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For Iran, a 60-day ceasefire could come with $300 billion. The Trump administration is reportedly considering a plan to give Iran access to a $300 billion fund for postwar reconstruction, if Iran鈥檚 government meets certain benchmarks. The arrangement was part of the negotiations between the United States and Iran that produced a memorandum of understanding with a ceremonial signing set for Friday in Geneva, according to news reports.

The U.S. Department of Education offloaded two major programs to other federal agencies. The Trump administration said Tuesday that the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, which handles cases for students with disabilities, will transfer to the Department of Health and Human Services. The Department of Education鈥檚 Office for Civil Rights - whose attorneys are charged with protecting students in K-12 and colleges and universities from discrimination based on race, gender, disability, and national origin - will now become the responsibility of the Department of Justice.

Ohio鈥檚 Republican governor called for abolishing the death penalty. Gov. Mike DeWine said Tuesday that the mean average period between sentencing and execution in Ohio is 21 years and thus the death penalty has less potency as a deterrent. Since 2019, New Hampshire, Colorado, and Virginia have abolished the death penalty, but similar legislation would face a steep climb in Ohio鈥檚 legislature ahead of the end of Governor DeWine鈥檚 term this year. A Gallup poll in 2025 found nationwide support for the death penalty at 52%, a five-decade low, but 82% of Republicans remain in favor. Ohio hasn鈥檛 executed anyone since 2018.
Our coverage: Why Oklahoma鈥檚 tough-on-crime lawmakers no longer trust death penalty

The International Energy Agency says the Iran war has been a 鈥渟tark wake-up call鈥� for Southeast Asia. An IEA report released Tuesday states that the conflict is 鈥渂oth a stress test of Southeast Asia鈥檚 current energy system鈥� 鈥� which relies heavily on oil and natural gas transported through the Strait of Hormuz 鈥� and a catalyst for change. The report noted a rise in electric vehicle sales and renewable energy installations. But without deeper reforms and diversification, Southeast Asia鈥檚 energy import bill could triple by 2035.
Our coverage: In remote northern Philippines, a local solution to the global energy shock

Germany and Poland sign a mutual defense pact. Seeking to bolster its security against Russia, Poland has already signed similar deals with France and Britain. The German pact will be less comprehensive as a nod to historical distrust of Germany among Poland鈥檚 far right. But it is a sign of the new security structures emerging in Europe as the United States pulls back on its commitments to the continent.

Lyft and Uber used artificial intelligence to charge different amounts for the same rides. That鈥檚 according to a Consumer Reports investigation of ride-hailing apps. The median difference between the lowest and highest rates for rides ordered at the same time was about 50%. Uber and Lyft deny utilizing surveillance pricing or using AI-personalized prices and say Consumer Reports鈥� methodology is faulty. Last year, Consumer Reports found that grocery app Instacart used AI-enabled software to charge customers different prices for the same products ordered from the same stores at the same time. Connecticut and Maryland have banned some forms of personalized pricing.

鈥� Compiled by Monitor writers around the world

During the Iran war, Tehran's most potent leverage vis-脿-vis the U.S. and global economies proved to be its ability to clamp down on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. The search for overland routes for oil and other goods has led directly to Syria, an old crossroads revived.

American self-rule depended on an educated public as the 鈥渟afe depositories of their own liberty,鈥� Thomas Jefferson wrote. The reservoir of civics knowledge appears depleted, but there are signs that Americans鈥� level of engagement with their government is rising.

As historically high funding flows to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, complaints about detention conditions are rising, too. Detainees, their advocates, and government watchdogs cite spoiled food, poor sanitation, and little access to healthcare.

Colombia plays its first game in the World Cup and votes for its next president this week. Its national soccer jersey has ended up stuck in the middle.

In the history of spy rings, the Cambridge Five were notorious. Members of the British elite, the men were recruited by the Soviets in the 1930s as university students. They eventually moved into the highest echelons of power 鈥� with unparalleled access to British secrets. In her book, 鈥淪talin鈥檚 Apostles,鈥� Antonia Senior strips away any romanticism still clinging to their exploits and focuses on the damage to lives, missions, and U.S.-British relations.

Of all the reasons that the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran has ceased, leading to a tentative deal, at least one had a common thread: Each nation seemed to worry more about internal political ruptures than about winning the war.

In each country, then, a desire to keep hold of national cohesion might have helped silence the guns 鈥� and could influence the difficult negotiations still to come.

In Israel, for example, a newly released poll showed some 55% of the public sees internal political polarization as the most dangerous threat to the country鈥檚 existence 鈥� far more than threats of violence from Iran. That widespread concern over domestic friction also carries some hope for national unity.

鈥淚t is possible to cultivate a space of agreement in Israeli society, but it requires a practical action plan aimed at that, and not at defeating the identity-based rival,鈥� Yedidia Stern, president of the Jewish People Policy Institute that conducted the survey, told The Jerusalem Post.

In Iran, where a majority of people already disapprove of theocratic rule, the war as well as the compromises with the United States has exposed rifts among high-level power factions.

The divisions became so alarming that the supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, was forced to intervene. On May 28, he issued a message for lawmakers to avoid 鈥渁bsurd differences鈥� and focus on solving the severe economic challenges. 鈥淢ore than ever, unity must be protected,鈥� he wrote.

On June 1, Iran鈥檚 politically besieged president, Masoud Pezeshkian, held a Cabinet meeting in which he pleaded to stay in office, while asking the public to endure more energy blackouts. In addition, as the war was ending, protests sprang up in many cities, driven largely by complaints over meeting daily needs.

In the U.S., meanwhile, President Donald Trump felt public pressure over the war beyond complaints about high gasoline prices. According to polls, more Americans across the political spectrum are worried about polarization itself. In December, a Gallup poll found Americans are most pessimistic about political cooperation. About three-quarters see politically motivated violence as a major problem, according to a poll last June. Less than half see Iran as a major threat to the U.S. A foreign war like the one with Iran 鈥� which had weak support 鈥� only adds to rising concerns over political divisions.

鈥淎mericans may disagree deeply about leadership and policy,鈥� wrote civic data watcher Sarah Stamper on Substack, but for many, 鈥渢here is a conviction underneath it all: it does not have to be this way.鈥�

For now, the task of avoiding more conflict with Iran might depend on how well each of these three countries achieves greater political harmony. A society at peace with itself usually doesn鈥檛 draw enemy fire.