The Cradle ✔

❗️WSJ: Vance contacts Iran’s security chief in bid to revive negotiations US Vice President JD Vance has reached out to Iran’s security chief in an effort to restart negotiations, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. According to the newspaper, Vance sent a letter to Mohsen Rezaei, head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, at the direction of US President Donald Trump, one source said. Trump addressed the report Wednesday evening, claiming that Vance had proposed the initiative and that he had authorized his vice president to proceed as he saw fit. The letter and subsequent exchanges between US and Iranian officials centered on establishing a potential framework for negotiations rather than discussing the specific terms of a peace proposal, the Journal reported.

VIDEO | Footage shows smoke rising from homes in the southern Lebanese town of Zawtar al-Sharqiya as Israeli occupation forces burn residential buildings, as reported by Al-Manar correspondent Samer al-Haj Ali.

NYPD drops contract with Israeli spy firm over fears of political suppression: Report Council members warned the technology had been used by Israel, Myanmar, and South Sudan to track and persecute dissidents

VIDEO | Iran's IRGC Navy announced that three oil tankers struck naval mines, exploded, and caught fire over the past 24 hours while attempting to exit the Strait of Hormuz through an unauthorized southern route, before being abandoned off the southern coast. The tankers had disabled their radar and navigation systems and ignored IRGC warnings. The IRGC Navy warned that the unauthorized route is mined, held vessel owners and crews responsible for using it, urged them to disregard US CENTCOM’s claims on social media, and vowed a decisive response to any US-backed provocative actions violating the strait’s regulations, stressing that the reality on the ground would speak for itself.

VIDEO | Israeli occupation forces demolish the Martyrs’ Memorial at Al-Sahib Junction in Al-Khalil (Hebron).

❗️Balad leader Sami Abu Shehadeh condemns Likud's foreign interference allegations as ‘racist blood libel’ Sami Abu Shehadeh, leader of the Balad Party, condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party for attempting to attribute the unprecedented electoral gains of Palestinian parties in the Knesset to alleged foreign interference. “In a normal country, the losing side takes responsibility and goes home,” Abu Shehadeh said. “In Israel, however, the losing side fabricates a racist ‘blood libel’ and calls on the security services to use force to overturn the election results.” “A man accused of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust does not hesitate to incite against 20% of the country's citizens,” he added, referring to Netanyahu.

❗️UAE president honors Flydubai pilot who helped foil alleged 'terror attack' Smit Machchhar, the Flydubai pilot credited with helping foil a 'terror attack' aboard a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv last month, received a medal from the president of the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday. UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan presented Machchhar and the other crew members with the First Class Order of Zayed II, “in recognition of their courageous efforts to ensure the safety of passengers,” his office said. The president also commended “the crew’s courage and professionalism in ensuring the safety of passengers and securing the aircraft, affirming that protecting people’s safety and security remains a top priority for the UAE.”

❗️Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defense announced early on Thursday that warning sirens had been activated in the Eastern Province and the southern city of Najran. Sources on social media reported explosions in Najran and a missile and drone attack launched from Yemen toward Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province. They also said Ansarallah had targeted the Ras Tanura refinery in the region, with several powerful explosions reportedly heard at the facility.

Netanyahu’s Likud accuses Qatar, Turkiye of election interference aimed at ‘Islamizing Israel’ Palestinian-Israeli factions won the most seats in an Israeli election ever, despite settler harassment and sabotage at the polls

❗️First Iranian export train departs Qom for China Iran has launched its first export freight train from the city of Qom to China, while 460 tons of sodium chlorate were shipped by rail from Semnan province to Turkiye, as Tehran seeks to expand its export routes. Amid growing restrictions on maritime transport, rail freight shipments from China to Iran have increased tenfold, while the frequency of Chinese trains arriving in Iran has risen from one every three to four days to one daily, Fars News Agency reports.

⭕️ Gaza health officials reported at least six Palestinians killed and 38 injured in the latest 24-hour period due to Israel’s ongoing attacks on the Strip. According to the health ministry, 1,574 Palestinians have been killed and 5,687 injured since the so-called ceasefire took effect on 11 October, 2025, while the bodies of 845 people have been recovered. The cumulative death toll from Israel’s war on Gaza has reached 74,570, with 175,808 injured, according to the ministry’s latest figures released on 29 October, 2026.

