Plus: Israel Expands Iran Strikes To Regime Targets, Including Evin Prison And “Doomsday Clock”

Good evening,

A new MIT study just found that using ChatGPT helps people write better — but think less.

When AI offered suggestions, users relied on it so much that their brain activity in decision-making regions actually dropped.

It’s a win for efficiency — and maybe a loss for critical thinking.

ChatGPT
From OpenAI

P.S. We wanted to see if you’d notice the difference between A.I.-written content and us — the Mo News team. It took a few tries, though.

At first, ChatGPT tried to summarize the study with: “Researchers say people who rely on AI tools like ChatGPT start to think more like the tool itself: faster, more structured, and more confident” — which, um, is the opposite of the study’s findings and kind of sounded like propaganda.

Now, here are the latest headlines — written by the actual human Mo News team.

🚨 ONE IMPORTANT THING

Iran Launches Limited Retaliatory Attack On U.S. Base In Qatar

Iran responded to the US attack on its nuclear sites by firing 14 missiles at the Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar — the largest U.S. military base in the Middle East. President Trump confirmed that Tehran actually gave the U.S. advance notice of the strike, crediting it with preventing any casualties and causing “hardly any damage.”

Notably, the latest attack actually signals a potential de-escalation of the conflict 11 days after Israel began its military campaign to dismantle the country's nuclear program. The U.S. joined early Sunday morning local time by attacking three Iranian nuclear sites.

WHAT WE KNOW
Since the U.S. strikes, American officials have been preparing for retaliatory action by Iran. Trump was even scheduled to meet with his national security team around the time Iran launched short-range and medium-range ballistic missiles.

Prep for the attack: The Al Udeid Air Base, which serves as the forward headquarters for U.S. Central Command, was considered a prime target for Iran’s retaliation. President Trump recently gave a speech there during his visit to Qatar. The base, home to about 10,000 military and civilian personnel, is heavily fortified with air defenses that have been on high alert in recent days. Satellite imagery shows that all U.S. aircraft were evacuated from the base as of last week, as regional tensions escalated.
- Before the Iranian attack, the U.S. and U.K. warned its citizens in Qatar to shelter in place. Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq all closed their airspace in anticipation of the strikes.

With no casualties, it looks like there could be an off-ramp — similar to what happened in 2020 after Trump ordered the killing of Iran’s top general, Qasem Soleimani, and Iran gave a warning before it fired ballistic missiles at an American base in Iraq.

Effectively this was Iran’s face-saving attempt to show its population it was responding to the weekend strike without actually doing much at all and risking a larger war with the US it was certain to lose. Bottom line: The US vs. Iran chapter of this war appears to be over.

WHAT’S NEXT
It’s unclear how much longer Israel will stay at war with Iran, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday night said Israel was “very, very close” to achieving its goal, which was to rid Iran of its nuclear program. On Monday, the Israeli military warned Iranian citizens that “in the coming days the Israeli army will continue its attacks against military targets in the Tehran region.”

The message came after the Israeli military launched what it called an “unprecedentedly powerful strike” in Iran on more than just nuclear and military sites, but expanding to symbolic pillars of the Islamic Republic — which Israeli officials described as symbols of “state oppression.”
- Israel struck the gates of Iran’s notorious Evin prison, hoping to aid prisoner escape. Evin houses regime opposition voices and people who protested the regime after the death of Mahsa Amini, who died in police custody in 2022 after being arrested over headscarf rules.
- It also hit the Basij morality police Headquarters, which enforces Islamic law and suppresses dissent, and a billboard that features a Countdown Clock to Israel’s Destruction in a main Tehran square.
  - Iranian media, however, claimed the countdown clock, which was installed in 2017, is still functioning. It ticks down to September 2040 when Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei predicted that he will destroy Israel.
Israel also hit roads leading to the Fordow nuclear facility in an attempt to block access and stop the transfer of any materials. It comes one day after the U.S. bombed the underground site as part of a joint effort to dismantle Iran’s nuclear capabilities — it's unclear the fate of Iran's uranium stockpile, however.

Investors appeared optimistic on Monday following the Iranian response. Stocks were up and oil prices fell more than 6 percent after Iran’s attack. Trump earlier in the day appeared to be keeping a close eye on those numbers, as a quarter of the world’s oil and 20% of its liquefied natural gas passes through the Strait of Hormuz — a narrow 90-mile waterway connecting the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea. Iran had threatened to block shipping traffic in the strait, but that threat appears to have subsided.

ON REGIME CHANGE
There are growing questions about whether regime change is likely in Iran. It has been nearly half a century since the Islamic Regime of then-Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini took power. The country’s rulers are extremely unpopular, overseeing a sputtering economy, spending huge assets on arming terror groups in the region and having turned Iran into a global outcast. The regime has faced multiple uprisings in recent decades, including most recently the Mahsa Amini protests of 2022 and 2023.

Questions about whether Israel and the US will make a push for regime change were amplified by President Trump, who posted on Sunday: “If the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn’t there be a Regime change???”
The White House clarified Monday, that if there’s going to be regime change in Iran, it has to come from the Iranian people — which experts have also said is the only likely route to a new government in the country. The current war has showcased how weak the regime security apparatus is now, with Israel dominating the Iranian military. The hope: it could inspire a renewed effort within Iran for another revolution.

Have more questions about the history of Iran and past U.S. intervention? Join us for the next Mo News Premium Workshop, on all things Iran. It will be tomorrow, Tuesday, June 24 🗓️, starting at 8 PM ET/5 PM PT ⏰, on Zoom 💻. It will then posted for premium users on our members-only podcast and website. Join premium today!

⏳ THE SPEED READ

🚨NATION

A potent heat dome is building over the US, sending temperatures into the triple digits (CNN)
Abortions continued rising in 2024 despite state bans (THE HILL)
Poll shows Zohran Mamdani overtaking Andrew Cuomo in NYC’s ranked choice mayoral primary (NY POST)
Police say a man opened fire outside a church before staff fatally shot him, averting mass shooting (AP)

🌎 AROUND THE WORLD

At least 7 killed in Kyiv by Russian drone, missile strikes on Ukraine, mayor says (ABC)
145 people at France music festival report being pricked with syringes after online calls to target women (CBS)
Suicide bomber kills at least 22 in Greek Orthodox church in Syria during Divine Liturgy (AP)
EU tells Israel to improve humanitarian conditions in Gaza (GUARDIAN)

📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH

Former leader of anti-vaccine group founded by RFK Jr. to present at first meeting of new CDC vaccine advisers (CNN)
Grocery giant Kroger to close 60 stores in next 18 months (FOX)
Home sales just posted their slowest May in 16 years (NPR)
First images from world's largest digital camera reveal galaxies and cosmic collisions (NBC)

🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

The Oklahoma City Thunder win NBA Finals in Game 7 (CBS)
Jury sees more sex videos as prosecutors wind down case against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs (AP)
Johnny Depp says he was a 'crash test dummy for MeToo,' accuses Hollywood pals of abandoning him to 'go woke' (FOX)
Elio gives Pixar its worst ever box-office opening despite positive reviews (GUARDIAN)

ICYMI FROM THE 📲

In case you missed it… Emmy and Tony Award-winning actress and singer Kristin Chenoweth delivered a Broadway-style national anthem before Game 7 of the NBA Finals between the Indiana Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday night — a game the Thunder won 103-91 to secure their first-ever title.

The Oklahoma native received both praise and criticism on social media, but she clearly had the time of her life — her 8-year-old dog is even named Thunder.