Tel Aviv, as Iran rejected IAEA access and oil markets priced in peace. Six consequential stories from June 24, analysed without spin.
Audio is available on Spreaker — see link below.
The United States is negotiating a potential deal with Iran, and Israel isn't in the room. That's the clearest signal from the past twenty-four hours.
The Gulf tour is the visible diplomacy. The harder problem is invisible, and it's about nuclear inspectors.
Markets aren't waiting for diplomats to resolve anything. They're already pricing in a permanent ceasefire.
One attack in the Gulf of Oman changed that picture quickly. The International Maritime Organization suspended its evacuation of over eleven thousand stranded seafarers on June twenty-fourth after a vessel was struck.
Lebanon offers a similar pattern. No airstrikes or missile fire since June nineteenth, which UNIFIL has confirmed.
Back in Washington, the administration asked Congress for eighty-seven point six billion dollars in supplemental war funding, including sixty-seven point one billion for the Defense Department. The same week, a bipartisan Senate resolution called for military withdrawal.
NATO Secretary General Rutte credited Trump this week for degrading Iran's nuclear capability and presented what he called the Trump Trillion, a chart showing NATO allies have increased defense spending by over one point two trillion dollars. Whether that framing reflects genuine alliance cohesion or careful flattery is a fair question.
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