KUWAIT: Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Ismail Fahmy affirmed that the security of Kuwait and other Gulf states is an integral part of Arab national security, pledging continued political and diplomatic efforts to protect the sovereignty and interests of member states. Speaking at a press conference on Monday during his official visit to Kuwait, Fahmy said repeated attacks on Gulf countries, including Kuwait, particularly those attributed to Iran, underscored the growing security and political challenges facing the region.
He stressed that the Arab League would not remain silent over violations of international law affecting the sovereignty of Arab states, adding that the organization was ready to provide political support and strengthen cooperation to safeguard Kuwait’s interests and promote regional stability. Fahmy said his visit reflected his appreciation for Kuwait’s longstanding Arab role, recalling the country’s experience before and after liberation in 1991. He noted that Kuwait’s Arab identity had remained a constant feature of its foreign policy despite changing regional circumstances. Describing his meetings with senior Kuwaiti officials as substantive and frank, Fahmy said the discussions covered strategic issues, current regional challenges and the future of joint Arab action. He added that he would return to Cairo carrying Kuwait’s views and messages on the next phase of Arab cooperation.
Arab security framework
Addressing questions about guarantees for protecting member states, Fahmy said the Arab League and its members formed an integrated system in which governments guide joint action, while the General Secretariat provides initiatives, support and political coordination. He acknowledged that existing guarantees were not directly military or security-related, but relied primarily on diplomatic engagement, unified Arab positions and opposition to violations of international law. “I am concerned about the Arab situation and am not comfortable with it,” Fahmy said, stressing that the multiple crises facing Arab countries required a serious reassessment of joint-action mechanisms. He described respect for international law and reliance on the rule of law rather than the law of force as strategic necessities for protecting Arab sovereignty and collective security.
On proposals for an Arab defense alliance similar to NATO, Fahmy said joint Arab defense agreements already existed but needed to be developed and activated to address current challenges. He advocated a comprehensive Arab deterrence framework extending beyond military capabilities to include political deterrence, coordinated diplomacy and economic cooperation. He said he would present proposals for consultation with member states to develop practical mechanisms that strengthen regional security and preserve independent political decision-making.
Yemen and regional tensions
Regarding Yemen and tensions involving Saudi Arabia, Fahmy condemned attacks targeting Saudi civilian sites, describing them as violations of sovereignty that warranted accountability for those responsible and those supporting them. He said Yemen’s prolonged crisis reflected the failure to establish sustainable state stability, resulting in internal divisions, conflict and foreign intervention that had harmed both the Yemeni population and neighboring countries. Fahmy said he had begun reviewing developments in the Yemeni file and consulting relevant parties, including through contacts with the Yemeni side. He stressed that restoring stability in Yemen was essential to regional security, warning that continued fragmentation would invite further intervention and deepen security and humanitarian challenges.
On the possibility of an emergency Arab summit to address regional tensions and attacks against Gulf states, he emphasized the importance of meetings among Arab leaders and foreign ministers to coordinate positions and establish common priorities. He said the effectiveness of such meetings depended not only on convening them but also on thorough preparation and follow-up to ensure implementation of decisions. Arab diplomatic contacts were continuing at various levels, he added, expressing his intention to support periodic summits that address immediate crises while also considering the region’s future.
Palestinian issue remains central
Fahmy reaffirmed that the Palestinian issue would remain the central priority of joint Arab action, citing the continued Zionist occupation, settlement expansion in the West Bank and developments in Gaza as major obstacles to a political settlement. He said decades of efforts had failed to end the occupation or achieve a just and comprehensive solution, adding that Zionist policies and US security support for Zionist entity had complicated prospects for progress. The two-state solution remained the only viable path to resolving the Palestinian issue, he said, although settlement expansion and demographic and geographical changes had made it more difficult to achieve than five or 10 years ago.
Fahmy warned that continued settlement activity threatened the possibility of establishing a geographically contiguous Palestinian state. He reaffirmed Arab countries’ commitment to the principles of the Arab Peace Initiative adopted at the 2002 Beirut Summit, particularly ending the occupation and achieving a comprehensive settlement. He stressed, however, that prioritizing Palestine should not prevent Arab countries from addressing other regional crises, noting that respect for international law and rejection of occupation and violations of sovereignty were common principles linking these challenges.
Renewing joint Arab action
Comparing Arab cooperation with the European Union’s experience, Fahmy said Europe’s progress had been supported by efforts to develop internal capabilities alongside international partnerships. Arab countries, by contrast, had at times become excessively dependent on external powers in security, political and economic affairs, affecting their capacity to strengthen independent decision-making, he said. Fahmy cited the 1973 October War and Kuwait’s liberation in 1991 as historical examples of Arab political and military solidarity. He stressed that greater self-reliance did not mean isolating the Arab world from international partners, but rather balancing cooperation with efforts to build regional capabilities and reduce vulnerability to changes in major powers’ policies.
