Views and positions expressed here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily represent NJN's views and positions.

Iran: Trump, Bibi, and Spying

US President Trump appears to have accepted a framework deal with Iran that ignores many of Israel’s (and America’s) declared war aims against that country.

Indeed, the parties (with Israel absent) are scheduled this Friday to sign off on a negotiating framework that is understood by Israel to comprise a ceasefire, including in Lebanon, opening of the Hormuz Straits and some form of nuclear supervision. Middle East oil will flow again. Down the line, the US will release billions in frozen Iranian funds.

Little appears to remain of US and Israeli demands to restrict Iran’s missile arsenal and sever Iranian support for proxies like Hezbollah. No one is dismantling the ayatollahs’ regime, thereby (by omission) legitimizing it.

Lebanon with its weak government and dominant pro-Iran Shiites remains caught up in the middle of all this.

Yossi Alpher is an independent security analyst. He is the former director of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University, a former senior official with the Mossad, and a former IDF intelligence officer.

Views and positions expressed here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily represent NJN's views and positions.

Legislative Round-Up, June 12, 2026

1. Bills, Resolutions
2. Letters & Reports
3. Hearings & Markups
4. Selected Members on the Record
5. Selected Media & Press releases/Statements

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1. Bills & Resolutions

Expanding/Deepening/Cementing US-Israel Military & Intelligence Cooperation & Integration 

(FUNDING FOR ISRAEL IN FY27 DEFENSE APPROPS) HR XXXX: On 6/10/26 the House Appropriations Committee released the initial draft of the FY27 Depart of Defense Appropriations Bill [press release; bill text]. The bill includes:

• Israel funding: Section 8068, hard earmarking $500 million for “Israeli Cooperative Programs”, sub-earmarked as follows: $20 million for the procurement of the Iron Dome defense system;$127 million for the Short Range Ballistic Missile Defense (SRBMD) program; $30 million for co-production activities of SRBMD systems in the United States and in Israel; $150 million for co-production activities of Arrow 3 Upper Tier systems in the United States and in Israel; $173 million for the Arrow System Improvement Program including development of a long range, ground and airborne, detection suite
• Jordan funding: Section 8105 earmarks $150 million for Jordan; Section 8116 stipulates that up to $500 million “may be used to support the armed forces of Jordan.”
• The bill also includes “For the ‘Counter-Islamic State of Iraq and Syria Train and Equip Fund’, $303,099,000″

Lara Friedman is the President of the Foundation for Middle East Peace. With more than 25 years working in the Middle East foreign policy arena, Lara is a leading authority on U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, with particular expertise on the Israeli-Arab conflict, Israeli settlements, Jerusalem, and the role of the U.S. Congress.