Mario Nawfal

🇸🇦 The real Saudi crisis isn’t about the missiles alone, but the interceptors too. If Riyadh is genuinely running low, then MBS being moved between bunkers stops sounding like tabloid drama and starts sounding like basic survival. Saudi Arabia may be entering a new reality where critical infrastructure, airports and even the royal leadership itself remain permanently exposed. And the part that worries most is that the U.S. may not have enough interceptors in reserve to bail the kingdom out. That’s what turns this from another regional flare-up into something much more serious. @WeTheBrandon

🇵🇱🇮🇱 Poland bought Israeli spyware to catch criminals. Instead, it ended up being used to spy on politicians, journalists and lawyers. But here's the part that's even more disturbing. Polish authorities apparently didn't even have full control over the software. The Israeli company behind Pegasus reportedly retained remote access, while sensitive data passed through servers outside Poland. A government spying on its own people using technology that a foreign company could still access. Now seven former officials face charges over the scandal. And we still don't know who outside Poland may have had access to all that information. Source: Poland’s National Prosecutor’s Office / Writer: Oliver

🇳🇴🇨🇳 OMG! Norwegian Home Guard soldiers discovered that Chinese-linked rental cars had RECORDED THEM during an Oslo exercise, including their movements and the codes they entered at military gates. The cars came through Hertz Norway, tied to China’s Geely group via Volvo, and the unit kept using them because alternatives were scarce. Modern vehicles store video and location data by default. Pointing that capability at military movements and access codes turns a rental into a security problem. The footage was deleted later, but it’s unclear whether any data left the cars. Source: Norway News / Writer: Lucas

🇮🇷🇺🇸 Is Iran really losing control of the Strait of Hormuz, or are we being misled about how much oil is getting through? I've been trying to understand something that doesn't quite add up. Iran has demonstrated that it can strike commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Yet shipping data suggests millions of barrels of oil are still leaving the Gulf every day. So I brought maritime expert Sal Mercogliano and economist Philip Pilkington together to challenge each other's conclusions. Sal says the evidence is there. Tankers can be tracked loading, leaving the Gulf and eventually unloading at foreign ports. He estimates nearly 12 million barrels a day were getting through before the latest escalation. Philip doesn't trust those figures. He suspects wartime information management is making the shipping situation look considerably better than it really is. What made the discussion interesting was that they actually agreed on something important. Neither believes the current situation is sustainable. Sal thinks continued Iranian attacks could eventually make tanker operations too dangerous and expensive. Philip believes Iran already has the military advantage in a prolonged war of attrition. And there's another possibility we explored: some shipping companies may be quietly paying Iran for safe passage, although the scale of any such payments remains unverified. We still disagree about the numbers. But the debate left me wondering whether we've been asking the wrong question. Maybe the real issue isn't how much oil America can force through the strait today, but how long it can keep doing so without losing ships, exhausting its resources or accepting Iran's demands. @mercoglianos @philippilk

🇮🇱🇵🇸 At some point, we have to stop pretending that everything happening in Gaza is exclusively about defeating Hamas. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich is now saying openly: “I want all of Gaza. I want Gaza to be ours.” And he explains why: “I want it for Zionist reasons.” There's no ambiguity here at all. We should be paying attention to what these officials are actually telling us. Writer: Oliver t.co/oltTjlaCP4

🇮🇱🇸🇦🇾🇪 Netanyahu wants Saudi Arabia’s blessing to bomb the Houthis in Yemen. He’s reportedly using U.S. go-betweens to ask Riyadh for permission, a diplomatic source says. The idea is for Israel to join Saudi Arabia’s fight against the Houthis and use it as a step toward normal ties between the 2 countries. But Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman isn’t sold. He’s reportedly worried that teaming up with Israel would go down badly with ordinary Saudis. Israel has bombed the Houthis plenty of times before, but this time it wants a Saudi green light first. For MBS, the Houthis are a big problem, but standing next to Israel at war could be a bigger one at home. Source: JFEED / Writer: Daniyal

🇮🇱🇵🇸 I genuinely don't understand how a serving Israeli minister can talk about 1.8 million people this way. Bezalel Smotrich says Gaza should be wiped out, while insisting he isn't calling for genocide. And then he describes its population as “1.8 million Nazis.” You can condemn Hamas, defend Israel's right to security and still recognize how disturbing this rhetoric is. Writer: Oliver t.co/7bfR3CK0v5

🇺🇦🇷🇺 Ukraine’s strikes on Yandex didn’t make a dent in Russian bot traffic. Ukraine hit 2 Yandex data centers last week, including the hub that runs most of Russia’s top AI model, and some claimed Russian bot traffic had crashed as a result. But Cloudflare, which tracks a huge share of internet traffic, shows automated traffic from Russia barely moved all week. The strikes did real damage to Yandex, they just didn’t switch off the bots as claimed. Source: Cloudflare / Writer: Daniyal

