Middle East and North Africa

Welcome back to Foreign Policy’s Situation Report, where John is still recovering from his journey to Kansas City to watch Argentina play Algeria—which involved walking along the highway and being interviewed by the local news about it. It was almost as tedious as getting tickets for said game, which you may have read about in his essay last week. (He did witness a Lionel Messi hat trick, however, so he isn’t that mad.)

Alright, here’s what’s on tap for the day: The White House deploys its No. 2 official to sell the Iran deal, Ukraine makes black rain fall on Moscow, and the Pentagon returns a combatant command to its old name.

Welcome back to Foreign Policy’s Situation Report, where John is still recovering from his journey to Kansas City to watch Argentina play Algeria—which involved walking along the highway and being interviewed by the local news about it. It was almost as tedious as getting tickets for said game, which you may have read about in his essay last week. (He did witness a Lionel Messi hat trick, however, so he isn’t that mad.)

Alright, here’s what’s on tap for the day: The White House deploys its No. 2 official to sell the Iran deal, Ukraine makes black rain fall on Moscow, and the Pentagon returns a combatant command to its old name.

U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance has become the face of the interim U.S.-Iran peace deal for the Trump administration, and he is set to serve as Washington’s lead negotiator in upcoming nuclear talks. At a press conference on Thursday, Vance sought to answer some of the biggest questions surrounding the memorandum of understanding (MOU) and what happens next.

Vance portrayed the MOU as a “win-win” for the United States, pushing back on skeptics who see it as a capitulation to Tehran and a weaker agreement than the Obama-era nuclear deal (known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA) that U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from in 2018.

The MOU offers significant financial benefits to Iran, opening the door for immediate oil sales and some sanctions relief as well as eventual access to reconstruction funds. But Vance said that much of this is dependent on Iran complying with the agreement and changing its behavior. “If they don’t perform … they don’t get any of the benefits of the bargain,” Vance said.

Still, this is unlikely to appease the deal’s critics, including the Israeli government and some Republicans on Capitol Hill, who feel that the Trump administration has offered too many concessions to Tehran. Here’s a look at some of the most........

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