A VAGUE PLEDGE TO SEND WEAPONS TO UKRAINE: With Russia rejecting any ceasefire and stepping up its almost daily drone assaults on Ukrainian cities, President Donald Trump has ordered a resumption of shipments of defensive weapons to Ukraine, though details are vague.
“We’re going to send some more weapons. We have to. They have to be able to defend themselves. They’re getting hit very hard now,” Trump said in response to a reporter’s question at last night’s White House Dinner for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “You have defensive weapons primarily, but they’re getting hit very, very hard. So many people are dying in that mess.”
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Trump said he’s anxious to find a way to end the war because “I hate to see people killed,” and again blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for refusing to negotiate a ceasefire. “It’s 5,000, maybe 7,000 last week. 7,500 last week,” Trump said, citing casualty figures he says come from his private intelligence briefings. “Mostly soldiers, but people in towns and cities that are getting hit. But mostly death is mostly soldiers now, so they don’t come from here, but it’s 7,000 last week.”
“If I can stop that, you know — they have parents, and they have sisters and brothers, and getting married, and who knows? They’re just people, but they’re souls,” Trump said. “And if I can stop a war, you know, because I have an ability to. So, I’m disappointed, frankly, that President Putin hasn’t stopped. I’m not happy about it either.”
“At President Trump’s direction, the Department of Defense is sending additional defensive weapons to Ukraine to ensure the Ukrainians can defend themselves while we work to secure a lasting peace and ensure the killing stops,” the Pentagon said in a statement. “Our framework for POTUS to evaluate military shipments across the globe remains in effect and is integral to our America First defense priorities.”
TRUMP VOWS TO SEND MORE WEAPONS TO UKRAINE DAYS AFTER FREEZING SHIPMENT
“What’s the purpose of talking? It’s been knocked out and knocked out completely. But they’ve requested a meeting, and I’m going to go to a meeting, and if we can put something down on paper, that will be fine. It’ll be good,” Trump said last night. “So we’ll see what happens. I think it would be nice to memorialize it.”
ON IRAN, NO DEAL NECESSARY: Trump continues to portray the U.S. strike on Iranian nuclear sites as a decisive coup de grace that has ended any prospect of Iran obtaining nuclear weapons and obviated the need for a formal deal.
“What’s the purpose of talking? It’s been knocked out and knocked out completely. But they’ve requested a meeting, and I’m going to go to a meeting, and if we can put something down on paper, that will be fine. It’ll be good,” Trump said last night. “So we’ll see what happens. I think it would be nice to memorialize it.”
Netanyahu praised the “decisive result” of the U.S.-Israeli partnership during the 12-day war but warned against complacency.
“It set back the two tumors that were threatening the life of Israel, the nuclear tumor and the ballistic missile tumor, because they were planning to build 20,000 of these things and launch it on a country the size of New Jersey. No country could withstand that,” Netanyahu said. “But when you remove a tumor doesn’t mean that it can’t come back. You have to constantly monitor the situation to make sure that there’s no attempt to bring it back.”
Trump, though, seemed to rule out another strike on Iran, insisting the country had been vanquished in the same way Japan was in World War II. “If you go back a long time ago, it reminded people of a certain other event. And as Harry Truman’s picture is now in the lobby, in a nice location in the lobby where it should have been. But that stopped a lot of fighting and this stopped a lot of fighting.”
“I hope we’re not going to have to do that. I can’t imagine wanting to do that. I can’t imagine them wanting to do it,” Trump said in answer to a question about future military action against Iran. “They want to meet. They want to meet. They want to work something out. No, they’re different. They’re very different now than they were two weeks ago.”
HOPES FOR GAZA DEAL: Trump keeps dangling the prospect of a ceasefire that could end the 21-month war in Gaza. “But we have an opportunity to finally get a peace deal,” Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, said at the dinner. “I’m hopeful for it, very quickly.”
“I don’t think there is a holdup. I don’t think there’s a holdup. I think things are going along very well,” Trump said, calling the U.S.-backed deal on the table a “more or less, final offer.”