🇸🇦🇺🇸 Saudi Arabia may be discovering how little protection its allies can actually provide As Houthi missiles continue hitting Saudi Arabia, attention has focused on reports of Mohammed bin Salman moving between fortified palaces. But the bigger question may be what happens if Saudi Arabia starts running short of the interceptors needed to stop those attacks. The kingdom has reportedly been shifting air defenses toward critical oil infrastructure, while requests for additional Western military assistance have gone unanswered. That raises a more serious concern: even if Washington wants to help, the United States may not have enough interceptor missiles available to provide the level of protection Riyadh expects. There is also the question of what Saudi Arabia believed it was getting into. Brandon Weichert suspects something behind the scenes may have encouraged Riyadh to confront the Houthis more aggressively, only for the kingdom to discover that its partners’ own military resources were already stretched thin. He does not claim to know what that encouragement was. The wider risk is that renewed U.S. strikes on Iran could further expand the conflict across Yemen and the Gulf. Saudi Arabia opposed America’s war with Iran, according to its own supporters, but may now be absorbing some of the consequences of a conflict it never wanted. And the longer the attacks continue, the more pressure falls on the credibility of America’s security guarantees. @WeTheBrandon

🇩🇪 WTF IS THIS? German police literally confiscated a physical robot in Cologne because some dudes used it to HARASS a 16-year-old girl in public. The cops stepped in after the whole thing was streamed live on TikTok. This 4-foot-tall droid dressed up in a vest and chains snuck up on a teen girl from behind to grope her. Police tracked down the operators pretty fast, seized their phones, and dragged the red-and-gold robot right out of their car trunk where they tried to hide it. The worst part is they did it all for clout. They were filming the entire assault live, broadcasting it to social media, and literally giving a running commentary while it happened. That's supposed to be FUNNY?! What's going on with people? Source: Cologne Police / Writer: Lucas

🇸🇦 Ali Shihabi thinks talk of Saudi Arabia facing an “existential” crisis is badly overdone. He pushed back especially hard on reports portraying MBS as moving from bunker to bunker. “Existentialism is a big word and we’re nowhere near anything like that.” His argument is that Saudi Arabia still has something Iran and the Houthis lack: the ability to repair damaged infrastructure quickly, backed by deep engineering capacity and access to global supply chains. The war can hurt tourism, confidence and investment. But Shihabi sees a major difference between disruption and systemic danger. And on the possibility of other Gulf states helping Saudi Arabia against the Houthis, he doesn’t rule it out at all. @aliShihabi

🇷🇺 The RUSSIAN BOT STORY is almost too perfect for some people. Adam Kinzinger says his haters have disappeared. Conor Rogers thinks a bot army was supposed to push the Talarico story until Ukraine blew it up. Apparently, Ukraine bombed a few Russian data centers and suddenly everyone's political opponents stopped being real people. 😅 Here's the hilarious part. The viral numbers largely concern Yandex, Russia's equivalent of Google. The disappearing "bots" were primarily automated web crawlers, not some proven army of Kremlin trolls running American political discourse. But why bother understanding what a data center does when you can convince yourself that everyone who disagrees with you is secretly operating out of Moscow? It's the perfect theory. You never have to consider that actual human beings might dislike your opinions. And if someone calls you out for spreading nonsense? Well, obviously that's another Russian bot. Source: @officialrnintel / Writer: Oliver

🇸🇦🇮🇷 Ali Shihabi says Saudi Arabia never wanted this war. His view is that Riyadh warned Washington it would become exactly the kind of regional mess we’re seeing now. “The kingdom was very, very clear… it did not want the war.” Shihabi believes the Trump administration badly misjudged how quickly the conflict could be contained, while Gulf states understood from the start that they would be among the easiest targets if things spiraled. And his verdict on the war itself is unusually blunt: “It was not a smart decision.” He still thinks Iran’s economic pain will eventually force some kind of deal. America made the decision, and the Gulf is living with the consequences. @aliShihabi

🇸🇦🇾🇪 Saudi Arabia is investigating how a Houthi missile and drone barrage managed to get through its air defenses and hit Riyadh’s main international airport, killing at least 13 people and wounding more than 300. Early findings suggest the attack was coordinated: multiple drones were launched first, apparently to help clear a path for cruise and ballistic missiles that followed. Investigators are now looking at why Saudi defenses failed to intercept them, and why there wasn’t an earlier warning despite the weapons traveling more than 1,000 kilometers. And this is moving beyond a Saudi-Houthi fight. Saudi officials want the U.S. to become directly involved against the Houthis. Washington is already providing intelligence, targeting and planning support, but has so far stopped short of carrying out strikes itself. Trump now says that could change. Asked whether the U.S. might join Saudi strikes against the Houthis, he said: “We may. We’re going to look at it.” A Houthi attack getting through Saudi defenses and killing civilians at Riyadh airport may now be pushing Washington toward direct military involvement in Yemen. Source: AP / Writer: Oliver

