When Donald Trump launched his first presidential campaign, he pledged to withdraw the United States from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, President Barack Obama’s nuclear agreement with Iran. Trump issued a statement condemning the JCPOA as “very dangerous” shortly after it was finalized on July 14, 2015. The president never dropped his opposition, pulling out of the deal in 2018. Now, the president is preparing to unveil his own “Memorandum of Understanding” with Iran — the text of which has not been released, but which the White House says Trump has virtually signed. Officials say the memorandum is just the first step in a broader process. Following its signing, negotiators are expected to enter a roughly 60-day period of “technical talks” aimed at finalizing implementation details relating to the nuclear issues, suggesting that some of the most consequential questions are still not resolved. Still, the question remains: how does the deal Trump spent years attacking compare with the agreement his own administration now appears to be pursuing? Let’s dive in. Uranium Enrichment And Sunsetting The JCPOA: Trump’s central objection to the Obama deal was that it did not eliminate Iran’s enrichment program, saying “the deal allowed Iran to continue enriching uranium and, over time, reach the brink of a nuclear breakout. The JCPOA capped enrichment at 3.67% and sharply limited Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium, but it did not require Iran to dismantle its enrichment infrastructure. The deal’s restrictions on Iran’s nuclear activities also expired over time, gradually allowing the Islamic Republic to enrich uranium, build and run centrifuges, and build nuclear stockpiles. “The agreement was so poorly negotiated that even if Iran fully complies, the regime can still be on the verge of a nuclear breakout in just a short period of time,” Trump said. The Trump Deal: As recently as April, Trump claimed there would be “no enrichment of Uranium” under a future agreement. But Trump said Sunday that he was open to an arrangement under which Iran suspends enrichment for 15 years, though he emphasized that negotiations remain ongoing. Trump also said Iran would be permanently restricted to low levels of enrichment for civilian purposes, but would not say whether that limit would match the JCPOA’s 3.67% enrichment cap — only that the restrictions would apply “forever.” Another unresolved question is the fate of Iran’s existing stockpile of enriched uranium. Administration officials have indicated that the issue remains under discussion, though details about whether the material would be removed from Iran, diluted, transferred to a third country, or otherwise disposed of have not yet been released. Sanctions And Economic Relief The JCPOA: Trump argued that the Obama administration surrendered its strongest leverage by lifting economic sanctions and providing Iran access to frozen assets in exchange for what he viewed as temporary nuclear restrictions. The president frequently cited the estimated $150 billion in frozen Iranian assets that became available after implementation of the agreement and argued the regime used those resources to strengthen itself. “In other words, at the point when the United States had maximum leverage, this disastrous deal gave this regime — and it’s a regime of great terror — many billions of dollars, some of it in actual cash — a great embarrassment to me as a citizen and to all citizens of the United States,” Trump said in 2018. Trump also often criticized a separate Obama administration settlement involving a decades-old dispute over military equipment purchased by Iran before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The day after the JCPOA was implemented, the United States and Iran announced an agreement returning $400 million in principal from a pre-revolution foreign military sales trust fund, along with approximately $1.3 billion in interest. The initial $400 million payment was flown to Tehran in cash aboard a cargo plane, a fact that Trump cited as evidence of Obama capitulating to the Iranian regime. “The Iran deal is a terrible deal. We paid $150 billion. We gave $1.8 billion in cash. That’s actual cash, barrels of cash. It’s insane. It’s ridiculous. It should have never been made,” Trump said in 2018. The Trump Plan: The memorandum reportedly leaves open the possibility of sanctions relief, access to frozen Iranian funds, and potential foreign investment if Iran complies with its commitments. But White House officials stressed that all relief would be based on Iranian compliance. “We don’t pay for play,” one official said. “You can’t give them access to their funds or release funds to them if they’re just going to use that money to fund terrorism and cause more instability in the region.” The agreement could eventually allow countries such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates to invest in Iran, while also providing Tehran greater access to the global economy. During a call with reporters, one senior administration official said the memorandum discusses “the possibility of releasing frozen funds, sanctions relief” and a potential “$300 billion fund to rebuild their country.” Vance on Tuesday rejected reports that the agreement would immediately provide Iran with hundreds of billions of dollars in benefits, saying “Not a single cent of American money under any circumstance, no matter what the Iranians do, goes to Iran.” The administration has presented that approach as a key distinction from the JCPOA, which Trump argued provided Iran with significant economic relief before securing lasting changes in the regime’s behavior. Iran’s Missile Program The JCPOA: Trump repeatedly criticized Obama for failing to address Iran’s ballistic missile program, arguing that restricting uranium enrichment alone was insufficient if Tehran continued developing them as a means to deliver a nuclear weapon. “Not only does the deal fail to halt Iran’s nuclear ambitions, but it also fails to address the regime’s development of ballistic missiles that could deliver nuclear warheads,” Trump said when announcing the U.S. withdrawal from the agreement. Trump argued that any future agreement should eliminate “the threat of Iran’s ballistic missile program” alongside the nuclear threat itself. The Trump Plan: Administration officials have not publicly detailed whether the memorandum requires limits on Iran’s missile program, leaving one of Trump’s most persistent criticisms of the JCPOA unresolved for now. Iran says that maintaining its ballistic missile program is non-negotiable. But Israel continues pushing for strict limits. