Good morning! Today is Friday, May 22nd 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. Day forty-four of the Iran War ceasefire finds President Trump warning of renewed strikes within days, even as Iranian officials signal the latest American proposal has narrowed the gaps between Washington and Tehran. Brent crude climbs above 108 dollars a barrel and gasoline hits four fifty-six a gallon, while the Financial Times reports the war is accelerating global adoption of China's cross-border payment system. Jude Russo answers Daniel McCarthy's case that Thomas Massie brought his primary defeat on himself, arguing the moment looks less like 2003 than 2006 and that "Principles Over Party" still means something. and now for the details. We begin with the Iran War, where the ceasefire has now entered its forty-fourth day, and diplomacy appears to be inching toward a resolution. President Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews that the United States is, in his words, in "the final stages of Iran," warning that if Tehran does not deliver a satisfactory answer within a few days, kinetic operations will resume. Bloomberg reports that Iranian officials believe the latest American proposal has narrowed the gaps between the two sides. Axios reports that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu was disgruntled after a recent call with President Trump on the negotiations. The central sticking point remains Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium. Reuters, citing unnamed Iranian sources, says Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has directed that the uranium stay in the country, though a senior Iranian official denied that to Al Jazeera, suggesting Iran may consider diluting the material under international supervision at a later stage. Iran's conditions to end the conflict remain unchanged: sanctions relief, release of frozen funds, withdrawal of U.S. forces from areas near Iran, an end to the American naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, and a halt to hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon. As Harrison Berger reports, the economic toll continues to mount. Brent Crude rose above 108 dollars a barrel Thursday morning, and AAA pegs the national average for regular gasoline at four dollars and fifty-six cents. The Financial Times reports the war has accelerated global adoption of China's cross-border payment system, with daily transaction volumes hitting a record of nearly 136 billion dollars in March, as buyers like India use renminbi to pay for oil from Russia and Iran. Turning to the fallout from Congressman Thomas Massie's loss in his Kentucky primary, a debate has broken out on the right about whether Massie brought defeat upon himself. Daniel McCarthy, a former editor of The American Conservative now affiliated with the Heritage Foundation, argued in two separate pieces, in the Spectator and Compact, that Massie failed by antagonizing President Trump and pro-Israel donors, and that liberty Republicans ought to lay down arms in the interest of party discipline. Responding in TAC, Jude Russo pushes back hard. Russo argues it is unreasonable to blame Massie for the broader discursive climate in which opposition to the Iran War has been equated with anti-Zionism by pro-Israel figures and donors, who then used Massie's complaints about their involvement to reinforce that very smear. Russo notes that the disclosure of the Epstein files was, until recently, a signature commitment of Trump's own FBI director and first attorney general; sticking with that position, he writes, is less a knock on Massie than a knock on Trump. Russo also disputes McCarthy's historical framing. The current moment, he argues, is less like 2003 and more like 2006, when Republicans found themselves saddled with an unpopular war that they could not abandon because it was their war, a marriage that contributed to years of national weakness for the GOP. Russo closes by invoking this magazine's motto, "Principles Over Party," and asking the question McCarthy does not answer: where, if anywhere, should Massie have drawn the line? Those are today's highlights. For the full stories and more, visit theamericanconservative.com. Thank you for starting your morning with us.
