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Trump's Iran Negotiations, Entertainment Mergers, NBA finals
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Iran Peace Negotiations: Will-They-Won't-They
At 3:22 · chapter starts 1:55
NPR senior contributor Ron Elving joins to dissect what has become Washington's defining will-they-won't-they story. The week saw a US Apache helicopter go down in the Gulf of Oman, blamed on Iran, triggering US strikes and Iranian retaliation against Gulf neighbors — before Trump abruptly canceled a planned retaliatory strike and declared peace imminent. Elving's reading is clear: both the US and Iran have domestic incentives to claim a deal exists, but whether they've actually agreed on the same thing is another matter. A durable agreement, he notes, would reenergize oil markets and lower prices for gas, fertilizer, and food globally — and would give Trump a victory lap on his 80th birthday. [1] — Ron Elving "A peace deal with Iran has become Washington's defining will-they-won't-they saga. Ron Elving explains that both sides want an agreement — …" 01:55 The real test, as Elving warns, comes only once both sides have to deliver on whatever they signed.
A peace deal with Iran has become Washington's defining will-they-won't-they saga. Ron Elving explains that both sides want an agreement — just not necessarily the same one — and the real test comes only after signatures are on the page.
Iran's foreign minister said on June 12, 2026, that a peace deal with the US is in the final stages and Iran's leadership has approved it.
A peace deal would help President Trump celebrate his 80th birthday by claiming victory and ending a politically expensive conflict.
Jay Clayton, Trump's new pick for Director of National Intelligence, served as a US attorney for the Southern District of New York but has limited intelligence background.
Bill Pulte had zero intelligence experience — so little that bipartisan senators refused to let him serve even temporarily. Jay Clayton's thin-but-real credentials as a federal prosecutor may be just enough to get him confirmed.
