The Cradle ✔

⭕️ Oil prices extended their decline on Tuesday after US President Donald Trump supposedly played down the possibility of further military action against Iran, easing concerns over prolonged disruptions to West Asian oil supplies. Market concerns over a potential global supply surplus also weighed on prices. Brent crude futures fell $2.92, or 3.15%, to $89.65 per barrel by 13:34 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) dropped $2.33, or 2.68%, to $84.52. Following a 5.9% decline in the previous session, Brent fell below $90 per barrel for the first time since 31 August.

VIDEO | Hegseth says "this is our hemisphere, act accordingly." In a belligerent address outlining Washington's expanding militarization of the Americas and West Asia, War Secretary Pete Hegseth bragged about deploying troops to the US border to choke off human and drug pipelines while launching lethal strikes across the region.

Massie introduces articles of impeachment against Hegseth over 'unlawful' war on Iran The Republican lawmaker warned that Hegseth 'will remain a threat to the Constitution if allowed to remain in office'

❗️The European Union stands ready to mount a "swift and united response" after France formally attributed a widespread cyberattack targeting hundreds of supermarket fridges to Iran, despite providing no public evidence, EU spokesman Anouar al-Anouni confirmed today. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot publicly blamed the IRGC, specifically pointing to a cyber unit known as Shahid Kaveh, for the 11 - 12 October hacks that remotely manipulated temperatures in roughly 700 supermarkets across France, causing widespread food spoilage and equipment damage.

VIDEO | "Iran, the cartels, Maduro, Yemen, every one was a lawful operation ordered by the commander-in-chief." US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has denounced congressional impeachment efforts against him as a "farce" and a "political spectacle" that undermines military authority during a defiant speech at the Pentagon. Condemning the legislative maneuvers as a personal manifesto driven by ego and resentment, Hegseth defended his tenure by stating that "impeachment resolutions against him mock the constitution, attack the chain of command" and send a dangerous signal to foreign adversaries that Washington will punish its own leadership for carrying out lawful operations. Standing firmly behind his administrative decisions in office, Hegseth made it clear to reporters that he stands behind every single military operation conducted under his watch.

❗️Israeli occupation forces set residential homes on fire in the southern Lebanese town of Al-Qantara.

❗️Iraq bars Iranian national football team’s plane from landing over US sanctions Iraq barred a plane carrying Iran's national football team from landing at Basra airport on Tuesday over concerns about violating US sanctions on Iranian airlines, according to Iraqi aviation officials. The aircraft returned to Iran and landed in Abadan, with the team set to continue its journey to Basra by land. The Iranian squad was traveling to participate in a four-nation tournament featuring Iraq, Lebanon, and Palestine.

BREAKING | Israeli warplanes target Al-Tiri, in southern Lebanon.

❗️️Iran has unveiled a new underground “missile city” belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force, in the presence of senior Iranian military commanders, including Maj. Gen. Ali Abdollahi and Brig. Gen. Majid Mousavi, according to Iranian state media. During the unveiling, Abdollahi warned that further military “surprises” would emerge in the next war.

VIDEO | US President Donald Trump claimed Washington would maintain the current status quo with Iran and hold off on further military strikes at the request of regional allies, including Qatar and Saudi Arabia, following a meeting with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani at the White House on Monday. “For now, we are keeping it at the status quo at the behest of the countries that are their neighbors (Qatar, Saudi Arabia),” Trump said, adding that Iran had supposedly “killed 75,000 protesters at minimum,” and describing the country as a “nasty place.” Asked why US citizens should believe his latest claim that the war would end soon after making similar claims over the past eight months, Trump responded that his commitment had been to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. “No, I made the claim that they won't have a nuclear weapon, and they won't have a nuclear weapon,” he said.

❗️Tehran vows unrestricted retaliation and hidden military capabilities against Israeli aggression The Chief of the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, General Ali Abdollahi, has warned that Tehran holds numerous strategic surprises for its adversaries and is fully prepared to strike back without regional boundaries should the axis of aggression launch any hostile moves. Speaking on the Islamic Republic's defense posture, Abdollahi stressed that the armed forces will respond without restriction and far beyond local borders to decisively punish any violation of Iranian sovereignty, according to Mehr News Agency. Directly addressing the constant threats emanating from Tel Aviv, Abdollahi made it clear that any military miscalculation by Israel would trigger its ultimate destruction. "We will have many surprises for the enemy during the future war. If the Zionist entity makes any mistake against us, we will destroy it," he said.

BREAKING | A spokesperson for Yemen's Armed Forces announces that air defense forces successfully downed a CH-4 reconnaissance aircraft belonging to Saudi forces while it was conducting hostile operations over Al-Jawf province. This marks the fourth aircraft of this model shot down by Yemen's Armed Forces since the onset of the escalation in September.

❗️LNG traffic through Strait of Hormuz hits highest level in October since war on Iran began LNG tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz reached its highest monthly level in October since the US-Israeli war on Iran began in February, with 31 loaded vessels transiting the strategic waterway, up from 23 in September, according to S&P Global Energy. Of these, 23 departed Qatar's Ras Laffan facility and eight loaded at the UAE's Das Island. Qatar's October loadings reached 35 cargoes, exceeding 2.7 million tons, while two tankers departing Ras Laffan transferred their shipments to other vessels near Oman's Sohar anchorage for delivery to South Korea and Pakistan. UAE exports from Das Island remained steady at seven loadings for the second consecutive month.

