August 05, 2026

Good morning! Today is Wednesday, August 5th 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. Luke Nicastro dissects the Ceuta migrant crisis, arguing that Washington's silence on Morocco's apparent weaponization of migration—paired with Trump's flattering message to the Moroccan king—reveals a troubling embrace of accelerationism aimed at punishing Pedro Sánchez. Ted Snider surveys the fifth month of the Iran War, warning that U.S. intelligence sees diminishing returns from further strikes even as munition stockpiles dwindle and the conflict spreads from Jordan to the Red Sea to the Caspian. Snider urges President Trump to resist Zelensky's efforts to widen the war and to seize a narrowing window for negotiations with Tehran. and now for the details. We begin in North Africa, where the Spanish exclave of Ceuta was overwhelmed at the end of July by a surge of more than seventy thousand migrants crossing from Morocco. Ceuta, along with its sister city Melilla, is one of the last remnants of a six-hundred-year-old Iberian presence in North Africa. The crossings burst forth suddenly, apparently coordinated by disappearing social media accounts, and multiple migrants told the New York Times that Moroccan police had actively directed and encouraged them to cross into Spanish territory. Writing at The American Conservative, Luke Nicastro examines the geopolitical puzzle behind the affair. Morocco has a history of using migration as a policy tool, and Rabat has longstanding claims on Spain's remaining North African holdings. But Nicastro draws attention to the response from Washington. The Trump administration has close ties with the Moroccan government—the president recognized Morocco's claim to Western Sahara in his first term, and Rabat recently named a highway in his honor. House Republicans recently passed a bill sending Morocco forty million dollars in aid, with an accompanying committee report suggesting Morocco's claims to Ceuta and Melilla deserve a hearing. Nicastro notes that despite the Trump administration's signature promises to halt illegal migration, there has been no official U.S. condemnation of Morocco's role. Two days into the crisis, President Trump sent a flattering Throne Day message to the Moroccan king, praising his "wise leadership." Nicastro argues that Washington's interest appears to be in using the crisis as a cudgel against Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who has opposed the Iran War, resisted NATO spending targets, and criticized Israel. But the effort may be backfiring: after initial isolation, the EU is now rallying around Madrid, with Belgium's leader warning that migration is being used as a geopolitical weapon. Nicastro concludes that tacit American support for what he calls accelerationism—heightening contradictions to punish a political opponent—is beneath a serious nation. Turning to the Middle East, the American war with Iran now stretches past its fifth month, and a recent assessment by the U.S. intelligence community reportedly concludes that Tehran has demonstrated staying power despite one of the most intensive bombing campaigns in modern history. According to reporting in the Washington Post, our own spy agencies believe further strikes are unlikely to soften Iran's negotiating position. The New York Times reports that few in President Trump's inner circle believe further escalation is wise, with one senior official noting that the strikes are keeping Iran cohesive and helping its leaders focus attention on an external threat. Writing at The American Conservative, Ted Snider argues the war has been a strategic disaster. Before the fighting, Iran had reportedly been willing to submit to rigorous inspections, dilute its high-enriched uranium, and cap enrichment at civilian levels. The Strait of Hormuz, now effectively closed, was open. American munition stockpiles have been badly depleted—Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Dan Caine has reportedly warned the president that further major operations would dangerously drain interceptor supplies needed to defend U.S. bases and allied populations. Snider details how the war zone has widened. U.S. bases in Jordan face regular Iranian strikes. American and Saudi jets have hit Iranian-backed militias in Iraq. A drone recently struck a U.S.-owned gas tanker off Egypt. The Houthis have reopened conflict with Saudi Arabia and closed the Bab al-Mandeb Strait to Saudi shipping. And in late July, Ukraine struck an Iranian ship in the Caspian Sea, in what Snider describes as a reckless attempt by President Zelensky to draw the United States more deeply into his own war. Snider urges the president to apply to Iran the same realism he showed in resisting Zelensky's overtures, and to seize what appears to be a narrow window for peace negotiations. Those are today's highlights. For the full stories and more, visit theamericanconservative.com. Thank you for starting your morning with us.