He outlined plans for a renewed Arab agenda based on three pillars: addressing political and security crises, developing the Arab institutional system, and advancing economic and social development. The agenda would focus on resolving existing crises, modernizing Arab institutions and creating development opportunities for younger generations. Fahmy noted that about 65 percent of the Arab population was under the age of 30, placing a significant responsibility on governments and institutions to provide better prospects and economic opportunities.
He said stronger economic growth and greater self-reliance were essential to preserving independent national decision-making, warning that excessive dependence on foreign powers could narrow countries’ room for maneuver. Responding to criticism that the Arab League was limited to issuing statements of condemnation, Fahmy said the next phase should emphasize institutional work, practical initiatives and restoring confidence in joint Arab action.
He said he had advocated developing Arab national security mechanisms, strengthening collective deterrence and modernizing political, economic and development cooperation since assuming office. Fahmy said he intended to work on the detailed components of the agenda between September and next March, before consulting member states and preparing implementation programs that could extend over three to five years, depending on the issue.
He cautioned that he was not promising immediate solutions to the region’s crises, but was presenting a vision supported by objectives and practical mechanisms. The success of joint Arab action, he said, would depend on initiative, long-term planning and the availability of tools to implement agreed policies. Concluding his remarks, Fahmy described his unanimous selection as secretary-general as both an honor and a major responsibility, pledging to work with member states to improve the League’s effectiveness and restore confidence in collective Arab action, with a focus on protecting Arab interests and upholding international law. — KUNA
Tanker Data Shows Millions Fewer Barrels A Day Crossing Hormuz Than Energy Secretary Says– dailycaller.com News Source
EXCERPT:
Tanker-tracking data shows a smaller recovery in oil flowing through the Strait of Hormuz than Energy Secretary Chris Wright described Monday.
Speaking by video to an international energy conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Wright said oil moving through the strait was back to 80 to 90 percent of its prewar level, or 13 million to 14 million barrels per day, Asharq Al-Awsat reported. He said shipments of refined fuels such as diesel, jet fuel and gasoline out of the Gulf were still only 25 to 35 percent of prewar levels.
“Energy statistics can be difficult to collect and therefore imprecise and subject to revision. As a result, sources sometimes disagree,” Kevin Book, managing director at ClearView Energy Partners, said in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation. “That said, we suspect the secretary has access to pretty good information.”
Crude crossing Hormuz averaged about 10.3 million barrels per day in the week ended Oct. 3, roughly 23 percent below Kpler’s prewar figure of 13.5 million barrels per day, CNBC reported, citing the tanker-tracking firm’s data. Windward, another tracking firm, put the flow at 9 million to 10 million barrels per day, compared with 14.5 million before the war, according to the outlet.
The Department of Energy did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
“NCEA [National Center for Energy Analytics] has followed Gulf crude oil and product liftings since the advent of the crisis,” Matthew McManus, a senior fellow at the center and a former State Department official, said in a statement to the DCNF. “Redundant pipelines in Saudi Arabia, the UAE [United Arab Emirates] and to a lesser extent Iraq have all put substantial volumes of, predominately crude oil, on the market.”
“These flows, and the proportion of oil moved by pipeline and through the strait itself will fluctuate week to week but, historically to date, combined track with the ranges provided by Kpler and DOE [the Department of Energy],” McManus said.
Kpler counted at least 16.5 million barrels per day of crude leaving the Gulf region from Sept. 1 to Sept. 28, matching the region’s prewar average without Iran, which is under a U.S. blockade.
Saudi and Emirati pipelines now carry about 40 percent of that crude around the strait, up from 17 percent before the war, the firm found.
About 60 percent, or 9.9 million barrels per day, still crossed Hormuz in September, mostly on shuttle tankers that hand their cargoes to other ships in the Gulf of Oman. Confirmed crossings remained more than a quarter below their prewar level, Kpler said.
“Hormuz crude volumes may be recovering faster because products — and the refineries that manufacture them — have not,” Book, the ClearView Energy Partners managing director, said in his statement. “Simply put, processing less oil in refineries leaves more to export.” (RELATED: New Iran War Fears Send Oil Past $105 With Diesel Already Sky High)
The Middle East supplied about 15 percent of global diesel exports and about 8 percent of global gasoline exports in 2025, Book added, citing OPEC data.
Diesel averaged $6.27 a gallon nationally Monday, up from $3.67 a year earlier, according to the American Automobile Association.
