Iran deal ‘pretty solid’ — Rubio says agreement may come Monday

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday that a US-Iran peace deal is “pretty solid” and could materialize as soon as Monday, with Trump describing talks as proceeding “constructively.” The proposed framework involves a 60-day ceasefire extension, reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and unfreezing billions in Iranian assets. Oil prices fell to two-week lows on deal optimism.

But the substance behind the handshake is in dispute. Iran says it has not agreed to surrender its highly enriched uranium stockpile — contradicting White House claims of an “in principle” commitment. Trump reportedly told Netanyahu that no final deal will be signed without full dismantling of Iran’s nuclear program, a condition far beyond what’s actually being negotiated.

Republican hawks are publicly breaking with the president. Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham called the emerging deal a “disastrous mistake,” questioning why the US launched the war in the first place if the result is unfreezing billions for a regime more hardline than before hostilities. Trump pushed back: “I don’t make bad deals.”

The Atlantic’s David Frum and Tom Nichols argue the war ends in strategic defeat for the United States — Iran outlasted Trump’s will to fight and the deal concedes most of Tehran’s demands, leaving Iran with a stronger chokehold over Persian Gulf oil traffic than it had before. A Jerusalem Post analysis goes further: Iran’s real victory is structural — distributed command survival, strategic partnerships with China, Russia, and Pakistan, governance proposals for submarine cables carrying $10 trillion in daily transactions, and control over the world’s second-largest lithium deposit.

Russia’s heaviest strike of 2026 devastates Kyiv — death toll climbs to 8

The death toll from Russia’s mass strike on Kyiv has risen to 8 — including a 12-year-old child — with 87 injured. The attack deployed 90 missiles and 600 drones, the largest combined package of 2026: mass Shahed waves to exhaust air defenses before the ballistic salvo. The Oreshnik hypersonic missile was used for the third time in the war, striking Bila Tserkva, a city of 200,000 south of Kyiv. Ukraine has no defense against the Oreshnik — Patriot systems were not designed for its speed.

The cultural damage is the worst since the full-scale invasion began. The National Chornobyl Museum was destroyed entirely. The National Art Museum, Kyiv Opera, Philharmonic, National Library, National Music Academy, Taras Shevchenko University, and several churches were all hit. The Foreign Ministry building sustained damage for the first time since World War II. Zelensky, visiting the attack sites, called it “deranged.” The EU’s Kaja Kallas called the Oreshnik use “political scare-tactics and reckless nuclear brinkmanship.”

Ukraine’s deep strike campaign disables Ryazan refinery — Moscow’s main fuel supplier

Satellite imagery confirms Ukraine’s cumulative strikes on the Ryazan refinery have disabled 90–100% of processing capacity, with multiple primary distillation units and storage tanks destroyed. The refinery is Russia’s main fuel supplier for the Moscow region. Overnight strikes also hit the Vtorovo pumping station in Vladimir Oblast (feeding petroleum pipelines to Moscow airports), the Tamanneftegaz oil terminal at Volna (20 million tons/year export capacity), and a patrol ship plus hovercraft at Novorossiysk Naval Base. The campaign is systematically degrading Russian energy logistics at increasing depth.