Morning Brief: Israel and Syria Agree to Ceasefire, Epstein Files to be Unsealed

· Guy D. McCardle

Israeli soldiers patrol a tense checkpoint in southern Syria as a fragile ceasefire takes hold following days of deadly clashes between Druze militias and Sunni Bedouin tribes. Image Credit: Leo Correa / AP

Ceasefire in Syria: Fragile Peace After a Week of Hell

Israel and Syria have reached a ceasefire after a brutal stretch of violence in southern Syria’s Sweida province—a region home to the country’s Druze minority. The announcement was made on Friday, July 18, 2025, by U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy for Syria, Tom Barrack. Both Tel Aviv and Damascus confirmed the deal the following day. That alone makes this a unicorn-level event, considering the two nations haven’t seen eye to eye since bell-bottoms were in fashion.

The trouble kicked off when Druze militias clashed with Sunni Bedouin tribes. That’s not new in this corner of Syria, but what followed was. Syrian government troops jumped in on the Bedouins’ side, and that crossed a line for Israel. The IDF launched airstrikes deep into Syrian territory—including the capital—claiming to defend the Druze, who, in Israel, are often seen as loyal citizens and even serve in the Israeli Defense Forces. Translation: Israel made it personal.

What followed was carnage—hundreds dead, tens of thousands displaced. Another spike in Syria’s endless humanitarian nosedive. Think Aleppo, but with even less press coverage.

Now, under heavy international pressure from the U.S., Turkey, Jordan, and others in the neighborhood, both sides have agreed to cool it. The terms of the ceasefire are vague. There’s no paper trail yet. But the Syrian government is deploying forces to restore “order” in Sweida. Everyone—Druze, Bedouin, Sunnis—is being told to disarm and work toward some dreamy notion of a “unified Syrian identity.” Sounds good on a podium, but on the ground? That’s a harder sell.

Even as Damascus calls for an “immediate ceasefire,” localized firefights haven’t stopped. These aren’t two regular armies facing off across a demarcation line. This is inter-communal bloodletting with deep tribal scars. Getting everyone to holster their weapons is going to take more than a handshake and a press conference.

Still, this is one of the few times Israel and Syria have managed to sit still long enough to agree on anything, even indirectly. That tells you something about the stakes—and the exhaustion setting in on all sides.

 

 

Trump DOJ Wants the Epstein Grand Jury Files Unsealed—Sort Of

The Trump administration is taking a blowtorch to the Epstein secrecy vault. On July 18, 2025, the Justice Department filed a formal motion in federal court to unseal the grand jury transcripts from the criminal investigations into Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. It’s the kind of move that sounds bold until you read the fine print.

President Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi are framing this as a push for “transparency”—a tidy word that gets thrown around every time someone’s trying to look like they’re not hiding anything. The motion calls for public release of the transcripts, but with all the usual redactions: victim names scrubbed, uncharged individuals shielded. That’s not unusual; that’s federal law.

This isn’t just about Epstein, who conveniently died in a jail cell back in 2019 before he could name names. It includes Maxwell, too, who was convicted in 2021 for helping run Epstein’s underage trafficking operation. So far, the government insists there’s no “client list,” no secret stash of blackmail material involving powerful friends. But the public isn’t exactly reassured by official denials—especially not when the rot runs this deep.

Plenty of documents are already out in the wild: flight logs, court filings, even some names that make your skin crawl. But grand jury testimony? That’s the crown jewels. It’s protected for good reason—though public pressure and political calculation can shift that equation. The judge in charge of the decision is Richard Berman, the same guy who oversaw the original Epstein circus. He’ll be the one to decide whether these transcripts ever see daylight, and when. It’s funny how America works sometimes, isn’t it? 

Don’t expect this to move fast. The court has to go through the usual legal gymnastics—victim notifications, redaction reviews, and potential appeals. Best-case scenario, it’ll be months before anything hits the public record.

The timing of this motion is worth noting. It came just days after Trump denied having anything to do with a 2003 birthday letter sent to Epstein—a letter that’s now making the rounds—and filed a lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal over its reporting on that little gem.

So here we are: The administration wants credit for transparency while keeping its hands clean. The public wants answers that go beyond the sanitized version. And somewhere in the middle, the truth waits for a court order.

 

EU Hammers Russia with Hardest Sanctions Yet, Targets Oil, Banks, and Belarus

The European Union isn’t letting up on Moscow. On July 18, 2025, EU leaders pushed through their 18th round of sanctions against Russia—and they’re calling this one the toughest yet. First up, they’ve cut the cap on Russian oil prices down to $47.60 per barrel, a full 15% below the average market rate. This dynamic price cap gets reviewed every six months and is designed to hit Russia right in the wallet, squeezing the main source of cash fueling its war machine in Ukraine.

They also went after Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet”—those ghost tankers ferrying sanctioned oil around the globe like it’s business as usual. Over 100 more of these vessels are now blacklisted, bringing the total to 440 tankers that are officially banned from EU ports and services. Add to that a crackdown on refined fuel products, so countries like India and Turkey can’t just slap a new label on Russian crude and sneak it back into Europe.

On the money front, the EU has locked down all transactions with 22 Russian banks and the Russian Direct Investment Fund, cutting off even more financial arteries. They’ve also expanded sanctions beyond Russia’s borders, targeting 11 companies—most of them in China and Hong Kong—for helping Moscow dodge restrictions.

In a move that’s more symbolic than practical at this point, the EU has banned any use of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines. They’re making sure those pipes stay dry. On top of that, more restrictions were slapped on Russia’s military industry, and new sanctions were rolled out against Belarus for playing sidekick to the Kremlin.

This package almost didn’t happen—Slovakia held it up with a veto until they got promises about steady gas supplies and price stability. But once that deal was made, the sanctions sailed through. Brussels says the goal is simple: choke off Russia’s ability to fight and crank up the pressure for a ceasefire in Ukraine. Whether it works or not, one thing’s clear—the economic war is still in full swing.