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SCOTUS
The Supreme Court issued five decisions on Tuesday. Together, they are a statement about whose access to American courts the conservative supermajority is expanding and whose it is closing off.
Cisco Systems v. Doe, written by Justice Amy Coney Barrett, 6-3. Fourteen members of the Falun Gong movement sued Cisco under the Alien Tort Statute of 1789, alleging the company knowingly designed surveillance technology that allowed China’s government to identify, track, and persecute them. The technology was the Golden Shield, the mass surveillance network that became the architecture of the modern Chinese surveillance state. The Court ruled that American courts cannot create new causes of action under the Alien Tort Statute. Foreign victims of human rights abuses enabled by American companies have no remedy in American courts. “Courts cannot create new rights of action to remedy violations of international law,” Barrett wrote. The door that a 2004 decision left cracked is now closed. Sotomayor dissented, writing that the ruling “slams the door in the faces of victims of horrific mistreatment.” She and Kagan and Jackson were the three.
Exxon Mobil v. Corporación Cimex, written by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, 6-3. Exxon is suing the Cuban government for more than $1 billion in property seized after the 1959 revolution. The Court ruled that the Helms-Burton Act overrides Cuban sovereign immunity, meaning Cuban state-owned companies cannot use foreign sovereign immunity as a shield against US lawsuits. American corporations can pursue foreign governments in US courts for wrongs committed abroad. Justice Kagan dissented, joined by Sotomayor and Jackson.
Read both decisions on the same day and the asymmetry is glaring. A foreign victim of human rights abuses enabled by an American company: the door is closed. An American company seeking to recover property from a foreign government: the door is open. The same six justices voted the same way in both cases. The three dissenters were the same three.
Blanche v. Lau, written by Justice Clarence Thomas, 6-3. Muk Choi Lau is a Chinese citizen who has held a green card since 2007. In 2012, while facing an unresolved state charge of trademark counterfeiting, he traveled briefly to China and returned to the United States. A border officer at JFK stripped his green card and placed him on immigration parole rather than admitting him as a returning resident. The question: does a border officer need clear and convincing evidence of a crime before treating a returning green card holder as an applicant for admission rather than a resident? The Court ruled no. A charge is enough. Proof can come later at a removal hearing. Justice Jackson dissented and called the ruling a “massive blank check.” The practical consequence: any green card holder returning from travel abroad can have their status stripped at the border on the basis of an unresolved charge. The government can justify it later.
Pung v. Isabella County, written by Justice Alito, 6-3. When a government seizes and sells a home to satisfy a tax debt, does it have to return the surplus above the debt to the homeowner at fair market value? The Court ruled no. Governments can keep the surplus. The homeowner gets the artificially low auction price, not the market value of their property. Kagan dissented.
Landor v. Louisiana, written by Justice Gorsuch, involves a Rastafarian inmate named Damon Landor who had grown his dreadlocks for twenty years as a religious practice. When transferred to a new prison with weeks left in his sentence, officials disregarded an existing court ruling and shaved his head. Landor sued the individual officials for damages. The Court ruled he cannot — under the Spending Clause, Congress cannot impose personal liability on officials who never consented to be sued. Prison officials who violate inmates' religious rights face no personal accountability under RLUIPA — the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, the 2000 federal law specifically designed to protect the religious rights of incarcerated people.Five decisions. Same six justices in the majority each time. Same three in dissent each time.
🌍 TRANSLATOR’S NOTE: The Cisco decision is the one the rest of the world’s press will read most closely, and for a specific reason: the Golden Shield is not a historical artifact. Cisco built it. The technology that enabled the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners became the template for China’s broader surveillance infrastructure, the same architecture that has been deployed against Uyghurs, against Hong Kong protesters, against dissidents of every description. The Court’s ruling does not just close the door on the Falun Gong plaintiffs. It tells every American technology company that builds tools for authoritarian surveillance that American courts will not be the venue of accountability. Reuters and Bloomberg Law both confirmed the ruling this session, with Bloomberg calling it the latest in a line of decisions narrowing the Alien Tort Statute. The Blanche decision is the one immigration lawyers are reading for what it means for their clients — and it means that a longtime green card holder can lose their status at the border on an unresolved charge, with the government’s justification to follow.
