Senior Iranian official to Reuters:

Iran will make no nuclear concessions even if the U.S. accepts Tehran’s proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

The Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until Iran’s conditions are met.

Trump:

Scott Bessent will not be going to be Super Intelligence (SI) Czar. Number One, he doesn’t want to. Number Two, he’s doing such a great job at Treasury, and that’s where I want to keep him! Why would I ever make such a change? Just more Fake News!

Xi boards his plane as he departs the U.S. after his three-day visit.

Putin:

Russia was ready to resume negotiations with Kyiv after the elections, but Ukraine attempted to strike Moscow and attacked polling stations.

Putin:

Kyiv must feel Russia’s response to attacks on infrastructure and understand that provocations and escalating the situation will not help it.

Putin:

Russia is not preparing for a war with Europe; there are no motives or grounds for this.

BIG: Yemen's Presidential Council chairman calls on Yemenis to mobilise and join the armed forces.

Putin:

Aggressive circles in Europe want to use Ukraine as cannon fodder to restrict Russia’s development.

Putin says he is not jealous of Xi Jinping’s relationship with Trump.

Putin on Ukraine:

All proposals for a peaceful settlement are “on the table,” but Russia still needs to consider what is in its interests.

NEW: NYT confirms Haaretz’s earlier report that UAE President MBZ warned Netanyahu before Oct. 7 that Hamas was preparing a major attack.

According to five former senior Israeli officials cited by the NYT, the warning never reached Israel’s security leadership. Minutes from a security meeting on Oct. 1, 2023 show Netanyahu did not mention the warning and instead pushed for maintaining calm in Gaza.

Netanyahu has denied receiving such a warning, saying any intelligence from the UAE would have been passed through official channels.

Source: NYT

NATO's Rutte:

What we are seeing is no new refineries being built in Europe.

We are seeing that refineries are being closed down, and if war breaks out, if the Russians would attack and we have to defend ourselves, we need massive amounts of diesel and all the oil products for our F-35s, our fighter jets, for our tanks, etc.

And that is a big worry.

NATO's Rutte:

The engagement with Russia, I believe, really has to be led by the Americans, because these are the ones — the American nation and the president — this is what Putin listens to.

Trump:

President Xi and Madam Peng have just left D.C., heading for China. The meeting was one of Friendship, Strength, and Success, for both China and the U.S.A.

We will be meeting again in November, in China, and then at the G20 in December, in Miami, Florida. Much has been, and will be, accomplished. I look forward to our next meeting!

NATO's Rutte:

Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, much of the defense spending was cut, thinking that we now have — we’re living in this kumbaya of never of war again.

And, oh, we love each other, etc. And then Putin came on board and became more and more radicalized and became a long-term threat to NATO.

So that’s why we’re spending more, building capabilities.

Putin:

Russia will continue to fight for the rights of compatriots abroad, including in the Baltic states, but through international legal methods.

NATO's Rutte:

We need Putin to play ball. And so far he is not, which is a bit strange because he is losing over 43,000 of his own men each month.

The U.S. intelligence community assessed that Saudi Arabia has not ruled out developing nuclear weapons, according to classified documents provided to Congress.

The assessment has raised concerns among some U.S. lawmakers over Trump’s agreement to support a Saudi civilian nuclear program, which could allow uranium enrichment in the kingdom and potentially create a pathway toward weapons development.

The deal would allow U.S. companies to build nuclear energy projects in Saudi Arabia. It initially limits uranium enrichment to below 5%, but a later agreement could allow enrichment up to 20%, a level that can be further processed toward weapons-grade material.

Source: WaPo

An East German town (Heidenau, near Dresden) voted to ban future Holocaust memorial plaques, the brass "Stolpersteine" embedded in sidewalks commemorating Nazi victims.

The motion was jointly passed by the far-right AfD and the ruling CDU, fueling debate over the CDU's supposed "firewall" against cooperating with the AfD.