Mario Nawfal

🇹🇷🇸🇦🇵🇰 Saudi signed a shiny new defense pact last month and this week it is asking France, Britain and Egypt for extra air cover. Houthi drones and missiles have been hitting energy sites, airports and cities. One drone was shot down south of Mecca. Riyadh says the interceptor stash is running low after months of the Iran war already burned through Patriot rounds, and Washington is short too. The Mecca deal with Turkey and Pakistan was sold as a Muslim mutual defense club. Partners now say Saudi has not even triggered it, and the alliance is still being built. The Mecca deal with Turkey and Pakistan was sold as a Muslim mutual-defense club. Partners now say Saudi has not even triggered it, and the alliance is still being built. New pacts take time. Missiles do not wait. That gap is what Riyadh is trying to close right now. Source: Middle East Eye / Writer: Lucas

🇮🇱🇵🇸 Cars are trying to make their way through Route 17 as Israeli settlers block the road between Nablus and Asira al-Shamaliya while pelting passing vehicles with stones. Imagine turning onto a road and suddenly finding yourself in the middle of this. Writer: Val t.co/GU4dtRWU8M

🚨🇷🇺🇨🇳 Russia and China vetoed the panel that watches whether anyone is enforcing nuclear sanctions on Iran The vote ran 11 to 2 with Somalia and Pakistan abstaining, and two vetoes killed it anyway. The sanctions themselves survive, freezing Iranian assets abroad, barring arms deals and penalizing ballistic missile work, all of it snapped back last September when Britain, France and Germany pulled the trigger written into the 2015 deal. What dies is the expert panel that documented who was breaking them. Nobody in that chamber expected a different outcome. Moscow ships engineers to Iran's missile programs and Beijing buys the oil funding them, so the two governments most exposed by an enforcement report just deleted the report. Source: CBS News / Writer: Daniel

🇺🇸🇮🇷 Trump dropped a cryptic warning on Iran He told Axios a “big decision” is coming, but he’s leaving everyone guessing about what happens next. Either escalation, through expanded U.S. military action or tighter economic pressure on Tehran, or the opposite: a breakthrough in negotiations. Is Trump is preparing the battlefield or the bargaining table? Writer: Val, Daniel t.co/SZE5EzU87Q

🚨🇮🇷 Iran set a tanker on fire for crossing Hormuz without its permission and promised destruction for the next one The IRGC Navy says it struck the Togo-flagged Trend after the ship attempted what Tehran calls illegal passage, leaving the vessel burning and dead in the water. The statement claims continued control of the waterway and warns that any unauthorized transit will end in the destruction of the offending vessel. Tehran has spent two months building a permission regime, vetting ships, drawing exclusion zones, preparing to file its own corridor with the UN, and this is that paperwork enforced with fire. Every owner now picks between applying to Iran for clearance or gambling a hull and a crew. Each burning tanker pushes more of them toward the first option, which is precisely the toll booth Iran demanded in June and never got. Source: IRGC Navy statement / Writer: Daniel

🚨🇮🇷 U.K. Maritime Trade Operations is reporting a SECURITY INCIDENT in the Strait of Hormuz. It happened ~18 miles northeast of Khasab, Oman. The crew is safe, and no environmental impact has been confirmed. Vessels are advised to transit with caution. Just another day in the world’s most dangerous chokepoint. Source: UK_MTO / Writer: Marie

🇷🇺🇺🇦 Talk about being in the right place at the right time A Ukrainian STING interceptor drone reportedly captured a wild close-up as a surface-to-air missile tore into a Russian Geran drone in mid-flight. one split-second interception caught from an incredible angle. Writer: Val t.co/oWhIx53rwR

🇺🇦🇷🇺 Big fire lighting up the night in Dnipro, a major city in central Ukraine on the Dnieper River. Smoke everywhere, and explosions were heard in Kyiv the same night. Overnight attacks hit several regions, damaged buildings and warehouses, and left more than 20 people hurt, including kids. Writer: Daniyal t.co/UqPznig6LP

🇺🇸 The U.S. just broke a 67-year record and almost nobody is talking about it. The Census Bureau released its 2025 numbers this week, and poverty fell to 10.2%, the lowest since tracking began in 1959. 1.4 million people climbed out of poverty in a single year. Median household income jumped 2.6% to $87,460, an all-time high, and child poverty hit a record low of 13.4%. 2 straight years of falling poverty, and officials are already out celebrating. The mood on the ground says something else entirely, with Americans still telling pollsters the economy feels rough. Some of that is timing, since people are living through 2026 prices while this record is being set in last year's data. The rest is what the numbers leave out, with 26.7 million people going the whole year without health insurance, and a family of 4 only needing to clear $32,649 to count as out of poverty. Somebody will run on these numbers in November, and somebody will run against them. Source: U.S. Census Bureau / Writer: Daniyal