🇺🇸 WHAT AMERICAN READERS NEED TO KNOW: The Supreme Court ruled today that an American company that helped China persecute religious minorities cannot be sued in American courts by those minorities. On the same day, it ruled that an American company can sue the Cuban government for property seized sixty years ago. A border officer can now strip a returning green card holder’s status on the basis of a charge alone. A government can seize your home for a tax debt and keep the surplus. A prison official who shaves a Rastafarian inmate’s dreadlocks in violation of a court order faces no personal liability. The same six justices decided all five cases. Twelve cases remain, including Trump v. Slaughter, which asks whether a president can fire the heads of independent agencies including the Federal Reserve, and Chatrie v. United States, on whether police can use geofencing to pull location data from Google without a specific warrant.
Sources: Reuters (international wire — Cisco ruling confirmed, Barrett majority, ATS narrowed, Falun Gong dismissed, 6-3, June 23); Bloomberg Law (US — Cisco “latest in a line,” TVPA aiding-and-abetting also rejected, Barrett “close the door” quote confirmed); ABC News (US — Exxon/Cuba 6-3 confirmed, Kavanaugh majority, Helms-Burton abrogates sovereign immunity, Kagan dissents, $1 billion figure, June 23); SCOTUSblog (US — Cisco reversed and remanded confirmed, Barrett opinion June 23, Sotomayor dissent confirmed); Newsweek (US — Sotomayor “slams the door” quote, Golden Shield background, June 23); Newsweek (US — Blanche v. Lau confirmed, Jackson “massive blank check” dissent, green card consequences, June 23); Law Offices of Michael D. Baker (US immigration law — Blanche plain-language analysis, returning resident consequences, “a charge is enough” framing, June 23); Just The News (US — Pung/Landor holdings confirmed, government surplus ruling, RLUIPA analysis, June 23); SCOTUS Alerts (US — all five June 23 decisions listed and confirmed, Blanche syllabus confirmed)
CONGRESS
The Senate passed an Iran war powers resolution on Tuesday afternoon, 50-48. It was the tenth time the Senate had voted on such a measure since the war began on February 28. It was the first time one passed.
Four Republicans voted with Democrats: Rand Paul of Kentucky, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana. One Democrat voted against: John Fetterman of Pennsylvania. Two Republicans did not vote: Mitch McConnell, who was hospitalized this month, and Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania. The resolution passed 50-48. Had both been present and voted no, the result would have been 50-50 — and under Senate rules, the Vice President breaks ties. Vance would have voted no. The resolution passed because two senators were not in the room.
The resolution directs the president to remove US armed forces from hostilities with Iran unless Congress explicitly authorizes the use of military force. It does not require the president’s signature — it is a concurrent resolution, and it does not carry the force of law. It is the sharpest rebuke Congress has delivered to Trump on the war.
The vote happened while the Pentagon is on Capitol Hill asking for $80 billion in emergency supplemental funding to backfill munitions and stockpiles depleted by the Iran war. Defense Secretary Hegseth is making the ask in person this week. The Pentagon estimated the war cost $11.3 billion in its first week alone. Independent experts have put the overall price tag at close to $100 billion. The $80 billion request is for munitions replenishment only — on top of the Trump administration’s separate request for $1.5 trillion in total defense funding this year, a 50% increase over current levels.
Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, who has led the war powers effort, tied the two directly, telling colleagues, “The administration has come to us with a supplemental request asking for $80 billion more, largely necessitated by the consequences of the war, to replenish munitions, stockpiles depleted by the war.” Senator Chuck Schumer said the war “will go down in the history books as one of the worst foreign policy forays America has ever made.” Senator Ted Cruz, one of the Republicans who voted against the resolution, said on his podcast last week that Trump was getting “very poor advice on Iran.”