❗️Lieberman wants Eisenkot to form unity government with Netanyahu, but refuses to join coalition himself Israel's Channel 12 (N12) reports that Yisrael Beiteinu party leader Avigdor Lieberman has cut off contact with opposition leaders Naftali Bennett and Gadi Eisenkot, reportedly refusing to answer their calls since Wednesday. According to N12, Lieberman favors the formation of a national unity government bringing together Netanyahu and the opposition. However, he refuses to join a Netanyahu-led coalition himself, preferring that Eisenkot take the step independently. Lieberman, who entered the elections seeking to become prime minister, is projected to secure seven Knesset seats, falling short of pre-election polls that suggested his party could win as many as nine. Separately, Israeli newspaper Maariv reported, citing sources close to Netanyahu, that the prime minister is considering forming a joint government with Eisenkot. Meanwhile, sources close to Lieberman told N12 that he has chosen to wait, believing that rising security tensions could alter the political balance.

⭕️ Oil prices slipped on Thursday, reversing some of the previous session’s gains. As of 09:22 GMT, Brent crude futures had dropped $1.27, or 1.1%, to $114.05 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell $1.51, or 1.5%, to $101.27 per barrel.

❗️Yemeni Armed Forces announced on Wednesday evening that Saudi warplanes have carried out 101 airstrikes and missile attacks over the past 24 hours, targeting civilian sites in the capital, Sanaa, and the governorates of Jawf, Taiz, Amran, Hajjah, Saada, Al-Dhale, Al-Mahwit, and Lahj. The attacks involved F-15 and Typhoon aircraft taking off from the Khamis Mushait and Taif airbases, alongside missile strikes launched from Najran, resulting in dozens of deaths and injuries, including women and children. The total number of Saudi airstrikes and missile attacks against Yemen since the escalation began has reached 3,480, according to the group.

❗️Iran announces downing of 14th US MQ-1 drone Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced that it had shot down a US MQ-1 drone east of the Strait of Hormuz, off the coast of Sirik. In a statement, the IRGC said its Aerospace Force detected and destroyed the drone using a new advanced air defense system operating under Iran’s integrated air defense network. It added that the drone was the 14th MQ-1 to be intercepted and destroyed by its air defenses. Each MQ-1 drone is estimated to cost around $4 million.

❗️Seoul considers sending maritime patrol aircraft to Strait of Hormuz South Korea is weighing several options for a potential deployment to the Strait of Hormuz, including dispatching a maritime patrol aircraft, National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac said on Thursday. Speaking during a parliamentary audit, Wi said Seoul was continuing talks with Washington on possible measures but had ruled out deploying combat forces, in line with an earlier announcement by President Lee Jae Myung.

WATCH | Yemeni Armed Forces released footage on Wednesday evening showing their fighters expelling Saudi-backed reinforcements from the Al-Dhabab and Al-Aswad Mountain fronts in Taiz Governorate and securing the areas.

BREAKING | Israel bombs the entrance to Al-Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip amid ongoing crimes in the Strip. (Quds News Network)

❗️Herzog reportedly offers Netanyahu full pardon in exchange for political retirement in two years; president's office denies report Israeli President Isaac Herzog has reportedly proposed granting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a full pardon in exchange for remaining in office for another two years before retiring from politics, according to Israel's Channel 14. The channel reported that Herzog has been considering the arrangement for nearly two years and that it could emerge as an option in negotiations to form a new government. However, Herzog's office dismissed the report as fake news, stressing that the president does not engage in speculation over government formation. The report comes amid uncertainty following Israel's 27 October parliamentary elections, with neither Netanyahu's bloc nor that of his main rival, Gadi Eisenkot, projected to secure the 61 seats needed for a majority. Preliminary projections give Netanyahu's bloc 53 seats, Eisenkot's bloc 48, and Palestinian parties in the Knesset 19, potentially placing the latter in a decisive position. Herzog said he would consult parliamentary factions after receiving the official results next week before selecting a candidate to form a government.

❗️Israel launches ‘foreign interference’ investigation after record Palestinian voter turnout and electoral gains Israel's Central Elections Committee Chairman Noam Sohlberg has formally requested that Shin Bet Director David Zini investigate allegations of foreign interference, foreign funding, and vote-buying in the Knesset elections, following a record 77% turnout among Palestinian voters and unprecedented gains by Palestinian parties. In a letter to Zini, Sohlberg called for an official investigation into claims of credible intelligence concerning electoral interference. According to Israeli media reports, Netanyahu's Likud party has filed thousands of complaints with police and Shin Bet, accusing Palestinian parties of vote theft, bribery, intimidation, and fraud. Alarmed by the turnout, Likud has also alleged that Qatar and Turkiye paid large numbers of Palestinian voters to secure their votes. The baseless accusations come after Netanyahu's bloc emerged as the largest but failed to secure a parliamentary majority, while Palestinian parties won an estimated 19 Knesset seats, placing them in a potentially decisive position in coalition negotiations. Following Sohlberg's request, extremist National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir called on the Shin Bet to seek arrest warrants against leaders of Palestinian parties suspected of links to so-called 'Qatari funding,' as well as other individuals connected to the Muslim Brotherhood, provided legal grounds exist.