The Cradle ✔

Hezbollah’s 2006 strike and the Israeli firm now watching Iran for Washington Born from Israel’s naval intelligence establishment, Windward now helps Washington police the seas – and turns the war on Iran into a new market for its data. By Anis Raiss

Palestine Action challenges terror proscription before UK Supreme Court Government officials found only three of the group’s 385 actions met the legal definition of terrorism

VIDEO | Israeli Chanel 14's Hallel Bitton Rosen: "The political situation Netanyahu and Trump find themselves in is bringing us much closer to a crisis. War is expected to break out soon.”

BREAKING | An Israeli drone strike targets Kfar Tebnit, in southern Lebanon.

'A severe blow': Israeli media outlets sound alarm over Democratic sweep Netanyahu-aligned Channel 14 calls the vote a ‘major blow to Trump and Israel’ as critics of military aid to Tel Aviv head to Washington in growing numbers

Iran's IRGC announces four oil tankers destroyed by mines in Strait of Hormuz Iran affirms that the Strait of Hormuz will only reopen once the US meets its seven conditions, including an end to the naval blockade

❗️Vance acknowledges historic midterm defeat, asks whether losing Congress for war on Iran was 'worth it' US Vice President JD Vance admitted on Wednesday that widespread voter outrage over the war on Iran directly handed Democrats control of Congress, explicitly challenging war hawks to justify whether losing the Senate for six years was "worth it" for foreign military interventions. Writing on social media following catastrophic Republican midterm losses, Vance dismissed internal claims that weak voter turnout caused the defeat, noting that conservative base participation remained strong. Instead, citing confidential post-election polling, Vance revealed that a massive segment of 2024 Trump-Vance supporters deliberately defected to the Democratic Party. The top demands from these alienated voters to return to the party were ending the war, tackling cost-of-living inflation, adopting an "America First" posture, and fundamentally changing the US relationship to Israel. "The real reason we lost is obvious to almost everyone... The reason we lost is the war," Vance wrote, defending political commentators who called for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict. Challenging establishment neoconservatives and proponents of the war policy within the administration, Vance concluded: "If you'd like to argue it was worth it, that losing the Senate for the next 6 years was worth it, then do so. Argue it was a worthwhile cost to pay. Agree or disagree, that's at least honest."

UPDATE | Lebanese photojournalist Kamal Younes has been injured in an Israeli drone strike targeting a motorcycle in Qabrikha, southern Lebanon, an attack that also killed paramedic Naser Mohammad Younes.

‼️ Yemeni Armed Forces hit Saudi border posts and radar base in triple strike campaign Yemen's Armed Forces carried out three targeted military operations this morning, striking a strategic radar installation, a border guard command headquarters, and a military encampment across southern Saudi Arabia, according to an official statement by military spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree on social media. The first operation deployed an attack drone against an early-warning radar station on the Al-Qahmah peninsula north of Jizan, scoring a direct hit. The second operation targeted the Akifah military encampment in Najran using a precision ballistic missile, achieving its objective. The third operation launched a ballistic missile targeting the Border Guard command and control center in Jizan. According to Saree, the strike inflicted direct casualties, leaving a number of Saudi officers and soldiers dead and wounded.

BREAKING | Israeli warplanes target Wadi al-Hujair, in southern Lebanon.

❗️Turkiye set to ratify mutual defense pact with Saudi Arabia, Pakistan Turkiye's parliament is expected to ratify a joint defense agreement with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan on Wednesday, including a collective defense provision that commits Ankara to Riyadh's defense. The agreement would establish a formal mutual defense obligation for Turkiye but would not automatically result in the deployment of Turkish troops to Saudi Arabia, which would require a separate parliamentary mandate. Turkiye submitted the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, signed by the three countries in August, to parliament for approval last month. Its central provision, modeled on NATO's Article 5, treats an attack against one signatory as an attack against all. The agreement also aims to strengthen defense industry cooperation, improve military coordination and establish deterrence against potential threats. A lawmaker from Turkiye's ruling party previously told Reuters that Ankara would also present a separate parliamentary mandate authorizing the deployment of military personnel to Saudi Arabia under the agreement. However, officials have stressed that the extent of Turkiye's assistance would be decided through collective consultations and based on requests from Riyadh.

VIDEO | Multiple Israeli drones seen over Haret Hreik, in Beirut's southern suburbs.