Trump is heading to the Capitol this week to meet with Republican senators who are angry about the deal’s terms, particularly the $300 billion reconstruction fund for Iran, which Republicans are calling a giveaway. The House passed the same resolution earlier this month, 215-208, with four Republicans joining every Democrat.
🌍 TRANSLATOR’S NOTE: Al Jazeera covered the War Powers vote this session, framing it as the first time Congress has formally directed Trump to end the Iran war. The broader framing confirmed across NPR, NBC, AP, and Al Jazeera is consistent: this is a war America started without congressional authorization, nearly ended without congressional involvement, and is now asking Congress to fund. The symbolic rebuke and the $80 billion request exist in the same week, in the same building, delivered to the same senators.
🇺🇸 WHAT AMERICAN READERS NEED TO KNOW: The Senate told Trump today — for the first time — that the Iran war should end. It passed 50-48 only because two Republicans were absent. It does not carry the force of law. Trump does not need to comply. But it is the first time both chambers of Congress have passed a war powers resolution on this war — and it passed on the same day the Pentagon asked for $80 billion to clean up the bill. The war that was launched without congressional authorization is now being rebuked by Congress and funded by Congress simultaneously.
Sources: NPR (US — 50-48 vote confirmed, Paul/Collins/Murkowski/Cassidy named, Fetterman against, McConnell/McCormick absent, nonbinding characterization, June 23); NBC News (US — 10th vote confirmed, first to pass, House 215-208 context, Schumer quote, Cruz podcast quote, $300 billion reconstruction fund Republican objections, June 23); The Philadelphia Inquirer / AP (US wire — Hegseth $80 billion request confirmed, $11.3 billion first week, $100 billion total estimate, $1.5 trillion defense request context, Kaine quote confirmed, June 23); The Hill (US — resolution text confirmed, War Powers Act 1973 mechanism, Massie/Fitzpatrick/Barrett/Davidson House Republicans named, McConnell hospitalization confirmed, June 23); Al Jazeera (Qatar, state-funded/editorially independent — Senate vote confirmed, first passage confirmed, four Republicans named, June 23)
THE DEAL’S TWO OPEN QUESTIONS
Two things the Trump administration says Iran agreed to. Two things Iran says it did not agree to.
On nuclear inspections: Vance said Monday in Switzerland that Iran had agreed to allow IAEA inspectors to examine Iranian nuclear sites bombed by the United States. Trump echoed it Tuesday on Truth Social: “Iran has fully and completely agreed to highest level Nuclear inspections long into the future (Infinity!!!).” Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said Tuesday that Iran has made “no new commitments,” that no visits have been scheduled for the IAEA to examine the bombed sites, and that there has been no meeting with IAEA Director General Grossi. The IAEA itself confirmed this session that inspectors have remained in Iran throughout the conflict and are ready to resume work — but that access to the bombed enrichment sites at Arak, Esfahan, Fordow, and Natanz has not been granted. CNN published a piece Tuesday headlined “Trump keeps claiming Iran made concessions. Iran keeps denying them.”
On Hormuz fees: Iran’s chief negotiator Ghalibaf met with Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tarik in Muscat on Tuesday. Both countries confirmed they will study the costs to be charged for maritime services in the Strait of Hormuz after the 60-day toll-free window closes. Ghalibaf said on Iranian state television, “The Strait of Hormuz will not return to prewar conditions. Iran has the right to sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, and of course we will receive a fee for services.” Iran is calling these “maritime service fees,” not tolls. The distinction matters legally. Under UNCLOS, transit fees on international straits are generally prohibited, but neither Iran nor the US has ratified UNCLOS, and legal experts confirmed to Geneva Solutions this session that Iran has legitimate arguments for service fees based on international precedent. Trump has said Hormuz will be “permanently toll-free.” Both positions cannot be true after day 60.
Iran’s President Pezeshkian traveled to Pakistan on Tuesday for meetings with mediators. The Iran-US technical talks continue. The 60-day clock is running.
