Iran Resumes Strikes on U.S. Forces; Senate Advances Unprecedented Bipartisan Russia-Iran Sanctions

Iran launched missiles against U.S. forces in the Middle East on July 29, 2026, ending a ceasefire lull — hours before U.S. and Saudi Arabian forces conducted joint airstrikes on Iran-backed militants in Iraq in retaliation for prior attacks. The simultaneity of Iranian escalation and Trump's White House summit with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu compresses every actor's decision timeline into a single 24-hour window. The non-obvious signal: Brent crude at $87.21 — down 9.9% on the week — is still priced for a ceasefire world that no longer exists, a lag that historically corrects sharply within 48-72 hours of confirmed escalation resumption. Separately, the Senate's rare bipartisan advancement of the Graham Russia-Iran Sanctions Bill on July 28 signals Congress is moving faster than the executive branch to foreclose diplomatic exits — an institutional divergence that matters for every ongoing back-channel. Full causal chain analysis in this week's briefing.