BREAKING | Saudi airstrikes kill mother and three children in Yemen's Taiz Saudi Arabia carried out a series of aerial bombardments and artillery attacks across several Yemeni governorates, killing a mother and three of her children in a direct airstrike on a residential home in Taiz, according to Saba News Agency. The deadly raid hit a civilian home in the Al-Athawir area of Hayfan district in Taiz governorate, leaving four additional family members wounded under the rubble. In parallel border attacks, Saudi ground troops opened direct fire on civilian areas in Qahr Bani al-Harith in Saada governorate's Baqim district, wounding two civilians, while heavy artillery and missile salvos shelled residential villages across the Al-Thabet area in neighboring Qatabir district along Yemen's northern frontier. The escalated campaign also targeted critical communications infrastructure, with Saudi aircraft launching raids against a telecommunications network in the Al-Kharqa area of Dhi Na'im district in Al-Bayda governorate.

VIDEO | "We have to do something large ... the only thing I can tell you with certainty, they will never have a nuclear weapon." US President Donald Trump suggested earlier today that Washington may execute a massive military assault against Iran, asserting that the US has not completed its military objectives despite suffering historic losses in the midterm elections. Speaking during a interview on Fox News hours after Democrats captured majorities in both houses of Congress, Trump signaled a potential escalation in US military operations across the region. "If we have to do something large... a lot of people would like to do the heavy hit," Trump stated, confirming that military planners are preparing options for a high-intensity strike campaign. Emphasizing that he has not ruled out further direct aggression against Tehran, Trump added, "We have not yet finished the mission in Iran." The belligerent rhetoric comes despite public acknowledgement from Trump that widespread domestic dissatisfaction with rising fuel costs and the expanding regional war played a decisive role in punishing Republican candidates at the polls.

UPDATE | Oil prices fell on Wednesday, extending losses to more than $3 a barrel amid volatile trading as investors awaited Washington's next move in the US-Israeli war on Iran following President Donald Trump's Republican Party losing control of Congress in the midterm elections. By 14:17 GMT, Brent crude futures had dropped $3.20, or 3.09%, to $100.40 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell $3.01, or 3.13%, to $93.08.

❗️Palestine Action challenges UK terror designation before Supreme Court A co-founder of Palestine Action appeared before the UK Supreme Court on Wednesday to challenge the British government's decision to designate the campaign group as a terrorist organisation, arguing that the ban was disproportionate and undermined counter-terrorism legislation. Lawyers for Huda Ammori, co-founder of Palestine Action, argued that when the group was banned, government officials had determined that only three of its 385 actions over a five-year period met the legal definition of terrorism. London's High Court initially ruled the ban unlawful, but the Court of Appeal reversed the ruling in June, dismissing comparisons with historical movements such as the suffragettes, who fought for women's right to vote. Ammori's lawyer, Raza Husain, told the court on Wednesday that the suffragettes and other movements "used tactics similar or more extreme than Palestine Action", pointing to the suffragettes' bombing campaign in the early 20th century.

BREAKING | Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) announced that moments ago the15th US MQ-1 drone was downed over Qeshm Island using a newly deployed, advanced air defense system.

❗️Israeli Army Radio military correspondent Doron Kadosh reports that two people were targeted in an Israeli airstrike in the southern Lebanese town of Qabrikha, near the so-called 'Yellow Line.' A security source says that the Israeli military targeted the two individuals after they allegedly approached its occupation forces in the area too closely and were deemed a threat. The strike was described as an operation to "eliminate an immediate threat." Kadosh described the strike as highly unusual, saying the Israeli military had not targeted suspected individuals in southern Lebanon for several weeks, even under the pretext of "threat elimination." One of the victims of the Israeli attack has been identified as paramedic Naser Mohammad Younes, from the Al-Risala Scout organization.

❗️Met Police urged to investigate Israeli settlement agency promoting tourism at London trade show The Metropolitan Police war crimes unit has been formally requested to open an urgent investigation into the participation of an Israeli government agency deeply involved in illegal settlement construction at the World Travel Market (WTM) event in London, according to a report published by Middle East Eye. The UK-based International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) submitted a formal legal request demanding that British police investigate and consider preventative action against the Jerusalem Development Authority (JDA), which is promoting tourism via its platform "iTravelJerusalem" from the official Israeli tourism stand at ExCeL London. The legal group emphasized that the JDA plays a direct role in funding and constructing illegal settlements across occupied East Jerusalem, acts that constitute severe violations of international law and war crimes under the Rome Statute. The legal intervention coincides with sustained demonstrations inside the venue by activists from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), who staged protests adjacent to the Israeli exhibition space holding banners declaring "Every settlement is a war crime." The three-day international trade showcase has faced mounting public pressure and picketing over the inclusion of state entities directly facilitating the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory.

Iran's IRGC announces four oil tankers destroyed by mines in Strait of Hormuz Iran affirms that the Strait of Hormuz will only reopen once the US meets its seven conditions, including an end to the naval blockade