🌍 TRANSLATOR’S NOTE: The IAEA dispute and the Hormuz fee dispute are being covered internationally as the same story told twice: the gap between what the Trump administration claims it achieved and what Iran says it agreed to. France 24 confirmed the Hormuz/Oman meeting this session. Geneva Solutions confirmed the legal analysis on fees this session. The pattern noted by CNN this session — Trump claims a concession, Iran denies it — has now appeared on nuclear inspections, on Hormuz fees, and previously on Lebanon’s inclusion in Point 1. Three separate issues. The same pattern each time.
🇺🇸 WHAT AMERICAN READERS NEED TO KNOW: Trump says Iran agreed to nuclear inspections forever. Iran says it agreed to nothing new. Iran and Oman confirmed today they will charge fees for Strait transit after 60 days. Trump says it will be permanently toll-free. One of those positions will determine whether there is a final deal. The 60-day clock started June 17. Forty-three days remain.
Sources: NBC News / AP (US wire — Trump Truth Social quote confirmed, Vance IAEA claim confirmed, Baghaei “no new commitments” confirmed, no IAEA visits scheduled, June 23); Tribune India / ANI (India — Baghaei press conference confirmed, “no meeting with Grossi” confirmed, “no program” for inspections confirmed, ISNA cited, June 23); CNN (US — “Trump keeps claiming Iran made concessions” headline confirmed, pattern analysis, IAEA “under current procedures” confirmed, June 23); France 24 (France, public broadcaster — Ghalibaf Muscat meeting confirmed June 23, Sultan Haitham bin Tarik confirmed, “maritime service fees” framing confirmed, “will not return to prewar conditions” quote confirmed, 60-day window context); Geneva Solutions (Switzerland — UNCLOS transit passage analysis, University of Geneva professor Robert Kolb quote, Sabet Geneva Graduate Institute leverage card analysis, Persian Gulf Strait Authority confirmed, June 23)
LEBANON
Two people were killed by Israeli fire in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, as strikes continued despite the ceasefire announced Saturday. Washington talks continue through June 25.
The Washington talks are the fourth round of direct negotiations between Israeli and Lebanese officials. They operate on a separate bilateral track from the US-Iran MOU process. Hezbollah is not a party to them. The Lebanese government is. Whether the two tracks converge — or whether Israel uses the bilateral channel to manage Lebanon separately from the MOU’s Point 1 provision — remains the central unresolved question of the week.
🇺🇸 What American readers need to know: Two people killed in Lebanon today. Washington talks ongoing. Technically there is still a “ceasefire". People are still dying.
Sources: NBC News / AP (US wire — two killed Tuesday confirmed, first violence after two days calm, Washington talks continuing, June 23)
WAR DAY 115 | NUMBERS AT PUBLICATION
🇮🇷 Iran: 3,468 killed, 26,500+ injured (Iran Ministry of Health, via Al Jazeera live tracker, last updated June 10)
🇱🇧 Lebanon: 4,000+ killed (Lebanon Health Ministry, confirmed June 21 per Time — tracker frozen June 10)
🇮🇱 Israel: 35+ killed (Israeli news source via Time, June 21 — tracker frozen June 10)
🌍 Gulf states/Iraq: 131 killed — Iraq 118, Kuwait 7, Bahrain 3, Oman 3 (Al Jazeera live tracker, last updated June 10)
🇺🇸 US military: 13 killed, 381 injured (Al Jazeera live tracker, last updated June 10)
🛢️ Brent crude: $76.92/barrel (OilPrice.com — down $2.30 since this morning; markets continuing to price in Switzerland progress)
⛽ US national gas average: $3.93/gallon (AAA)
Sourcing note: All war casualty figures sourced to the Al Jazeera live tracker, last updated June 10, 2026, except Lebanon and Israel. Lebanon updated to 4,000+ per Lebanon Health Ministry confirmed by Time, June 21. Israel updated to 35+ per Israeli news source via Time, June 21. All figures are floor estimates. Methodology differs between sources; figures are not directly comparable.
“Whenever the people are well informed, they can be trusted with their own government.” — Thomas Jefferson, 1789