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier this month that although Israel is not a party to the memorandum of understanding, it expects any final agreement to restrict missile production, dismantle enrichment infrastructure, remove enriched material, and halt Iran’s proxy support. Meanwhile, Trump appeared to soften his tone on Iran’s missiles during a May radio interview with conservative host Hugh Hewitt. When asked if requiring Iran to cap its missile program and permit intrusive inspections constituted a strict red line, Trump signaled flexibility. “Look, missiles are bad, but yeah, and they do have to cap it, but this is about they cannot have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said. Terrorist Proxies The JCPOA: According to Trump, Obama failed to address Iran’s broader behavior throughout the Middle East, including funding its terrorist proxy groups. He criticized the agreement for failing to constrain Iran’s support for groups such as Hezbollah, other regional proxies, and its involvement in conflicts in Syria and Yemen, arguing that sanctions relief enabled Tehran to expand those activities. “Once sanctions were lifted, the regime used its new funds to build nuclear-capable missiles, support terrorism, and cause havoc throughout the Middle East and beyond,” he said in 2018. The Trump Plan: Senior administration officials said Monday that any agreement with Iran would pair economic incentives with broader changes in Tehran’s behavior, including curbing its support for terrorism and regional instability. During a call with reporters, a senior administration official said Trump is willing to “reset the relations” with Iran and give the country an opportunity to reach its “full potential,” but only if Tehran “verifiably cut[s] out the pathways that they’ve been pursuing towards nuclear weapons, funding terrorism, and causing regional instability.” Vance offered a more specific example Tuesday, indicating that Iran’s support for Hezbollah could jeopardize any economic benefits contemplated under the agreement. Asked by Megyn Kelly whether the United States would continue providing economic relief if Hezbollah continued attacking Israel, Vance said “If Iran is funding Hezbollah, we’re not going to allow a bunch of unfrozen assets to [flow] to the Iranians.” The comments suggest the administration is seeking commitments that extend beyond Iran’s nuclear program, though officials have not publicly detailed what specific requirements related to Hezbollah, other Iranian-backed groups, or regional activities might ultimately be included in the final agreement. Americans Imprisoned In Iran The JCPOA: Trump slammed the Obama administration for failing to secure the release of Americans detained in Iran, arguing that the United States should have used its negotiating leverage to obtain their release. Five American prisoners were released on the day the JCPOA was implemented on January 16, 2016, including Jason Rezaian, the Washington Post’s Tehran bureau chief, though the releases were not directly in the JCPOA. The United States also granted clemency, commuted sentences, or dropped charges against seven Iranians, which Trump said was tantamount to paying a ransom for American prisoners. The Trump Deal: It is unclear whether the agreement addresses the Americans currently detained by Iran. At least six American citizens or permanent residents are believed to be imprisoned in Iran, including journalist Reza Valizadeh and New York jeweler Kamran Hekmati. The State Department designated Hekmati as wrongfully detained earlier this year. Where Things Stand One major difference between today’s negotiations and those that produced the JCPOA is the state of Iran’s nuclear program. While Trump has repeatedly said his primary objective is ensuring that Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon, Iran has long insisted that its nuclear program is peaceful and has frequently cited a fatwa issued by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declaring nuclear weapons forbidden under Islamic law. Yet Tehran has repeatedly faced accusations from Western governments and international watchdogs of concealing aspects of its nuclear activities and pursuing capabilities that could shorten its path to a bomb. When the JCPOA was signed in 2015, Iran agreed to cap uranium enrichment at 3.67% purity and limit its stockpile to 300 kilograms. In the years that followed, however, Tehran significantly expanded its nuclear activities. A February 2025 report from the International Atomic Energy Agency found that Iran’s uranium stockpile is enriched to 60 percent purity — close to the 90% level considered weapon-grade. The total enriched uranium stockpile now stands at approximately 8,294 kilograms, vastly exceeding the deal’s cap of 300 kilograms. Former Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned in 2024 that Iran could produce enough weapons-grade fissile material for a nuclear weapon in roughly one to two weeks, although American officials said there was no evidence Iran had assembled a bomb. The exact extent to which recent American and Israeli military operations have degraded Iran’s nuclear capabilities remains unclear. That history of mistrust has loomed over the current negotiations. Senior administration officials said Trump personally signed the memorandum of understanding to demonstrate his commitment to the process and to signal the seriousness with which he views reaching an agreement. Whether Trump’s agreement ultimately differs in substance from the deal he spent years criticizing will depend not only on its final terms, but on whether Iran can be trusted to follow through on its commitments.

