Top US military commanders privately disagreed with orders to keep forces in the Middle East longer, a bad sign for anyone hoping the Iran conflict winds down soon.

• A leaked classified Pentagon orders document shows the Army, Navy, and Air Force chiefs plus regional four-star commanders formally logged a "non-concur" against Hegseth's plan to keep troops in the region through September and in some cases into 2027.
• Their warning: a long, large Middle East deployment leaves the US weaker everywhere else — Europe, Asia, and Latin America.
• They said they will carry out the order anyway, and the leak means Iran now knows the US military's own leadership doubts the plan.
• Trump's Venezuela oil deal — pitched as the biggest in history, with talk of a Pentagon stake and over $100 billion of promised investment — is being attacked by both sides of Venezuelan politics, and neither government has explained where the money comes from.
• Israeli settlers attacking Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank drew fresh international condemnation, and Texas polling shows Democrat James Talarico leading Ken Paxton in the Senate race on a break-up-healthcare-monopolies message.

Outlook: Expect the Middle East deployment to stretch on despite internal objections, and the Venezuela oil arrangement to face growing legal and political challenges.