🇺🇸 Rampaging suspect torches police dog after storming a San Diego sex shop then lights himself on FIRE A wild foot chase kicked off after a man armed with a metal rod was spotted smashing car windows before barricading himself inside the store with flammable liquid and an incendiary device. Police sent K-9 Ryder inside, where the dog was burned on the neck and hind legs, before the suspect moved toward the front door with the device and an officer opened fire. The good news is that Ryder miraculously survived emergency treatment and is expected to recover. Writer: Bri t.co/DOu3hT8S75

🇺🇸 The man who sprayed Rep. Ilhan Omar with apple cider vinegar and water during a Minneapolis town hall has been sentenced to 14 months in federal prison. Anthony Kazmierczak had pleaded guilty to assaulting a U.S. officer. Omar was not injured and continued the event afterward. Writer: Sol t.co/tcczDlZiyO

🇺🇸🇸🇦🇨🇳 The U.S. State Department has approved a potential $24 billion sale of 48 F-35s to Saudi Arabia, although congressional approval remains another hurdle. Brandon Weichert rejects the argument that the sale should be blocked primarily because China could gain access to F-35 technology. His bigger concern is what China is already building. “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘦.” Newer J-20s and J-35s are increasingly competitive with their American counterparts while China is building them at a pace the U.S. may struggle to match. The technology race matters. The production race may matter more. @WeTheBrandon

🇺🇸 The Pentagon is already planning for wars around the Moon. Gen. Dan Caine says the U.S. military needs to be ready to fight from the seabed all the way to cislunar space, arguing future conflicts won’t come with safe supply lines or uncontested access. So the U.S. military is officially entering its Star Wars era Writer: Sol t.co/4phg00XwSu

🇺🇸🇮🇷 There are two potential escalation windows in the Iran war. The first is October. If Washington expects a major Iranian move, Trump could try to preempt it and seize the initiative before the midterms. But what comes afterward is even more concerning. “𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯... 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘪𝘯... 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘢𝘹𝘪𝘮𝘶𝘮 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦-𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦.” Once the election is over, Trump temporarily loses one of the strongest political constraints on escalation. Everyone is watching the midterms as a possible turning point. The 5 or 6 weeks immediately after them may matter even more. @WeTheBrandon

🇷🇸 Serbia is getting into the combat drone business and Vučić isn’t exactly being subtle about what they can do. The Serbian president inaugurated a new factory producing Israeli-designed drones for the Serbian military and export. His description? They can “go through windows and chase the opponent.” And this is apparently just the beginning, Vučić says Serbia plans to build at least three more factories. The drone arms race is already here. Writer: Lynn t.co/hbqz7RPKaM

🇨🇳🇸🇦🇾🇪 Saudi Arabia is reportedly running low on interceptors and looking abroad for air-defense support while simultaneously pursuing diplomacy with the Houthis. And China's quietly gaining leverage from the situation. With Beijing dependent on Saudi crude and reportedly involved in de-escalation efforts, he speculates that Pakistan’s talk of potentially invoking the Mecca defense agreement could be part of a broader pressure campaign on the Houthis. But the larger shift is diplomatic. “𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘢, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘜𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘦 𝘚𝘢𝘮.” If Beijing increasingly becomes the power Gulf states call when Washington either cannot or will not solve the problem, the consequences could extend far beyond Yemen. @WeTheBrandon

“No service” is getting a lot harder to find, even in Panama. Starlink direct-to-cell is coming to harder-to-reach parts of Panama with +Móvil, where normal mobile coverage runs out. The map gets bigger without building a tower on every corner. @Starlink @SpaceX / Writer: Annette, Grok Imagine Designer: Janné

🇺🇸🇮🇷 Recent reports suggest U.S. escort operations through Hormuz are proving more effective than many expected. But there's a clock running underneath that success. Keeping warships continuously deployed delays maintenance, wears down crews and aircraft, and eventually leaves fewer ships ready to replace them. One admiral calls it the Navy’s “readiness bathtub”: operational availability today is effectively borrowed from tomorrow. The U.S. may be solving the immediate Hormuz problem. The bill could arrive in the 2027-28 fleet. @WeTheBrandon