Nearly 20 commercial ships, mostly tankers, came under attack in Hormuz, the Persian Gulf, or off Oman in the month before Oct. 6, CNBC reported, citing the Joint Maritime Information Center, a group of U.S.-allied militaries. The U.S. military has been protecting tankers using a southern route near Oman’s coast, the outlet said.
The energy secretary said the crude supply problem was mostly under control but not yet fully solved, according to Asharq Al-Awsat.
He said costlier shipping, longer voyages and Iranian attacks on ships had slowed the return of fuel shipments from the Gulf.
He also said China, which announced it would not export refined fuels during October, had sharply cut those exports, while U.S. refineries were running at record levels.
Clashes reported in Yemen as Houthis advance towards Taiz | Houthis– www.aljazeera.com News Source
EXCERPT:
Heavy clashes have been reported between Houthi fighters and Yemeni- forces near the strategic southern city of Taiz, Al Jazeera’s Yousef Mawry reports from Sanaa on what losing the city could mean for Yemen’s internationally recognised government.
Trump considering joining Saudi fight against Iran-backed Houthis– www.cnbc.com News Source
EXCERPT:
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media on Oct. 10, 2026 in Washington, D.C.
Aaron Schwartz | Getty Images News | Getty Images
President Donald Trump said he is considering joining Saudi Arabia in its retaliation against Tehran-backed Houthis in Yemen after a deadly attack on Riyadh’s main airport, a move that could draw the U.S. further into a second front in the Iran war.
“We may. We’re going to look at it,” Trump told reporters outside the White House on Saturday when asked if the U.S. would back Saudi Arabian strikes. “We just found out about the recent attack. So, we’ll make a decision. We move very quickly.”
Two Saudi Arabian government officials told MS NOW that the kingdom is requesting “urgent defense support” from the U.S. following the attacks.
The officials, including a senior member of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, did not want to be identified because of the matter’s sensitivity. They added that the U.S. needs to intervene “as soon as possible” to help the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen fight the Houthis.
The White House did not immediately respond to a CNBC request for comment.
On Sunday, a projectile struck a passenger terminal at the Riyadh airport, one day after a missile struck the same terminal, the Associated Press reported. No immediate details were available about the latest strike on the King Khalid International Airport complex for terminals 3 and 4 for domestic flights, AP said.
Pakistan imposes emergency rule in northern province after protests– www.channelnewsasia.com News Source
EXCERPT:
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is a stronghold of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, and the PTI-led government there will be sidelined under Sunday’s extraordinary constitutional measures.
PTI chairman Gohar Ali Khan called the move “an extremely alarming and grave political mistake and an undemocratic measure”.
“The people will never accept such actions against their rights,” he posted on X.
An increased security presence could be seen in Peshawar, the provincial capital, on Sunday, according to an AFP reporter, and roads in other cities in the province also remained closed.
PTI supporters began “long march” demonstrations between towns and cities throughout Khyber Pakhtunkhwa a week ago, after talks with the government broke down.
Saudi pledged massive revenge attack after Houthis hit airports– www.mirror.co.uk News Source
EXCERPT:
Saudi Arabia has vowed to avenge massive attacks by Iran-backed Houthis after 14 were killed and hundreds were injured hundreds in weekend missile attacks.
Prince Abdul Aziz bin Salman, the Kingdom’s energy minister, warned of a “serious” response to the Houthi strikes on the kingdom’s airports and oil and gas facilities. Bin Salman said: “The events of recent weeks are serious. Our response must be equally serious.”
The weekend attacks were the worst the country has suffered since the latest round of aggression broke out between the two. One man died on Sunday from an attack on the capital Royadh’s King Khalid International Airport, a day after a Houthi missile hit another terminal, killing 13.
The Houthis said they launched the attacks in retaliation for “brutal Saudi aggression” against areas they control in western Yemen.
Twelve Killed, 300 Wounded in Houthi Drone Strike on Saudi Airport– legalinsurrection.com News Source
EXCERPT:
Iran-backed Houthi terrorists struck Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh international airport on Saturday, killing at least 12 people and injuring more than 300.
A U.S. citizen was among those killed in the Houthi drone strike. “At least 12 people have been killed, and 309 injured in an attack on the international airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, local authorities say,” BBC reported. “The deaths included four Saudis, two people from Bangladesh and one person each from the US, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Sudan and Egypt, the Saudi civil aviation authority confirmed.”
Saudi authorities confirm King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh was attacked this afternoon, resulting in a number of injuries. Operational activities at the airport have been temporarily suspended pending a full damage assessment, the Saudi Civil Aviation Authority said. https://t.co/M7ywd87Bmjpic.twitter.com/hlhzTGcmhG
Update: The Houthis struck the Riyadh airport for the fourth time in a row on Sunday afternoon. The airport was “hit again on Sunday,” The Guardian reported. “Authorities said an “unidentified projectile” struck Terminal 4 at King Khalid International Airport. Air defenses also “intercepted and destroyed a cruise missile” in the vicinity of the airport.”
