- The Trump administration has told mediators it won't return to a June memorandum with Iran, which sought to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, start nuclear talks, and ease sanctions in exchange for steps to end regional conflicts. Iran demands full U.S. compliance first, including sanctions relief, access to frozen funds, $300 billion in reparations, and an end to wars in Lebanon and Gaza before proceeding. Mediators from Qatar, Oman, and Pakistan held high-level talks in Tehran this week, but both sides remain firm, with the U.S. opting for tighter sanctions and no new negotiations planned.
- The IDF eliminated a Hamas commander who took part in holding Edan Alexander, Matan Zangauker, and Avera Mengistu hostage in the Gaza Strip
- Trump posts about Iran : “ Mission accomplished 2026”
- President Trump posts that, according to a USAID report, more than 100 UNRWA employees participated in the October 7 massacre.
- British Times: President Trump threatened the British Prime Minister - "If you impose sanctions on Israeli settlements, including products from the settlements, this will open a trade war"
- During an assessment with the Israel Defense Forces, Defense Minister Katz stated: 'The deadline we set has expired. From now on, any launch of balloons or kites from Gaza towards southern Israeli communities will be met with a severe response.'"
- Bloomberg: US plans to revive a Civil War-era court to seize Iranian oil as war booty. The US Department of Justice is preparing to reactivate a dormant maritime legal mechanism that has been inactive for decades to streamline the military's seizure of Iranian oil tankers and their declaration as US war booty.
- The White House says the Iranian regime is already reeling, and President Trump is pulling "every economic lever" to increase the pressure. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says inflation in Iran is above 100% and the regime is struggling to pay its police and military, while also dealing with the damage inflicted during Operation Epic Fury. Trump's goal, she says, remains unchanged: making sure Iran "can never obtain a nuclear weapon, period."
- In response to the drone launch - the IDF began attacking in Lebanon
- IDF Spokesperson: During the night, the terrorist organization Hezbollah launched two explosive drones at IDF forces operating in the Ali Taar ridge area within the security zone in southern Lebanon. IDF soldiers shot down one of the drones, and contact was lost with the second drone. Our forces suffered no casualties. The IDF will not allow the terrorist organization Hezbollah to operate against IDF forces in the security zone. The IDF is currently acting and will continue to act with force against its repeated attempts to harm IDF forces.
- Israel is considering expelling British officials from the US-led coordination center for postwar Gaza, the Financial Times reported Thursday, amid a growing spat over the expansion of Israel’s controversial E1 settlements plan.
- IDF Says More Than 400 Hezbollah Sites Destroyed: The IDF said Golani Brigade troops under Division 36 destroyed more than 400 terrorist infrastructure sites and numerous weapons in southern Lebanon in recent weeks. The targets included anti-tank missiles, anti-aircraft missiles, explosives, Kalashnikov rifles and mortar shells.
- Revolutionary Guards: Iran and Oman have reached an agreement on the Strait of Hormuz. The US must accept our conditions for it to be opened.
- Head of the Iranian Nuclear Department for the State Media: Iran is still in a state of war. The necessary security conditions have not been created to allow inspections at nuclear sites. The IAEA cannot demand inspections until a mutually agreed procedure for this is established.
- Treasury Sec Bessent announced sanctions on the following Islamist and far-left terror groups
Palestine Action, a United Kingdom group
Masar Badil, which operates as a front for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization
Autistici Inventati, an Italy-based entity that supplies specialized digital architecture, tools, and services for Antifa cells and other violent far-left extremists, including a foreign terrorist organization.