🇧🇪 A Belgian MP went to the bathroom at Parliament and didn’t come out for 13 HOURS. MP Franky Demon reportedly got trapped after the lock broke, and things got worse when the building’s fresh-air ventilation shut off overnight. He was finally freed the next morning and taken to hospital. Imagine surviving Belgian politics only to be taken out by the bathroom lock. Writer: Lynn t.co/IT8AAePmoX

🇺🇸🇮🇱 Ana Kasparian says her experience covering Covid fundamentally changed how she approaches controversial issues. “𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘥... 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘊𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥. 𝘐 𝘵𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺.” She says staying inside a left-wing media bubble left her without the broader perspective she needed, and that mistakes she made on air still shape how she works today. That experience is also why Kasparian says she actively seeks debates with people who disagree with her criticism of Israel. “𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘐𝘴𝘳𝘢𝘦𝘭.” For Ana, getting burned by certainty once was enough. Now she considers challenging her own conclusions part of the job. @AnaKasparian

This was made with AI, but what would you do if you went to see a horror movie and this actually happened? Writer: Sol t.co/9UBNNEY55i

🇺🇸🇮🇱 Asked what might motivate Robert Kraft’s position on pro-Palestinian speech, Ana Kasparian refuses to psychoanalyze him. “𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦, 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘫𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴.” The more important question she says isn’t what Kraft privately believes, but what his public actions actually support. It’s a useful distinction in a debate increasingly consumed by assumptions about people’s motives. Motives require speculation. Actions leave a record. @AnaKasparian

🇸🇦🇾🇪 Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi is denying that his forces tried to target Mecca. He calls the accusation one of the “ugliest propaganda lies” against the Houthis and insists no rational person in the Muslim world would believe it. That’s in response to Saudi Arabia saying it shot down a Houthi drone south of Mecca before it reached the holy city’s restricted airspace. Writer: Daniyal t.co/TcjwM51wSE

🇮🇱🇵🇸 Ana Kasparian rejects attempts to separate violent extremist settlers from the broader settlement issue in the occupied West Bank. “𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘗𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘭.” The conversation then raises a darker possibility: whether escalating settler violence could eventually provoke a major Palestinian attack, creating the political conditions for a much larger Israeli military response. Ana is more cautious on that theory, saying she would need to know far more about Palestinian armed capabilities in the West Bank before judging its plausibility. The violence is documented. The theory about where it leads remains just that: a theory. @AnaKasparian

🇺🇸 San Diego coyotes form a boy band called The Howl Street Boys, drop one verse, terrify an entire block, then walk off like legends. Writer: Daniyal t.co/NOnFkJ0Twm

🇺🇸 Trump says the new Farm Bill is moving forward after clearing its first Senate hurdle 12-11 along party lines. He is promising farmers and ranchers “much needed Dollar Assistance” and says Republicans will push the final bill through. The politics are predictable. What rural America will be watching is much simpler: how much money actually shows up, who gets it, and when. Source: @realDonaldTrump / Writer: Oli

🇺🇸🇮🇷 Washington has sanctioned Iranian crypto exchange BitBank, saying it processed payments tied to ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz and transferred hundreds of millions of dollars to the IRGC. Treasury says BitBank sits at the center of Iran’s digital sanctions-evasion infrastructure and was used to move payments connected to the Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority. The exchange is controlled by Babak Zanjani, a longtime sanctions-evasion figure whose death sentence in Iran was later reduced. The interesting part is the plumbing. The battle over Hormuz is not just ships, missiles and insurance anymore. It now runs through crypto rails too. Source: U.S. Treasury, Investing .com, Reuters / Writer: Oliver

🇮🇱 Netanyahu: “𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘢𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘈 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥. 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥.” Alright folks, we can relax. Bibi's neither the monarch nor the Messiah. Israeli politics remains completely normal. 😐 Writer: Oli t.co/McernU6BGw

🇬🇧 A 14-year sentence for raping two 14-year-old girls is sparking outrage in the UK. Afghan national Sultani Bakatash has been convicted of raping both girls and other sexual offences in Bolton. Police say he groomed one of the girls online before luring her and her friend to his flat. It should be life behind bars. Writer: Lynn t.co/YCuidNi7Ei

🇮🇱🇺🇸 Netanyahu says Israel needs to actively shape American public opinion to preserve and expand U.S. support. “𝘞𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢, 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘴.” The remarkable part is how openly he says it. Influence the audience, influence the media environment, "preserve" the alliance... Writer: Oliver t.co/QK1mAA8G67