Saturday’s strike on the Riyadh airport marks the deadliest attack since the Houthis seized power in neighboring Yemen over a decade ago. Reuters called it the “deadliest such attack in the kingdom in more than a decade.”
Following the attack, President Donald Trump hinted that the U.S. may consider hitting Houthi terror targets in Yemen. The U.S. military hasn’t taken on Houthis since May 2025, when it destroyed over 1000 terror targets as part of Operation Rough Rider.
Trump, asked if the U.S. will join the Saudi strikes on the Houthis:
On September 30, 2026, the last U.S.-led coalition troops departed Erbil air base in northern Iraq, ending the latest chapter of a military presence in the country that began with the 2003 invasion, briefly ended in 2011, and resumed in 2014 to fight the Islamic State. Baghdad celebrated, Washington claimed victory, and Iran-aligned factions rejoiced. In the Kurdistan Region, the response was alarm.
Each reaction reflects a different calculation on what Iraq becomes without the United States as referee, target, and security backstop. The withdrawal resolves one longstanding dispute over Iraqi sovereignty while bringing another to the fore: the gap between the state’s formal monopoly on force and its ability to exercise it. That question becomes more urgent eight months into the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, which has repeatedly entangled Iraq, especially the Kurdistan Region in a regional conflict, all while Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi seeks to bring armed groups under state control by June 30, 2027, which is a postponed date that was originally slated to coincide with the U.S. withdrawal.
From Withdrawal to Sovereignty
The departure followed a two-phase plan agreed to in 2024 by the Biden administration and then-Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, which President Trump held to as part of his pledge to end an “endless war.” By January 2026, coalition advisers had left federal Iraq, with troops remaining in Erbil to support operations in Syria. Despite the U.S. launching the war against Iran on February 28, al-Zaidi confirmed in July that the remaining U.S. troops would leave by the end of September.
Their departure removed a roughly 1,500-strong military footprint and the air defenses that accompanied it, although training and intelligence cooperation will continue. Baghdad marked the occasion with four “Sovereignty Days” of national holiday, underscoring its claim that the state, not foreign armies or factions, decides on issues of war and peace. At the UN General Assembly, al-Zaidi pledged that weapons would remain with constitutional institutions and that Iraq’s relationships with Western states would shift from military to economic cooperation.
On September 30, 2026, the last U.S.-led coalition troops departed Erbil air base in northern Iraq, ending the latest chapter of a military presence in the country that began with the 2003 invasion, briefly ended in 2011, and resumed in 2014 to fight the Islamic State. Baghdad celebrated, Washington claimed victory, and Iran-aligned factions rejoiced. In the Kurdistan Region, the response was alarm.
Each reaction reflects a different calculation on what Iraq becomes without the United States as referee, target, and security backstop. The withdrawal resolves one longstanding dispute over Iraqi sovereignty while bringing another to the fore: the gap between the state’s formal monopoly on force and its ability to exercise it. That question becomes more urgent eight months into the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, which has repeatedly entangled Iraq, especially the Kurdistan Region in a regional conflict, all while Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi seeks to bring armed groups under state control by June 30, 2027, which is a postponed date that was originally slated to coincide with the U.S. withdrawal.
From Withdrawal to Sovereignty
The departure followed a two-phase plan agreed to in 2024 by the Biden administration and then-Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, which President Trump held to as part of his pledge to end an “endless war.” By January 2026, coalition advisers had left federal Iraq, with troops remaining in Erbil to support operations in Syria. Despite the U.S. launching the war against Iran on February 28, al-Zaidi confirmed in July that the remaining U.S. troops would leave by the end of September.
Their departure removed a roughly 1,500-strong military footprint and the air defenses that accompanied it, although training and intelligence cooperation will continue. Baghdad marked the occasion with four “Sovereignty Days” of national holiday, underscoring its claim that the state, not foreign armies or factions, decides on issues of war and peace. At the UN General Assembly, al-Zaidi pledged that weapons would remain with constitutional institutions and that Iraq’s relationships with Western states would shift from military to economic cooperation.
Flydubai Attacker Planned 9/11 -Style Suicide Attack on Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport, UAE Confirms– legalinsurrection.com News Source
EXCERPT:
The axe-wielding co-pilot, who tried to hijack the Flydubai flight to Tel Aviv last month, planned to crash the plane into Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport in a 9/11-style attack, the authorities in the United Arab Emirates confirm.
The Omani pilot Hamam al-Hammami, has admitted to a “premeditated terrorist plot to … launch a suicide attack targeting the passenger terminal at Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv, with the aim of causing the greatest possible loss of life,” the UAE Attorney General Hamad Saif al-Shamsi said on Friday.