🇾🇪🇸🇦 Saudi-backed government troops recorded themselves in contact with Houthi fighters on the western edge of Taiz, in Yemen. Clashes around the city have stayed intense; both sides try to lock down the surrounding hills and access roads. Government units say they have pushed back attacks and retaken some ground, while the Houthis say they have moved closer and increased the squeeze on Taiz. The front is still shifting, and each side is putting out its own version. Writer: Lucas t.co/JyY0ZlbSV7

🇹🇷🇸🇦 Erdogan says Turkey stands with Saudi against the Houthi attacks on Riyadh, as if the alliance they signed isn’t supposed to respond together “Turkey stands with Saudi Arabia and our Saudi brothers and sisters in the face of these unlawful and inhumane attacks.” The Houthis hit King Khalid Airport again over the weekend, killing at least a dozen and wounding hundreds. Turkey, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia have already activated their Mecca pact and discussed rapid deployment. Still, Ankara has so far limited itself to defensive and technical help and ruled out any offensive role. Writer: Lucas t.co/uFvE3NFoKu

🇸🇦🇮🇷 One claim I’ve heard repeatedly is that Gulf states are paying Iran to get oil through the Strait of Hormuz. Ali Shihabi flatly rejected that, at least when it comes to Saudi Arabia. “Saudi Arabia is not paying anything to the Iranians.” If Riyadh were paying Tehran for safe passage, it would make little sense for Iran to keep attacking tankers. What he does confirm is that moving oil has become enormously more expensive, with tanker costs surging and Saudi Arabia increasingly relying on its own fleet and alternative export routes. So even if the “Saudi transit fee” story is wrong, Hormuz is still extracting a price. Just not necessarily the one people think. @aliShihabi

🇮🇶🇺🇸🇮🇷 Kurdish officials warn the U.S. withdrawal leaves Erbil, in Iraq, exposed to Iranian drones and missiles, with no reliable replacement for American air defenses. Kurdish MP Jamal Kochar says U.S. systems protected nearby cities and deterred strikes on oil and government infrastructure. Iraq ordered 8 South Korean KM-SAM II batteries in a $2.8B deal in 2024, but it’s still unclear when they’ll actually show up and be ready to use. For now, the gap remains. Writer: Lucas t.co/T4nwJT24zm

🇸🇦🇾🇪 BREAKING: LARGE FIRES are reportedly burning in RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, following a ballistic missile attack by Yemen's ANSARALLAH movement. Residents previously reported missiles overhead and at least three explosions across the capital. The locations of the fires, extent of the damage, and possible casualties remain unconfirmed. Some sources claim this fire is from the attack 2 days ago against Riyadh We have not yet been able to verify the veracity of this video Source: NAYA, Alibk3 on TG / Writer: Oliver

Your Model 3 can now do a lot more than get you there. Plug in Tesla’s Powershare outlet adapter and the car can send up to 2.4 kW straight from its battery to whatever you need. Power tools. Camping gear. A fridge. Lights. An e-bike. No extra home setup. Just plug into the charge port and use the battery you already paid for. @Tesla @TeslaEnergy / Writer: Annette, Designer: Janné

🇾🇪 Houthi media claims its forces have "secured districts" west of Taiz, in Yemen, after PUSHING government-aligned units out. The area’s high ground overlooks key routes into the city. Both sides claim advances and recaptures, but independent confirmation remains limited. The practical effect has been tighter pressure on the remaining routes around Taiz rather than a settled front line. Writer: Lucas t.co/lYZZ5gV8vt

🇸🇦🇾🇪 With Houthi missiles hitting Saudi airports and oil facilities, I've been hearing increasingly dramatic predictions about the future of the kingdom. So I wanted to hear from Ali Shihabi, who knows the Saudi leadership and advises on the NEOM project. He pushed back hard. Shihabi acknowledges that Saudi Arabia is vulnerable. It's a huge country with oil installations, pipelines and airports that are difficult to defend simultaneously. But he argues the kingdom has something the Houthis and Iran don't: the money, engineering expertise and international supply chains to repair damage and sustain a prolonged confrontation. We also disagreed about how this war began. I questioned whether Saudi Arabia's decision to bomb the runway at Sana'a airport had triggered a disastrous escalation. Shihabi insists the strike was intended to prevent Iranian military supplies from reaching the Houthis, and believes the confrontation was coming regardless. What interested me most was his position on the wider war. Despite defending Saudi Arabia's military response in Yemen, he says Riyadh opposed America's war against Iran from the beginning. “It was not a smart decision.” And while he expects a negotiated settlement with Iran, he believes MBS is determined to keep fighting the Houthis rather than accept their ability to threaten the Red Sea. It's a revealing perspective from someone close to the Saudi establishment, particularly when so many others are predicting the kingdom's defeat. @aliShihabi

