June 25 2025
Iran Intel Assessment Leak; Trump Links Attack to Gaza Peace; China Eyes Russian Energy; Microplastics in Glass; Mamdani Stuns Cuomo
Iran Nuclear Program Could Recover in Months, Low-Confidence Leaked Intel Assessment Finds
President Links Iran Attack to 'Very Good News' on Gaza Horizon
Beijing Eyes Russian Energy as Iran Conflict Raises Supply Fears
Study Finds More Microplastics in Glass Bottles Than Plastic, Blames Painted Caps
‘Democratic Socialist’ Zohran Mamdani Stuns Andrew Cuomo in NYC Mayoral Dem Primary
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1. Iran Nuclear Program Could Recover in Months, Low-Confidence Leaked Intel Assessment Finds
According to well-placed sources who have seen the classified DIA assessment of the bomb damage assessment (BDA) after the US military strikes last weekend, DIA assesses that the Iran nuclear program could be back on line in a matters of “months” from 1-2 months on the low end to less than a year on the high end. This is a preliminary intelligence assessment and is deemed "low confidence," in intelligence parlance. It is based, I am told, on satellite images and SIGINT obtained since the strikes. The focus of the report is on the BDA at Fordow. The US B2 MOP bunker buster bombs were able to cave the entrances to the facility, which is built 300 feet underground. “The entrances are caved in.” Some infrastructure was destroyed, according to the assessment, but the overall operations were not destroyed and they could “dig out” and rebuild/ repair the power to the facility that powered the centrifuges. According to the preliminary DIA intelligence assessment: an unknown amount of the highly enriched uranium (the 440 kg that was enriched to 60 percent) was moved out of the Fordow facility. One possibility, according to the DIA assessment, is that it was moved to the “3rd site” that the Iranians told the IAEA about ahead of the strikes – a secret site. DIA is one of 18 US intelligence agencies. It focuses on military intelligence. Again this is a preliminary intelligence assessment so in intelligence terms it is deemed “low confidence.”
@JenGriffinFNC
2. President Links Iran Attack to 'Very Good News' on Gaza Horizon
The cease-fire between Israel and Iran is paving the way for an improvement in Gaza, President Trump said. “I think great progress is being made on Gaza,” Trump said Wednesday, speaking to reporters. “Because of this attack that we made [on Iran], I think we’re going to have some very good news.” Trump said he was recently briefed about new developments in the region by Steve Witkoff, his Middle East envoy. “He did tell me that Gaza is very close,” Trump said.
WSJ
3. Beijing Eyes Russian Energy as Iran Conflict Raises Supply Fears
The war between Israel and Iran has revived Chinese leaders’ interest in a pipeline that would carry Russian natural gas to China, according to people close to Beijing’s decision-making, potentially jump-starting a project that has been stalled for years. The Power of Siberia 2 pipeline project has been mired in disagreements over pricing and ownership terms, as well as Chinese concerns about relying too heavily on Russia for its energy supplies. But the recent war in the Middle East has given Beijing reason to reconsider the reliability of the oil and natural gas it gets from the region, the people said, even as a fragile cease-fire between Israel and Iran takes hold. China imports around 30% of its gas in the form of liquefied natural gas from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates via the Strait of Hormuz, a maritime chokepoint that Iran threatened to close, according to consulting firm Rystad Energy. Meanwhile, China’s independent refineries, known as teapots, have in recent years become hooked on cheap Iranian crude. More than 90% of Iran’s oil exports now go to China, analysts say, even though the U.S. has sanctions designed to prevent Iran from selling its oil abroad.Trump made an unusual acknowledgment of China’s Iranian oil imports Tuesday after announcing a cease-fire in the Israel-Iran conflict. “China can now continue to purchase Oil from Iran. Hopefully, they will be purchasing plenty from the U.S., also,” he said in a post on social media. But, even with a cease-fire in place, the recent conflict has spurred Beijing to cast about for alternatives, the people and analysts say. Beijing is also looking to increase oil purchases from Russia, which supplies around one-fifth of China’s oil, analysts say. Moscow has been pushing to boost its energy sales to its neighbor as it needs cash to fund its war in Ukraine.