Businessman Rick Jackson has won the Republican nomination for governor of Georgia, defeating Trump-endorsed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones in one of the most expensive and closely watched primary battles of the 2026 cycle. Decision Desk HQ projected Jackson as the winner Tuesday night, capping a campaign in which the healthcare executive spent more than $100 million of his own fortune to overcome endorsements from both President Donald Trump and outgoing Republican Gov. Brian Kemp. Jackson will now face former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who secured the Democratic nomination in May, in what is expected to be one of the most competitive governor’s races in the country. The result represents a rare setback for Trump’s endorsement operation. The president backed Jones nearly a year ago and repeatedly reaffirmed his support throughout the campaign. Kemp, despite his often-complicated relationship with Trump, joined the President and also endorsed Jones on Sunday. Yet Jackson’s massive personal spending transformed the race. A relative political outsider, Jackson built statewide name recognition through an unprecedented advertising blitz centered on immigration enforcement, tax cuts, healthcare manufacturing, and his personal story of growing up in Georgia’s foster care system before becoming a billionaire entrepreneur. The contest also revealed an unusual split within the Trump political orbit. While President Trump stood firmly behind Jones, Donald Trump Jr. publicly praised Jackson on the eve of the election, highlighting his investments in domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing and energy infrastructure. Trump Jr. stopped short of issuing a formal endorsement but described Jackson as a “good man” who had helped advance America First economic priorities. “Regardless of what happens in the Georgia Governor’s race tomorrow, we should celebrate the patriots building up MAGA and an America First economy like Rick Jackson has,” Trump Jr. wrote Monday. Jackson’s victory suggests that enormous personal wealth and outsider appeal can still overcome even the combined political weight of political kingpins like Trump and Kemp in a Republican primary. The race was widely viewed as a test of influence for both men. Trump remains the dominant figure in Republican politics nationally, while Kemp leaves office as one of the most popular governors in the country and a potential 2028 presidential contender. Attention now shifts to the general election, where Jackson will face Bottoms, the former Atlanta mayor and Biden administration official who has long been considered one of Georgia Democrats’ strongest statewide candidates. With Georgia continuing to occupy the center of the nation’s political battleground map — perhaps only behind Pennsylvania in swing-state importance — the Jackson-Bottoms contest is expected to become one of the most closely watched governor’s races in America this November.

Georgia Republicans on Tuesday chose Rep. Mike Collins as their Senate nominee to face Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in a race that could help determine control of the upper chamber. With half of the results reported, Collins leads former Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley with 53.3% of the vote. Decision Desk HQ called the race at 8:05p.m. local time. Collins and Dooley advanced to a runoff on May 22 after no candidate passed the 50% threshold, earning 40.5% and 30.2% of the vote, respectively.  The contest presented another test between the power of the MAGA movement and the Republican establishment, with President Donald Trump and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp once again at odds. Over the weekend, Trump weighed into the race for the first time, throwing his political clout behind Collins.  “It is my Great Honor to endorse ‘MAGA’ Mike Collins, a Highly Respected Congressman who has been with me from the very beginning, and is running for the United States Senate in Georgia, a very special place to me, and where we just had a BIG Presidential Election Win with the Most Votes Received by any single Candidate in Georgia’s History, for any Election,” Trump wrote on Monday morning. “Mike is strongly supported by the most Highly Respected MAGA Patriots in Georgia and beyond, and many Republicans in the U.S. House and Senate — He is a WARRIOR and WINNER!”  Trump first endorsed Collins on Saturday.  “Mike has to beat a Republican Opponent before he gets to Ossoff,” Trump said on Saturday in his first post endorsing Collins. “I don’t know Derek Dooley, and neither does anyone else, but he seems like a nice person. Unfortunately, he has lived outside of Georgia for most of his life, didn’t vote in 2020 or 2016, and said that I lost Georgia in 2020 when, in actuality, the facts have now proven that I won by a lot!” Governor Kemp backed Dooley, who said the former football coach was “our one and only opportunity to knock Jon Ossoff off.” Marty and I are proud to support @DerekDooleyGA. Hardworking Georgians are ready to fire Jon Ossoff and send a conservative fighter who will put Georgians first and bring a new kind of leadership to Washington, D.C. Let’s get out the vote for Derek tomorrow! pic.twitter.com/B8v3QA8ubP — Brian Kemp (@BrianKempGA) June 15, 2026 Kemp, a popular two-term governor, did not get his way. Trump, widely seen as the kingmaker of Republican politics, has consistently prevailed in Republican primaries, with few exceptions. Last month, Trump made another last-minute intervention in a GOP Senate runoff, endorsing Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who defeated Senator John Cornyn in a landslide margin. The president also knocked off longtime Republican Congressman Thomas Massie in Kentucky and a handful of Indiana state lawmakers who bucked his redistricting push.  Whether his hand-picked candidate will prevail in November presents a different question. Ossoff, the only incumbent Democratic senator in a state that voted for Trump, holds an early advantage going into November, according to most polls. Holding Ossoff’s seat would go a long way in Democratic efforts to flip the 53-47 Republican-controlled Senate.  “After nearly a year-long, brutally messy audition to win over the White House, Trump puppets Mike Collins and Derek Dooley have made themselves both unelectable and terminally inseparable from the toxic president,” the Ossoff campaign posted on X.