In fact, the 29-year-old Islamist was ‘inspired’ to become a pilot by the 9/11 attacks, which claimed the lives of nearly 3,000 Americans.. “He also drew inspiration from the 11 September 2001 attacks, and the idea of carrying out a similar operation using an aircraft became firmly established in his thinking,” the UAE official added. “According to his confession, this was linked to his decision to pursue a career in aviation.”
BREAKING: The 29-year-old Omani co-pilot accused of attacking the captain of an Israel-bound Flydubai flight allegedly planned to crash the plane into Ben Gurion Airport, according to the UAE attorney general.
Al-Hammami was a known jihad sympathizer. He had been barred from flying by authorities in his native Oman “over concerns he had adopted radical ideological views,” The Wall Street Journalrevealed last Friday. According to Israel’s i24NEWS, his professional LinkedIn account featured “al-Qaeda-linked terrorist images.”
An Omani flydubai co-pilot had intended to seize a Dubai-Tel Aviv flight and crash it into a terminal at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport on September 30 in a suicide attack before he was thwarted by the captain, the UAE attorney general said on Friday.
Attorney General Hamad Saif al Shamsi’s statement did not appear to implicate flydubai in any wrongdoing, and contained the most detailed account yet from prosecutors about what they believe to have happened. Flydubai was not immediately available for comment.
The plan was inspired by the September 11, 2001, attacks on the US, UAE public prosecutors think, as a result of their criminal investigation launched on October 1.
It found the suspect had used two previous flights to Tel Aviv to “familiarise himself with the flight route and the airport”, the state news agency WAM reported. It is the first public confirmation of the co-pilot’s 9/11 inspiration.
Emotional moments: Israeli heroes of the flydubai attack sing Israel’s national anthem, “Hatikvah,” at the Israeli president’s residence after being honored for their bravery. 🇮🇱
After Captain Smit was attacked by the co-pilot on a flight from Dubai to Israel, passengers and… pic.twitter.com/6xkKmY9d1g
Flydubai Attacker Planned 9/11 -Style Suicide Attack on Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport, UAE Confirms– legalinsurrection.com News Source
EXCERPT:
The axe-wielding co-pilot, who tried to hijack the Flydubai flight to Tel Aviv last month, planned to crash the plane into Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport in a 9/11-style attack, the authorities in the United Arab Emirates confirm.
The Omani pilot Hamam al-Hammami, has admitted to a “premeditated terrorist plot to … launch a suicide attack targeting the passenger terminal at Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv, with the aim of causing the greatest possible loss of life,” the UAE Attorney General Hamad Saif al-Shamsi said on Friday.
In fact, the 29-year-old Islamist was ‘inspired’ to become a pilot by the 9/11 attacks, which claimed the lives of nearly 3,000 Americans.. “He also drew inspiration from the 11 September 2001 attacks, and the idea of carrying out a similar operation using an aircraft became firmly established in his thinking,” the UAE official added. “According to his confession, this was linked to his decision to pursue a career in aviation.”
BREAKING: The 29-year-old Omani co-pilot accused of attacking the captain of an Israel-bound Flydubai flight allegedly planned to crash the plane into Ben Gurion Airport, according to the UAE attorney general.
Al-Hammami was a known jihad sympathizer. He had been barred from flying by authorities in his native Oman “over concerns he had adopted radical ideological views,” The Wall Street Journalrevealed last Friday. According to Israel’s i24NEWS, his professional LinkedIn account featured “al-Qaeda-linked terrorist images.”
An Omani flydubai co-pilot had intended to seize a Dubai-Tel Aviv flight and crash it into a terminal at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport on September 30 in a suicide attack before he was thwarted by the captain, the UAE attorney general said on Friday.
Attorney General Hamad Saif al Shamsi’s statement did not appear to implicate flydubai in any wrongdoing, and contained the most detailed account yet from prosecutors about what they believe to have happened. Flydubai was not immediately available for comment.
The plan was inspired by the September 11, 2001, attacks on the US, UAE public prosecutors think, as a result of their criminal investigation launched on October 1.
It found the suspect had used two previous flights to Tel Aviv to “familiarise himself with the flight route and the airport”, the state news agency WAM reported. It is the first public confirmation of the co-pilot’s 9/11 inspiration.
Emotional moments: Israeli heroes of the flydubai attack sing Israel’s national anthem, “Hatikvah,” at the Israeli president’s residence after being honored for their bravery. 🇮🇱
After Captain Smit was attacked by the co-pilot on a flight from Dubai to Israel, passengers and… pic.twitter.com/6xkKmY9d1g
Explosions heard in Saudi capital as Middle-East conflict intensifies – National– globalnews.ca News Source
EXCERPT:
Several explosions were heard in the Saudi capital on Thursday, including one at the Riyadh airport that halted flights, a witness said.