“I think Palestinians should have all the powers to govern themselves, but none of the powers to threaten us,” Netanyahu said. “That means that certain powers like overall security will always remain in our hands. Now, that is a fact. And no one in Israel will agree to anything else because we don’t commit suicide.”
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TRUMP ON NETANYAHU ARREST THREAT: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu laughed off a purported threat by New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, who, during his campaign six months ago, suggested, if elected, he might arrest Netanyahu should he step foot in the city.
Mamdani, who identifies as a democratic socialist, cited an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court and said, “As mayor, New York City would arrest Benjamin Netanyahu.”
“I’m not concerned about that,” Netanyahu said. “Look, there’s enough craziness in the world, but I guess it never ends. I mean, this is a folly. And it’s, you know, it’s silly in many ways, because it’s just not serious.”
“I’ll get him out,” Trump interjected, calling Mamdani a communist. “He’s not a socialist. He’s a communist. And he said some really bad things about Jewish people, and he said some really bad things about a lot of people.”
“I think he’s going through a little bit of a honeymoon right now,” Trump said, while issuing a thinly veiled threat to withhold funds to the city if Mamdani gets out of line. “You know, it all comes through the White House. He needs the money through the White House. He needs a lot. He’s going to behave. He’ll behave. He better behave, otherwise he’s going to have big problems,” Trump said.
WHY ZOHRAN MAMDANI SUCCEEDED WHERE KAMALA HARRIS FAILED
NETANYAHU NOMINATES TRUMP FOR PEACE PRIZE: It’s no secret that President Trump believes he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end wars around the globe. He routinely gives himself credit for peacemaking, in what amounts to a public campaign to impress the Nobel judges.
“We stopped a lot of fights. I think a very big one, frankly, a very, very big one was India and Pakistan. And we stopped that over trade,” Trump said last night. “We’re dealing with India, and we’re dealing with Pakistan. And we say we’re not going to be dealing with you at all if you’re going to fight, and they were maybe at a nuclear stage.”
“We did a job with India and Pakistan and Serbia, Kosovo, Rwanda, and the Congo. And this was all over the last three weeks or so,” he said.
Like many heads of state who visit the White House, Netanyahu knew to come up with something that would appeal to Trump’s desire for international respect, and he poured on the praise. “Your leadership of the free world, your leadership of a just cause, and the pursuit of peace and security, which you are leading in many lands, but now especially in the Middle East.”
“So I want to present to you, Mr. President, the letter I sent to the Noble Prize Committee. It’s nominating you for the Peace Prize, which is well-deserved, and you should get it,” Netanyahu said, handing the letter to Trump across the table.
“Wow,” Trump responded. “Thank you very much. Coming from you in particular, this is very meaningful. Thank you very much, Bibi.”
NETANYAHU NOMINATES TRUMP FOR NOBEL PEACE PRIZE IN WHITE HOUSE MEETING
THE RUNDOWN:
Washington Examiner: Trump vows to send more weapons to Ukraine days after freezing shipment
Washington Examiner: Netanyahu nominates Trump for Nobel Peace Prize in White House meeting
Washington Examiner: Houthis first Red Sea attack in months puts US ceasefire in jeopardy
Washington Examiner: Russian deportation of thousands of Ukrainian children could amount to genocide
Washington Examiner: Former Russian transport minister Roman Starovoit found dead hours after dismissal
Washington Examiner: History lesson: The time a US president considered bombing a nuclear facility — but blinked
Washington Examiner: Iranian president tells Tucker Carlson Israel tried to assassinate him
Washington Examiner: Jeffries calls for ‘aggressive oversight’ of ICE
AP: US will try to deport Abrego Garcia before his trial, Justice Department attorney says
Washington Post: El Salvador says for first time that U.S. controls fate of jailed deportees
AP: Iran’s government says at least 1,060 people were killed in the war with Israel
AP: Israel and Hamas are inching toward a new ceasefire deal for Gaza. This is how it might look
Wall Street Journal: How Old-School Tech Is Rewiring Drone Warfare in Ukraine
Defense News: Dutch, Norwegian F-35s to Guard Ukraine Supply Lines in Poland
New York Times: Ukraine Turns to Fishing Nets to Catch Russian Drones
