The diplomatic breakthrough between Washington and Tehran is a potential gamechanger for Iran’s war-battered economy, former Trump energy secretary Dan Brouillette told CNN in an exclusive interview. The 14-point framework agreement, signed by President Donald Trump this week, delivers an immediate lifeline to Iran by allowing the OPEC nation to restart its economic engine: selling oil and fuel. “It’s enormously helpful to them,” said Brouillette, now a distinguished visiting fellow at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy.
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/06/19/business/iran-deal-trump-economy
News of the damage must surely have found its way into the most isolated of bunkers. Russian President Vladimir Putin has been accused of secluding himself from the deteriorating realities of his invasion of Ukraine. But the staggering images from Moscow’s skyline on Thursday surely mark a moment when even the thickest levels of insulation around the Kremlin head cannot shield him from the sound of repeated blasts just 10 miles away that obliterated refineries leading to thick black smoke wafting over Russia’s capital. Videos posted by Russians to social media tell two stories. First, of air defenses in the capital – all apparent three rings of them – pierced by cheap, mass-produced drones that Ukraine was once on the bitter receiving end of but now fires back nightly at Russia. A refinery lid blown clean off. Multiple fires raging 10 miles from the Kremlin itself. An environmental disaster surely unfolding. The damage itself will impact fuel supplies, perhaps leading to gas station queues in a city the Kremlin has fought long and hard to protect from the consequences of war.
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/06/18/europe/putin-confronts-war-reality
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is poised to challenge British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for the country’s premiership after resoundingly winning a special election in Makerfield, northwest England, and securing his return to parliament. Thursday’s by-election - the equivalent of a special election in the US - was triggered with the sole purpose of providing a path to 10 Downing Street for Burnham, who is widely seen as the Labour politician best placed to unseat the embattled Prime Minister. In the early hours of Friday morning, with all votes counted, that risk paid off. Burnham secured 55% of the vote, a comfortable lead over Robert Kenyon of the right-wing populist party Reform UK, who came in second place with 35%.
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/06/18/uk/makerfield-by-election-results-labour-burnham-reform-intl-hnk
As key Republicans on Capitol Hill first learned the details of President Donald Trump’s agreement with Iran, some were so stunned that they simply wouldn’t speak about it. But within 24 hours, a significant bloc of GOP senators has begun openly doubting the terms of Trump’s Iran negotiations — with many urging him to pivot his strategy entirely. Some, mostly those unburdened by reelection campaigns, are full-on hammering Trump’s agreement, with outgoing Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy on Thursday summing it up as: “Iran’s left stronger, we are left weaker.” Texas Sen. John Cornyn, who’s also leaving Congress, said: “Everything I’ve heard about, it causes me concern.”
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/06/18/politics/republicans-trump-iran-agreement-congress