The blasts came as Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis have targeted the kingdom’s infrastructure, though there was no word on what had caused the explosions and no claim of responsibility.
A witness says several explosions were heard in Riyadh on Thursday, including a large blast at the city’s international airport.
Fire and ambulance crews were being deployed, and smoke was visible, the witness said.
The witness said that outgoing flights were halted, and that passengers were instructed to evacuate the airport. It was not immediately clear how many flights were disrupted, but the witness said the terminal was crowded with passengers and that people were instructed to leave all checked-in luggage behind.
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According to flight tracker Flightradar24, no planes have taken off or landed from Riyadh airport since shortly after noon local time.
The cause of the blasts was not immediately known. But the explosions came at a time when Houthi rebels have been targeting Saudi airports and oil installations.
Saudi authorities did not respond to requests for comment.
The witness spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Iranian proxy claims to have downed Saudi fighter jet as fighting escalates in Middle East
British consulate in east Jerusalem demotes itself
Britain said it had reached an agreement with Israel’s government to downgrade its consulate in east Jerusalem, and a small team of diplomats will continue to operate in what will now be known as the U.K. Mission.
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Israel’s government said last month it would close the consulate in response to the United Kingdom banning trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
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Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said in a statement that the consulate had “ceased to function as a consulate.” He said twenty British diplomats will leave Israel, and that the building will continue to operate with seven diplomats engaged in limited activity.
“Israel will no longer turn its cheek to diplomatic attacks against it,” he said.
British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband denied the building will close and said it will be known as the U.K. Mission. Miliband said the seven diplomats remaining will continue to work with Palestinians, but gave no details. The UK said based on the current agreement, it would not take reciprocal action such as expelling Israeli diplomats from London.
Tanker is struck off Qatar coast
The British military said late Wednesday that several projectiles struck a tanker off the coast of Qatar, causing multiple casualties.
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The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center said the attack took place in the Persian Gulf, north of Qatar’s city of Madinat ash Shamal. The city is on the northern tip of Qatar.
The U.K. military did not identify the tanker and did not provide any details about the casualties. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack and no comment from Qatar.
Will Israel’s Netanyahu be allowed to fly through Canadian airspace? Here’s what Anita Anand says
Netanyahu faces new accusations
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s former military secretary has accused the Israeli leader of altering official transcripts of phone calls from the morning of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks.
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The accusations by Maj. Gen. Avi Gil came in a wide-ranging interview with the right-wing Israel Hayom newspaper.
In excerpts of the interview published Thursday, Gil accused Netanyahu of attempting to change records of their phone calls in the first hour of the attack, possibly in an attempt to shift blame for failures that morning from the prime minister to his advisers.
Gil said he reported the attempt, allegedly made by Netanyahu’s chief of staff, to the attorney general. Gil served as military secretary from 2021 to 2024.
In the interview, Gil also confirmed that a senior Egyptian intelligence official had visited Israel shortly before the Oct. 7 attack. Asked whether there had been a warning, Gil said he did not know what message was relayed, but added: “Whoever met with someone or received something is still concealing it today.”
Gil’s full interview is expected to be published over the weekend, and an interview with an Israeli TV channel is also planned.
The report comes as Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, is seeking re-election on Oct. 27. His Likud party told Israel Hayom that Gil’s comments are part of an attempt to oust Netanyahu from power, the paper said.
EU prepares ‘support mission’ for Lebanon
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Thursday that the bloc is preparing a “support mission” to train and advise Lebanon’s army and security forces, though that won’t replace U.N. peacekeepers in southern Lebanon whose mandate expires at the end of the year.
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Kallas said during a visit to Beirut that Lebanese authorities formally asked the EU for this. She added that she expects the mission to be set up by EU foreign ministers on Monday.
Lebanese officials have previously pushed to extend the mandate of the U.N. force known as UNIFIL, but extension seems unlikely to pass a vote at the U.N. Security Council.
After the latest Israel-Hezbollah war, much of southern Lebanon is now occupied by Israeli forces, and an agreement to transfer control from Israel to the Lebanese army has largely stalled. The exit of U.N. peacekeepers has raised concerns that Israel might extend its occupation and that the Iran-backed Hezbollah militants could exploit the security vacuum.
Iran scales up Hormuz attacks, raising pressure on Trump as midterms near– www.washingtonpost.com News Source EXCERPT:
With less than a month to go until the U.S. midterm elections, Iran is escalating attacks in the Strait of Hormuz, dramatically reducing the amount of oil moving through.