Air & Space Forces Magazine: 13 Retired 4-Stars Urge Congress to Fund E-7 and More F-35s
Washington Post: Veterans Affairs reverses course on large-scale layoffs
Defense One: Pentagon Gets Millions for Cyber in GOP Reconciliation Act
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Air Force Fighters Control Semi-Autonomous Drones in ‘Crucial’ Test
DefenseScoop: Cyber Command Creates New AI program in Fiscal 2026 Budget
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Space Force Awards $2.4B Contract for New Nuclear Command and Control Satellites
Breaking Defense: Integration, Existing Weapons, and Uncertainty: In Paris, Industry Makes Its Golden Dome Pitch
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Space Force Cancels Major Tactical SATCOM Competition
The War Zone: New Fuzes for GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators Requested by USAF
THE CALENDAR:
TUESDAY | JULY 8
9:30 a.m. G-50 Dirksen — Senate Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee markup of the National Defense Authorization Act for F.Y. 2026. http://www.armed-services.senate.gov
9:30 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion: “Iran-North Korea Cooperation,” with former U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Mark Lippert, CSIS non-resident senior adviser and CSIS Korea chair; former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Shapiro, fellow at the Atlantic Council and former deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East; Sydney Seiler, CSIS nonresident senior adviser, CSIS Korea chair and former national intelligence officer for North Korea at the National Intelligence Council; and Victor Cha, president of the CSIS Geopolitics and Foreign Policy Department and CSIS Korea chair https://www.csis.org/events/iran-north-korea-cooperation-capital-cable-116
10 a.m. — Atlantic Council virtual discussion: “What the war in the Middle East and the NATO summit mean for Ukraine,” with Luke Coffey, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute’s Center on Europe and Eurasia; former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine and Uzbekistan John Herbst, senior director, Atlantic Council Eurasia Center; Debra Cagan, senior adviser, Atlantic Council Eurasia Center; R. Clarke Cooper, fellow for Middle East programs, Atlantic Council; and Shelby Magid, deputy director, Atlantic Council Eurasia Center RSVP: [email protected]
12 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave — Center for Strategic and International Studies discussion: “Denmark’s Role in European and Transatlantic Security,” with Danish Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen; and Danish Foreign Affairs Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen https://www.csis.org/events/denmarks-role-european-and-transatlantic-security
2 p.m. — Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies virtual discussion: “Resilient, persistent space sensing,” with Space Force Col. Robert Davis, program executive officer, Space Systems Command Space Sensing Directorate; and Jennifer Reaves, Mitchell senior resident fellow for spacepower studies https://www.mitchellaerospacepower.org/events/col-robert-w-davis/
2 p.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion: “China’s New London ‘Super Embassy’: Soft Power Hub or Security Risk?” with Aosheng Pusztaszeri, research assistant, CSIS Intelligence, National Security, and Technology Program; and Emily Harding, director, CSIS Intelligence, National Security, and Technology Program https://www.csis.org/events/chinas-new-london-super-embassy
WEDNESDAY | JULY 9
8:50 a.m. 1201 15th St. NW — Defense Strategies Institute Defense Department Energy and Power Summit, July 9-10, with Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Robert Thompson; Nuclear Regulatory Commission Commissioner Annie Caputo; and Deputy Assistant Energy Secretary for Nuclear Reactors Rian Bahran https://power.dsigroup.org/
10 a.m. — Hudson Institute virtual discussion: “Israel’s Economic Resilience after October 7: Navigating War and Strategic Pressures,” with Israeli Minister of Economic Affairs Noach Hacker https://www.hudson.org/events/israels-economic-resilience-after-october-7
THURSDAY | JULY 10
3 p.m. 1789 Massachusetts Ave. NW — American Enterprise Institute discussion: “National Security vs. Economic Gain: A Debate on US-China Export Policy,” with David Feith, adjunct senior fellow, Center for a New American Security; Aaron Ginn, CEO, Hydra Host; Derek Scissors, senior fellow, American Enterprise Institute; and moderator Chris Miller, nonresident senior fellow, American Enterprise Institute https://www.aei.org/events/national-security-vs-economic-gain