WSJ
4. Study Finds More Microplastics in Glass Bottles Than Plastic, Blames Painted Caps
At this point, most people know that microplastics are everywhere. Scientists have shown that tiny particles, amounting to the weight of a plastic spoon, can be found in our brains; hundreds of fragments of plastic are in each breath we take.But the exact origins of those tiny pieces of plastic have been unclear. Are they coming from plastics discarded in landfills and decomposing over dozens of years? Or are they spilling out of the plastic water bottles and containers we seal our food in? The answer matters — for individuals hoping to avoid the particles and politicians who may want to restrict the microplastics we eat, drink and breathe. Scientists are finding answers — but not always the ones that they expected. New research shows that microplastics are shedding from reusable plastic containers and food packaging, but the particles can also come from glass bottles with painted caps, as well as highly processed foods packaged in any material. In a study published last month, French researchers analyzed dozens of samples of water, tea, sodas, beer and wine in various containers — glass bottles, plastic bottles and metal cans. They expected to find the most microplastic particles in beverages housed in plastic. Instead, the researchers found that — across all the beverages they tested — the highest number of particles were found in glass bottles. In glass containers, they found about 100 microplastic particles per liter of beverage, or five to 50 times more than in plastic bottles or cans. “We were surprised,” said Alexandre Dehaut, research project manager at ANSES, France’s food safety agency, and one of the authors of the paper. “Glass is a material that’s inert and has been used for a long time by humans.” Scientists were confused — until they realized all of the glass bottles they tested, except for wine bottles, had metal caps. Those caps were decorated with polyester paint and matched the color and material of the particles found in the plastic bottles. The prevalence of the particles decreased by more than half when the caps were blown and rinsed before bottling — suggesting that, at least in some cases, there may be fairly easy ways to reduce microplastic exposure. “We managed to lower the content by 60 percent,” Dehaut said.
The Washington Post
5. ‘Democratic Socialist’ Zohran Mamdani Stuns Andrew Cuomo in NYC Mayoral Dem Primary
Zohran Mamdani, a little-known state lawmaker whose progressive platform and campaign trail charisma electrified younger voters, stunned former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo in the Democratic primary for mayor of New York City on Tuesday night, building a lead so commanding that Mr. Cuomo conceded. Mr. Mamdani, a 33-year-old democratic socialist from Queens, tapped into a current of anxiety around New York City’s growing affordability crisis. His joyful campaign brought new voters into the fold who rejected the scandal-scarred Mr. Cuomo’s ominous characterizations of the city and embraced an economic platform that included everything from free bus service and child care to publicly owned grocery stores. The outcome was not official, and even assuming Mr. Mamdani gains the nomination, he faces an unusually competitive general election in November. Still, Mr. Mamdani declared victory at a rally early Wednesday in Queens, pledging to be a “mayor for every New Yorker” and framing his win as part of a movement powered by volunteers. The decisiveness of New Yorkers’ swing toward Mr. Mamdani reverberated across the party and the country, at a time when Democrats nationally are searching for an answer to President Trump and are disillusioned with their own leaders. With 93 percent of the results in, Mr. Mamdani was the first choice of 43.5 percent of voters. Mr. Cuomo was in second place as the first choice of 36.4 percent of voters.
NYT
June 25, 1996: Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia kills 19 U.S. airmen
Aa tanker truck loaded with 25,000 pounds of explosives rips through the U.S. Air Force military housing complex Khobar Towers in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, killing 19 U.S. airmen and wounding nearly 500 others. The terrorist attack that blew off much of the eight-story Building 131, leaving a crater 50 feet wide and 16 feet deep, was the deadliest attack against U.S. forces since the 1983 bombing of a Marine barracks in Beirut that left 241 dead. The bombers, later identified as members of the pro-Iran Islamic militant group Hezbollah, parked the truck near the towers that were home to 2,000 American military personnel who were assigned to the King Abdul Aziz Air Base to patrol southern Iraqi no-fly zones. They escaped before setting off the explosion.
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Sources
- https://x.com/jengriffinfnc/status/1937628881856380972?s=46&t=nVb-5uC_WM3Cp0R0dGiqHQ
- https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/iran-israel-ceasefire-conflict-news/card/trump-says-u-s-iran-strikes-could-pave-way-for-gaza-deal-8mxLpd3QfiNKhdEP6LPL
- https://www.wsj.com/world/china-russia-gas-pipeline-iran-conflict-e19523b3?mod=WSJ_home_mediumtopper_pos_3
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2025/06/24/microplastics-food-containers/
- https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/25/nyregion/cuomo-mamdani-mayor-primary-nyc.html
Contact: greg@loql.ai