❗️Israeli settlers attack Palestinian olive harvesters, injuring EPA photojournalist and foreign activist Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian farmers and foreign solidarity activists harvesting olives earlier today between the towns of Qusra and Jalud, south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, injuring European Pressphoto Agency (EPA) photojournalist Alaa Badarneh. According to statements by Qusra Mayor Abdul Azim Wadi, a mob of armed settlers raided farmland in "Area B" where local villagers and international volunteers were gathering olive crops. Settlers physically assaulted the group and hurled heavy stones at close range, striking Badarneh and causing severe body contusions. An international solidarity activist was also injured in the stone-pelting assault. The attack on Badarneh is part of a broader surge in state-backed settler violence explicitly targeting agricultural livelihoods and media personnel documenting land confiscation across the West Bank. On 16 October, approximately 80 masked settlers armed with clubs charged Palestinian olive pickers in Abu Falah, northeast of Ramallah. During that raid, 63-year-old Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine was beaten for over 10 minutes, suffering broken ribs and vertebrae, while settlers stole her equipment and passport. Israeli occupation forces routinely provide armed escort to settler mobs during the annual olive harvest, using tear gas and live ammunition against Palestinian land owners who attempt to defend their crops and property.

❗️Gulf monarchies approve joint military command headquarters in Kuwait amid regional escalation The six member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have approved the establishment of an advanced forward headquarters for their Unified Military Command in Kuwait, alongside the allocation of military forces to the facility, marking a significant expansion of military coordination among the Gulf monarchies. GCC Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi announced the decision following the bloc's 23rd Joint Defence Council meeting in Manama, Bahrain. The GCC's Unified Military Command was established in December 2013 to coordinate joint military operations among Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Oman. The decision comes amid heightened regional tensions following the US-Israeli war on Iran and Iranian retaliatory attacks against Gulf states hosting US military installations. However, officials have yet to disclose the number of troops to be allocated, the headquarters' operational mandate, or a deployment timetable.

❗️Israeli-linked network pushing restoration of Shah’s 'dynasty' exposed campaigning for Netanyahu An investigative report published by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz has exposed a coordinated network of 1,653 X accounts posing as Iranian users that abruptly mobilized to campaign for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party during Israel's recent parliamentary elections. The investigation revealed striking digital overlaps, showing that the exact same cluster of accounts had previously been unmasked running inauthentic influence operations to promote Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran's ousted shah, and manufacturing artificial grassroots support for regime change in Iran. According to researchers, the network displayed clear technical indicators of inauthentic, automated coordination: accounts published identical phrasing in coordinated bursts, amplified Likud messaging within minutes of each other, and executed a sharp pivot from Persian-language propaganda targeting Tehran to Hebrew appeals demanding that Israeli citizens vote for Netanyahu. Multiple profiles claimed to speak on behalf of the Iranian public, arguing that Netanyahu's political survival was vital for toppling the Islamic Republic. Once voting concluded, the accounts dropped domestic Israeli politics entirely and reverted to pushing pro-monarchist talking points. Digital rights groups note that this operation builds upon prior exposures. A major October 2025 investigation by Citizen Lab uncovered an extensive Israeli-backed influence network utilizing AI-generated deepfakes and automated avatars to manufacture domestic unrest inside Iran, with messaging frequently synchronized with Israeli aggression.

BREAKING | Israeli airstrike kills two Palestinians, including child, at Gaza City displacement shelter An Israeli airstrike killed at least two Palestinians, including a child, and injured several others on Tuesday after targeting the roof of a displacement shelter center in the Al-Zeitoun neighborhood, southeast of Gaza City. Medical sources at Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City confirmed the fatalities and injuries following the strike, which directly struck the crowded facility housing displaced families. Witnesses and field reporters stated that Israeli aircraft targeted the top floor of the shelter without prior warning. Emergency teams rushed the victims to Al-Ahli Hospital as rescue workers searched the damaged structure for additional survivors.

❗️France summons Iranian envoy after blaming Tehran for supermarket hacks France summoned Iran's ambassador on Tuesday over accusations that Tehran was behind a cyberattack that disrupted refrigeration systems in hundreds of supermarkets across Europe in October. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Paris would push for EU sanctions and warned that France could retaliate with cyber measures, including undisclosed actions, to deter further attacks and hold those responsible accountable. Tehran's UN mission did not respond to requests for comment and Iran routinely denies involvement in malicious cyber operations.

VIDEO | Israeli warplanes seen over Nabatieh, southern Lebanon.

❗️Syria reportedly decided to join Saudi-Pakistani-Turkish defense alliance Syria has reportedly decided to join the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement between Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan, according to the Associated Press (AP), citing two Syrian officials. A Syrian diplomatic source separately told SANA that military cooperation with Saudi Arabia currently covers training, expertise-sharing and consultations, with coordination visits expected to begin in December. The source said this cooperation could eventually lead to a mutual defense agreement or Syria joining the Mecca alliance, depending on shared interests.