9 October 2026
Iran War
President Trump ruled out the possibility of strikes on Iran before the midterms. Yesterday, Axios reported that strikes could resume before the midterms and before the Israeli election on 27 October. The US Republicans are projected to lose both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The Iran War has made the Trump administration more unpopular. Fuel prices and the cost of goods have risen, and many remember Trump saying he would not start any new wars. Trump originally projected the Iran war would last only a few weeks; it has been more than eight months.
Iran’s nuclear chief stated that Iran will not abandon uranium enrichment or hand over its uranium. The United States has made renewed threats against Iran’s nuclear facilities. Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons. Iranian authorities have said that Tehran could agree to dilute its most highly enriched uranium. The United States and Iran have exchanged proposals to end the war and open the Strait of Hormuz.
More than a dozen Iranian military and law enforcement personnel have been killed or wounded in four attacks in the last day. Violence has been escalating in the southeastern provinces of Sistan-Baluchestan and Kerman. People’s Fighters Front, a Baloch militant organization, claimed responsibility for some of the attacks.
Yemen War
Pakistan refutes yesterday’s New York Times report that Pakistani fighter jets are taking part in operations against Houthi rebels. Pakistan’s Ministry of Information says the report is “fake and fabricated.” Pakistan’s foreign ministry stated that Pakistan has substantial forces in Saudi Arabia and added that Pakistan “would not be crossing the borders of the other side for an attack on the Houthis, but of course (is acting) in the defence of the territory.”
Lebanon
The European Union urged extending the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon to avert a security vacuum. The mandate of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is due to expire on 31 December. The EU is planning a mission to train and advise the Lebanese Armed Forces. Violence erupted in Lebanon between Hezbollah and Israel in the aftermath of joint Israeli-US attacks on Iran that killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Israel occupies a security zone extending about 10 km into southern Lebanon.
Israel
Netanyahu’s ex-military secretary Avi Gil, who was in post during the 7 October attack, alleges the PM’s chief of staff falsified his phone records on 7 October. Gil claims that Netanyahu could have saved more hostages from Gaza, but doing so would have risked his political career. Netanyahu denies the claim, but the Israeli opposition is calling for a criminal investigation. This comes as Israel nears its election on 27 October.
Türkiye
The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) announced that it withdrew all its remaining fighters from Türkiye and abandoned several tunnels near the Turkish border as part of its commitment in the peace process. The PKK, which disbanded and renounced armed struggle in May 2025 at the urging of its leader Abdullah Öcalan, announced in October last year that it would pull all remaining fighters out of Türkiye.
Russia
Russian authorities state that they completed health checks on all the contacts of a deceased lab worker and found no indication of pneumonic plague. They took over 5,000 samples and found no pathogens. The European Commission wants precise details from Russia over the incident, but Russia insists that there no risk of an epidemic.
United Kingdom
British police arrested two Latvian men for breaching the perimeter of a Royal Air Force base in southeast England housing US and NATO intelligence operations. They are being held on suspicion of trespassing, causing criminal damage and entering a prohibited place “for a purpose prejudicial to the UK.” The former World War 2 airbase, RAF Molesworth, is a non-flying facility managed by the US Air Force. It houses intelligence personnel from US Africa Command and the NATO Intelligence Fusion Center, which provides information to the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe.
United States
The Pentagon announced that the firing squad execution of the Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan would be livestreamed on 3 December after Secretary of War Pete Hegseth vowed to make the execution “public”. The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said that “The livestreaming of an execution is tantamount to a public execution and would breach the absolute prohibition of torture.” There is also no apparent concern that the public execution will radicalize or inspire other terrorist actions.
USS Abraham Lincoln returned to San Diego after more than 10 months at sea. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth visited the carrier on Wednesday to present the crew with the Presidential Unit Citation, the highest military award a unit can receive.
South Korea
South Korea test-fired its first indigenously developed hypersonic glide vehicle. A hypersonic glide vehicle is carried to the upper atmosphere by a rocket booster or ballistic missile, then separates and glides unpowered toward its target at speeds exceeding five times the speed of sound.
Social Media Wires
USS Abraham Lincoln has its kill marks from the Iran War on its hull
Just a meme
Featured Photo: “Kurdish PKK Guerrillas ”, Wikimedia Commons, 2026
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