🇬🇧🇮🇷 Iran may have just brought its war with America onto BRITISH SOIL Think about the magnitude of this. Britain's Prime Minister says the Revolutionary Guards were almost certainly behind a suspected attack plot at RAF Fairford, the very base American bombers have used to strike Iran. The threat was serious enough that the U.S. pulled its B-1 bombers out of Britain. 7 men were arrested. London has now summoned Iran's ambassador and sanctioned two more Iranians, including a senior IRGC intelligence official. We're talking about a suspected Iranian-directed operation against American military assets inside a NATO country. And that changes the conversation entirely. If Tehran is willing to take the fight to American forces stationed in Britain, how far beyond the Middle East does this war actually extend? Source: UK Foreign Office , Iran international ( Anti- IRGC outlet) / Writer: Oliver

🇺🇸 The Pentagon has disclosed a SECURITY BREACH affecting more than 3 MILLION PEOPLE, including military personnel, veterans and others connected to the Defense Department. ABSOLUTELY WILD that an institution responsible for some of America's MOST SENSITIVE INFORMATION could leave millions of people's personal records EXPOSED for months! The exposed information includes Social Security numbers, dates of birth and, in some cases, military occupational details. According to officials, unauthorized users accessed the system between October 2025 and July 2026. And here's what really bothers me. The Pentagon says it has no indication the information has been misused. But once someone's Social Security number and military details have been exposed, there's no simple way to take that information back. Affected individuals are being offered identity protection services, including up to 12 months of credit monitoring. For personal information that could remain sensitive for the rest of their lives. Source: Fox News / Writer: Oliver

“No signal” might become one of those things we eventually forget used to happen. SpaceX is moving to acquire nationwide low-band spectrum licenses in the U.S. Low-band is the useful stuff for phones: it travels farther and gets through walls, trees and difficult terrain much better. Cities. Highways. Farms. Mountains. Remote areas. Pair that with Starlink Gen 2 satellites and ordinary phones can stay connected across far more of the map. Do that globally and Starlink becomes a communications layer reaching people almost wherever they go. @Starlink @SpaceX / Writer: Annette, Designer: Janné

🇺🇸 Americans can bet on elections, but most want nothing to do with it. A new poll found 69% of Democrats and 61% of Republicans oppose betting on election results. And there's a reason for the concern. The big fear is insiders cashing in early, and researchers flagged more than 150 Polymarket accounts that may have traded on military secrets. The companies insist they have strong controls to stop that kind of thing. Still, it’s one of the rare things both parties agree on. Source: Reuters / Writer: Daniyal

🇹🇷🇸🇦🇵🇰 Turkey is sending its defense pact with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan to parliament FOR APPROVAL The deal works like NATO’s Article 5, meaning an attack on one counts as an attack on all. And the timing says a lot. Houthis just attacked Riyadh’s airport, and Erdogan made a point of condemning it too. It’s quite the team on paper, with Saudi money, Pakistan’s nuclear weapons, and Turkey, which has NATO’s second-largest army. Nobody knows yet if Turkey and Pakistan would actually send jets or troops to help, but for now, they’re lining up behind Saudi Arabia, at least on paper. Source: Reuters / Writer: Daniyal

🇸🇦🇾🇪 Apparently it stayed at 3 explosions in RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, for now. Reports say the SKIES ARE CLEAR. Source: Reuters, GeoPolitics Watch on TG / Writer: Oliver

🇸🇦🇾🇪 3 explosions have reportedly been heard in Riyadh, according to eyewitnesses on the ground. The reports follow missile alerts across the capital, with residents claiming to have seen missiles overhead. It's not yet clear whether the explosions were caused by interceptions or direct impacts. Source: GeoPolitics Watch, MES on TG / Writer: Oliver

🚨🇫🇷 France's Marine Le Pen is polling at a commanding 36% ahead of the 2027 presidential election! A new poll puts left-wing Jean-Luc Mélenchon at 18%, while former PM Philippe trails at 13%. But if former PM Gabriel Attal also runs, the center-right vote splits further, with Attal polling at just 5%. Le Pen's 36% is the highest figure in this first-round scenario, but a presidential victory would still require winning a runoff. Source: @europeelects / Writer: Samuel