Good morning! Today is Sunday, June 14th 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. Congressman Thomas Massie used the floor of the House to honor the survivors of the USS Liberty on the fifty-ninth anniversary of Israel's attack on the American ship, drawing fire from Dan Crenshaw and reigniting long-standing questions the political establishment has worked to keep buried. The Iran War entered its one hundred and sixth day with Pakistan's prime minister saying a peace deal could be signed within twenty-four hours, as reports emerge of billions in frozen Iranian funds being released through the UAE. Oil and gas prices are already easing on hopes that more than three months of fighting may finally be drawing to a close. and now for the details. On the fifty-ninth anniversary of one of the most painful and least-discussed episodes in American naval history, Kentucky Republican Congressman Thomas Massie took to the House floor to honor the survivors of the USS Liberty. On June 8th, 1967, the lightly-armed American intelligence ship was attacked by Israeli jets and torpedo boats during the Six-Day War. Thirty-four American sailors were killed and more than one hundred seventy wounded. More than a dozen of the survivors, now in their eighties, sat in the House chamber as Massie recounted their story, including allegations that Israeli forces machine-gunned lifeboats and that U.S. rescue planes were recalled while the ship burned for seventeen hours. As Jack Hunter reports for The American Conservative, the official explanation has always been mistaken identity, a conclusion Texas Republican Dan Crenshaw publicly defended while attacking Massie's motives. But Hunter notes that figures including former Secretary of State Dean Rusk, CIA Director Richard Helms, NSA chief Bobby Ray Inman, and Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Thomas Moorer have all said they never believed the attack was an accident. Rusk later wrote, quote, "I didn't believe them then, and I don't believe them to this day." Hunter notes that Massie's speech came shortly after he lost his Kentucky Republican primary, with his opponent backed heavily by AIPAC and pro-Israel donors. Journalist Michelle Kinnucan, who has filed Freedom of Information Act litigation on behalf of the survivors, told TAC that Massie's act was, quote, "an all-too-rare act of political courage," and that the case for declassifying every government record on the attack has never been stronger. Survivor association president Larry Bowen has said the government spent fifty-five years trying to cover up the attack as an accident. As one survivor told reporters in the Capitol on Monday, they have been lobbying Congress for fifty-nine years, and until now, no member would give them the time of day. The Iran War entered its one hundred and sixth day this weekend, but there are signs the conflict may be nearing an end. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced Saturday morning that a peace deal could be finalized within twenty-four hours and signed shortly thereafter, with technical-level talks to follow next week. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed that the so-called Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding has, in his words, "never been closer." President Trump reposted Araghchi's statement on Truth Social and indicated that nuclear questions would be tabled for later, writing that "at the appropriate time, when all is calm, we will go in and get the Nuclear Dust." As Harrison Berger reports, Reuters sources indicate the United Arab Emirates would release at least ten billion dollars in frozen Iranian funds as part of the deal, with one source saying a first three-billion-dollar installment has already been paid. The UAE has publicly denied any transfer. Tehran's stated position is that any wider settlement also requires an end to Israel's bombing and occupation of Lebanon, where the Health Ministry now reports more than three thousand seven hundred people killed since early March. Oil markets are already responding, with Brent Crude closing at eighty-seven dollars and the national average gas price at four-oh-nine a gallon, both easing on hopes the war may finally close. Those are today's highlights. For the full stories and more, visit theamericanconservative.com. Thank you for starting your morning with us.