Two people were shot Tuesday afternoon inside a Delaware hospital, prompting a massive police response, a campus lockdown, and an active search for the suspected gunman.  The shooting occurred around 3:30 p.m. at Wilmington Hospital, a ChristianaCare facility in Wilmington, Delaware, per Fox News,. According to the Wilmington Police Department, officers responding to the scene located two victims suffering from gunshot wounds inside the hospital. Authorities have not released the identities of the victims or provided an update on their conditions. BREAKING: Heavy police presence at a hospital in Wilmington, Delaware following reports of a shooting. pic.twitter.com/e90rdP8vGi — Breaking911 (@Breaking911) June 16, 2026 Law enforcement sources told local media that preliminary information suggests the shooting involved hospital employees, with one employee allegedly opening fire on two coworkers. Police said a suspect has been identified, though officials have not publicly released the individual’s name. Authorities are actively searching for the suspect and investigating a possible vehicle connected to the shooting. Following the incident, Wilmington Hospital was placed on lockdown and the emergency department was diverted as officers secured the campus. Video from the scene showed hospital employees being escorted from the building with their hands raised while heavily armed law enforcement officers established a perimeter around the facility. “At this time, police have located two gunshot victims,” the Wilmington Police Department said in a statement. “The hospital remains locked down and police continue to ask the public to avoid the area.” ChristianaCare confirmed the shooting and said it is working closely with law enforcement. “This is an active police investigation,” the hospital said in a statement. “We are taking all appropriate steps to ensure the safety of our patients, caregivers and visitors.” The motive remains unclear, and the investigation is ongoing.

A federal magistrate rescinded an order on Monday, June 15, which had allowed the 16-year-old charged with the death and sexual assault of his stepsister, to remain in the custody of family members while awaiting trial. U.S. Magistrate Judge Edwin Torres issued a 14-page order in response to the prosecutor’s request to detain Timothy Hudson, who is charged with the rape and murder of his stepsister, Anna Kepner. Torres agreed that detention was the correct call — not based on Hudson being a flight risk, but rather his “dangerousness.” “The strength of the evidence here points strongly in favor of detention,” Torres said in the court documents from June 10. “Focusing just on the sexual assault charge, the Government’s case for a forcible rape is beyond clear and convincing.”  “Indeed it suggests a level of psychopathy and lack of remorse that by itself raises a serious concern that Defendant can snap at any time, despite the well-meaning and serious efforts of his caretakers to make sure that does not happen,” Torres said.  Hudson was reportedly  “obsessed” with Kepner despite the two being part of the same blended family. “She was scared of him because he always carried around a big knife,” Kepner’s ex-boyfriend’s father, Steven Westin, said. His son, Joshua, dated Kepner for about two years.  “He’s like infatuated, attracted to her like crazy. He always wanted to date her,” Westin said. On November 7, 2025 Kepner’s body was found wrapped in a blanket and stuffed under the bed when a cleaning attendant entered a Carnival cruise ship room that she shared with Hudson and her half-brother. Her stepmother and biological father were staying in the room across the hall.  Torres obtained a transcript from a February hearing, which revealed the medical examiner discovered bleeding under Kepner’s skin around the side and back of her neck. This is evidence of strangulation, and her cause of death was ruled as mechanical asphyxiation. The transcript also said DNA was found inside her body which was a match to Hudson. The deadline for entering any plea agreement is August 28, according to the court records. If found guilty, Hudson could be sentenced to life in prison. “The situation is deeply painful and complex for the entire family,” Christopher Kepner, the victim’s father, said in a previous statement. He said the family has “trust in the justice system to pursue the truth with care and integrity.” Kepner was a Titusville high school senior who had aspirations to join the U.S. Navy and to eventually become a K-9 police officer, according to her online obituary. Her family described her as joyful and compassionate with a “radiant smile and endless energy.”