The uptick follows celebrations by the Trump administration that U.S. naval escorts had allowed oil flows to reach nearly prewar levels. But last week, Iranian attacks hit at least nine vessels in the strait — a level of attacks on shipping not seen since July, when the United States began encouraging ships to make the transit without permission from Tehran, according to data from the United Nations and maritime tracking firm Kpler.
White House Denies Trump Suggested Iran Should “Take Out” US Cities– www.ndtv.com News Source
EXCERPT:
The White House pushed back Tuesday after Democrats accused President Donald Trump of suggesting Iran should “take out” the major US cities of Los Angeles and San Diego.
Viral footage showed comments by Trump at a midterm elections rally in Nebraska on Monday, where he said high oil prices from the Iran war were justified by the need to stop Tehran getting nuclear weapons.
“It’s a little bit high. It’s a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, keeping our country safe,” Trump said.
“They can take out a city. Let them take, let them take out Los Angeles, let them take out San Diego. This is a very small price to pay, and it’s going to be over with very soon.”
Democrats — who control the state of California where both Los Angeles and San Diego are located — accused the 80-year-old Republican president of encouraging Iran to hit the two urban centers.
“Donald Trump is now saying our foreign enemies should ‘take out’ Los Angeles and San Diego. He is deranged and dangerous,” California Governor Gavin Newsom said on X.
“The nuclear annihilation of an American city is no laughing matter,” Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic minority leader in the US House of Representatives, said on X.
But the White House insisted Trump was talking about the threat posed by Iran, branding it a “media freakout” that was “not rooted in reality.”
“He was clearly stating US cities would have been threatened if a nuclear Iran hadn’t been stopped,” White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said on X.
The White House’s Rapid Response account on X took issue with a Los Angeles Times headline saying Trump had suggested “letting Iran ‘take out’ Los Angeles and San Diego.”
“No, he didn’t, you buffoons. He was saying the US is fighting to STOP Iran from having the ability to take out LA and San Diego with a nuclear weapon — which they would if they had the chance,” it said.
Trump is hitting the road in the last month before the midterms amid Republican fears that voter anger over the Iran war and high prices could cost them control of Congress.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Vance appears to soften U.S. demands on Iranian nuclear enrichment– www.cbsnews.com News Source EXCERPT: Vance says Iran must do “something meaningful on enrichment capacity” to end the war, as Rubio claims Tehran has “lost complete control” of the Strait of Hormuz.
Families of troops killed in Iran war skip Trump’s Gold Star reception– www.independent.co.uk News Source
EXCERPT:
The vast majority of relatives of six service members killed in the deadliest strike of the Iran war will be absent from a major White House reception hosted by President Donald Trump for Gold Star families.
Only one family member of those killed during the March 1 Iranian drone attack on Port Shuaiba in Kuwait confirmed plans to attend Tuesday’s gathering with Trump and the First Lady.
Meanwhile, surviving troops from the attack have questioned why they were stationed at a location that lacked sufficient air defenses despite being identified as a likely target.
This combination of photos released by the U.S. Army taken on May 16, 2025, shows from top left, Sgt. Declan Coady, Master Sgt. Nicole Amor, Maj. Cody Khork, Master Sgt. Noah Tietjens, Maj. Jeffrey O’Brien and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, after they were killed following an Iranian drone strike on March 1, 2026, in Port Shuaiba in Kuwait (AP)
Since commencing on Feb. 28, the conflict has resulted in the deaths of 19 U.S. troops and injured more than 800 others. The annual gathering marks Gold Star Mother’s and Family’s Day, which takes place on the final weekend of September.
According to the White House, this year’s reception recognizes nearly 40 fallen troops from operations dating back to the Vietnam War. Trump was scheduled to deliver an address, followed by a candle-lighting ceremony and a musical presentation featuring a rendition of “America the Beautiful.”
Trump says Iran conflict will be over ‘shortly,’ sending oil prices tumbling down – World– tass.com News Source EXCERPT:
NEW YORK, October 8. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump said the conflict with Iran would end soon after which global oil prices should plummet.
“What’s going to happen will be – as soon as that’s over which will be shortly – oil prices are going to come tumbling down,” Trump said in an interview with CBS.
There is no more a nuclear weapon threat in Iran, the US leader emphasized.
‘Resilience’ of Israelis as they mourn the loss of loved ones and ‘the sense that we can be safe’– www.france24.com News Source
EXCERPT:
Angela Diffley is pleased to welcome Dr. Danny Brom, Founding Director of METIV, the Israel Psychotrauma Center in Jerusalem. According to Dr. Brom, as Israelis and Jewish people around the world continue to mourn the largest loss of Jewish life on a single day since the Holocaust, their fundamental sense of collective security has also been shattered. What strikes him, however, is the resilience that exists alongside the grieving. How can individuals, communities and society rebuild a sense of safety without allowing fear to dictate the future? Yet, as Dr. Brom observes, “the war is still going on,” while political leaders speak of pursuing “the ultimate victory, which no one really knows what that is.”
