Netanyahu's former advisor Ran Baratz:

The Turks brought down Assad. That was not to our benefit. Assad was more convenient for us.

Assad was not aggressive, and he was a very convenient conduit for proxies — for Hezbollah.

The Trump administration redirected millions of dollars from a $177 million Democracy Fund toward programs focused on migration, free speech, “Western civilizational norms,” Afrikaner rights in South Africa and alleged persecution of Christians in Nigeria.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen placed holds on 10 proposed grants worth $22 million, but Secretary of State Marco Rubio approved obligating the funds before they expired.

Among the proposals is $5 million for a European “civilizational alliance” promoting freedom of expression, national sovereignty and political competition.

Source: CNN

Israel’s Supreme Court overturned a ban on two Arab electoral lists, allowing the Joint List and United Arab List to run in the Oct. 27 Knesset election.

The bans had been approved by the Central Elections Committee following requests from Likud, Jewish Power and other right-wing groups.

Netanyahu:

Trump asked me, "Where do you get this strength?"

I told him: "It is the heritage of our fathers, passed down to the sons and to the generations to come."

Netanyahu:

We are deep inside Gaza. A few days ago I was at our line of positions — we are holding them tightly. We will complete the job. But we have done the main part.

Netanyahu:

The people of Israel live, and the people of Israel kick.

We have the power simply to strike our enemies and guarantee our future.

Netanyahu:

Do you know another country that fought on seven fronts and is winning on every single front?

Netanyahu:

You know what the amazing thing is? First of all, contrary to all the forecasts, we conducted a war on seven fronts for three years.

Contrary to all the forecasts, our economy is soaring, ranked as one of the three most dynamic economies in the world.

And contrary to all the forecasts — and this is the most important thing — we are winning.

Before and after: Google Earth images show the scale of devastation around Al-Qadisiyah School in Rafah, in the Gaza Strip, comparing May 2022 with 2026.

German Chancellor Merz and NATO's Rutte were loudly booed in Münster at a NATO “peace prize” ceremony.

Trump:

I am thrilled to announce the Republic of Korea Deal keeps getting BETTER! 8.4 Billion Dollars for an enhanced Oil Recovery Project.

Producing more Oil and Gas means American Energy Dominance and Energy Security in the World for the Future!

Netanyahu:

Whoever sent this pilot will pay a very heavy price.

Belgium's Defense Minister Theo Francken:

Europe has been very good at investing in soft power, in social security.

But when there’s war or when there are hybrid threats, we don’t have anything. So, yeah, we’re in a really difficult position.

Belgium's Defense Minister Theo Francken:

I want to have a partnership with our beautiful enterprises — Belgian, but European also, American, maybe even Turkish, because they have very, very good drone systems — to, as soon as possible, have an innovative partnership that follows the trends all the time.

Trump:

Europe has just agreed to release a massive amount of their heavily stocked Diesel Oil.

The process will begin immediately.

Iran's Security Council Secretary Rezaei:

After one failure after another, the worst president in American history just keeps talking—and talking—and now his words have even outrun his own fantasies.

You can win every day in your own imagination. But reality is shaped by Iran—by its people, its soldiers,and its missiles.

U.S.-Iran diplomacy remains deadlocked because the two sides approach negotiations very differently.

Trump wants a fast, high-profile deal, while Iran prefers slow, indirect talks and narrower agreements. Deep mistrust has also grown after both sides accused the other of violating previous understandings.

Domestic pressure is pushing both sides toward harder positions, while Trump has become increasingly skeptical that a lasting agreement with Iran is possible.

Source: Axios

G-7 countries agreed to release up to 100 million barrels of diesel and crude oil reserves over four months to help curb soaring fuel prices, including a major diesel release within the first 20 days.

The deal followed U.S. pressure on European allies, particularly Germany and France.

French President Macron:

The figures for barrels leaving today have improved in recent days, and between Hormuz and the Yanbu route into the Red Sea, we now have a little more than three-quarters of the volumes that existed before the war being exported today.

Things are reopening, there is determined action by everyone, and we support the restoration of this freedom of navigation.

French President Macron:

We agreed that there would be no export restrictions or export bans between G7 members.

There will be coordination, cooperation and no export ban on any category of product whatsoever.

This is also very important because there were rumors in the market today that were pushing prices higher.