Syria weighs deploying thousands of troops to Yemen – Axios — RT World News– www.rt.com News Source
EXCERPT:
The move could bolster a Saudi-led offensive against the Houthis, with the US reportedly not opposed in principle
Syria could join a Saudi-backed military offensive against the Houthis in Yemen by deploying thousands of troops, Axios has reported, citing US officials.
Yemen’s internationally recognized government forces have launched a major counteroffensive to recapture territory seized by the Iranian-backed Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, including areas around the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The Saudi-led coalition has backed the operation with extensive airstrikes against Houthi positions.
According to an Axios report, Riyadh and Damascus are discussing the deployment of up to 20,000 Syrian troops. Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who previously led the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), is reportedly considering the proposal but has yet to make a decision.
The issue came up during al-Sharaa’s meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh on Tuesday, the sources said. Saudi Arabia is seeking to reinforce Yemeni government forces, which US officials described as less well-trained than the Houthis.
Jewish Former Student Sues New York School, Says Admin Refused to Help While Protesters Shoved, Spat on Her– www.breitbart.com News Source
EXCERPT:
On the third anniversary of the October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, a Jewish former student at The New School filed a federal lawsuit against the university, accusing the school of failing to protect her from antisemitic harassment, physical assaults, vandalism, and exclusion from campus spaces.
The Lawfare Project, a legal organization dedicated to protecting the civil and human rights of Jewish people worldwide, together with co-counsel Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP, filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of Sophie Shabot, a Jewish American and Israeli citizen who attended The New School’s Parsons School of Design.
The filing came on the third anniversary of the October 7 terrorist attack, in which more than 1,200 people were murdered and another 251 abducted.
The complaint describes a series of incidents beginning after the attack in which Shabot says she was subjected to antisemitic harassment on campus.
In December 2023, protesters blocked Shabot from entering the University Center while allowing non-Jewish students through, according to the lawsuit. The complaint says she was shoved out of the building, spat on, and screamed at through a bullhorn.
The lawsuit says another confrontation occurred in March 2024 after protesters vandalized and took over a space reserved for a Hillel event featuring an Israeli speaker and prevented Jewish students from entering.
Saudi Arabia horror as Houthis blow up plane in brutal Riyadh airport attack | World | News– www.express.co.uk News Source
EXCERPT:
A plane was hit by a projectile during a Houthi missile attack in Saudi Arabia on Thursday as images showed the severe damage. The Saudia Airlines aircraft caught fire while parked at a terminal at Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport amid a fresh wave of attacks on the kingdom. Three people briefed on the incident told Reuters that shrapnel from an interception or another projectile had struck the commercial aircraft, leaving it heavily damaged. No passengers were believed to have been on board at the time, although the sources could not rule out injuries linked to the incident. Footage shows thick black smoke and flames rising from the airport following the incident.
The Iran-backed rebels claimed responsibility for the attack on Riyadh airport, saying a ballistic missile had caused damage, although the group did not provide evidence for its claim
A witness told the Associated Press that several explosions were heard across the Saudi capital, including a large blast at the international airport.
Hundreds of flights to and from Riyadh were cancelled in the aftermath, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware.
The latest violence came a day after Saudi Arabia said one person had been killed in an attack on Riyadh airport, while two others were killed in a separate strike on Abha airport in the southwest.
WATCH: Footage confirms a Houthi strike hit a stationary aircraft at Riyadh Airport, Saudi Arabia. https://t.co/0FLJXDyA4U
“They hit us bad.” Newly obtained footage, witness accounts detail Iran attack — and U.S. retreat — at major post in Kuwait– www.cbsnews.com News Source
EXCERPT:
Washington — New videos obtained exclusively by CBS News show Iranian attacks on a major U.S. military base in Kuwait as the war with Iran kicked off seven months ago. American forces faced ballistic missiles, drones and what witnesses described as Iranian F-5 fighter jets.
The footage obtained by CBS News was recorded by a person stationed on the ground at Camp Buehring, and captures the moments of impact and their explosive aftermath. Damage to buildings and military equipment can also be seen in the videos.
The attacks on Camp Buehring offer a window into the strain Iranian attacks placed on American forces during the opening days of the war. CBS News has learned that soldiers defending the base ran critically low on .50-caliber ammunition as some soldiers were repositioned into the Udari Desert in Kuwait. Two soldiers were injured by lightning there in late April, according to U.S. officials with knowledge of the matter.
Contacted by CBS News, U.S. Central Command, the primary unit which oversees American military operations across the Middle East, declined to comment.