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I am not in a Hurry to End Iran's War - Trump Said

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  Richard Goldberg, who served as a senior adviser on Iran at the National Security Council during Trump’s first White House term, argues that Iran now finds itself in “uncharted waters” if the administration follows through with a truly biting campaign to pressure Iranian trade partners. “What we should be seeing is an attempt to seal off every escape hatch the regime has left,” said Goldberg, who is now at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a hawkish Washington think tank. “Use the economic power of the United States to layer a naval blockade with an air and land embargo while dropping the hammer on anyone who gives the regime access to hard currency — whether that’s in the Middle East, China or even Europe.” But it remains to be seen how far the administration is willing to go. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent this week unveiled a campaign the White House calls “Operation Economic Outcast,” but only issued warnings to nations to cut trade and has yet to announce any se...

Trump to Create Space Academy

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Credit: AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein President Donald Trump signs an executive order creating the U.S. Space Academy Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, at Johnson Space Center in Houston. According to a press release from NASA , the proposed academy would "focus technical education with leadership development, discipline and a commitment to public service, helping ultimately advance U.S. interests in space." “Given the rapid growth of the U.S. Space Force and commercial space industry, and the expansion of our ambitions to the Moon and far beyond the Moon, it’s clear we will need to educate and train an entire generation of skilled service members, engineers, and civil operators,” Trump said. The executive order, according to NASA, also calls on NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman to serve as the chair of a new Presidential Commission on the U.S. Space Academy, while NASA Deputy Administrator Matt Anderson will be the executive director. According to NASA, Isaacman and Anderson will work wit...

Iran presses other countries to refrain from implementing US sanctions

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   Iran’s Foreign Ministry said all countries were obliged to refrain from implementing US sanctions against Tehran, adding that participation in them amounted to complicity in imposing one state’s unlawful will on independent states. In a statement published on its X account on Friday, the ministry described new US economic measures as illegal and reprehensible "state terrorism" and a crime against humanity, saying they put the health and livelihoods of millions of civilians at serious risk.  It called on the international community to uphold the rule of law and said Tehran would use all its capabilities to defend itself against what it called a combined US-Israeli military and economic assault.

US Treasury revokes 'critical node' of Iranian access to US dollars in latest Tehran sanctions

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  Signage is seen at the United States Department of the Treasury headquarters in Washington, DC, US, August 29, 2020. (photo credit: REUTERS/ANDREW KELLY/FILE PHOTO) The US Treasury Department proposed on Friday to revoke Banque Misr UAE’s correspondent banking access to US financial institutions, calling it a “critical node” in the Iranian regime’s access to US dollars.  The proposal is part of Operation Economic Outcast , a broader effort by the US government to sever remaining “financial lifelines” sustaining the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). 

Lebanese army failing to curb Hezbollah activity in south, Israeli officials tell US

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  A Lebanese army officer looks up at an Israeli drone while standing on an armoured vehicle in Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh, a village in southern Lebanon, as Lebanese soldiers deploy in one of three pilot zones following the withdrawal of Israeli forces under a US-brokered plan, July 26, 2026. (photo credit: REUTERS/ZOHRA BENSEMRA) Israel has conveyed a message to the United States through security channels that a pilot program in southern Lebanon, which began being implemented following the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Beirut and Jerusalem, has failed, Walla reported Thursday. Israel provided information regarding the Lebanese Army’s activities and expressed, in no uncertain terms, its dissatisfaction with the army’s operations against Hezbollah terror infrastructure and operatives in the area There is no real friction between the Lebanese Army and Hezbollah. Hezbollah would not want anyone to collect its weapons or destroy its infrastructure," a senior security of...

Trump abandons June MoU terms, complicating diplomatic efforts to reopen Strait of Hormuz - WSJ

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  US President Donald Trump speaks as he hosts a back-to-school-themed event to highlight his administration's education policies, in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, August 24, 2026; illustrative. (photo credit: REUTERS/JONATHAN ERNST) Sources familiar with the matter told the WSJ that Trump is no longer interested in the MoU, which has been heavily criticized as a deal that is too soft on Iran. US President Donald Trump told its mediators and regional partners that it is uninterested in returning to the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding outlined in June, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. The report noted that the administration’s stubborn refusal to go back to the terms it reached with Iran earlier this summer has significantly complicated the diplomatic process of restarting negotiations. After Iran started attacking ships in the strait in an attempt to regain control, Trump began his “ Economic D-Day ” campaign on Iran, which the White House...

IDF Kills Hamas Bodyguard

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  Hamas terrorists Razek Sahil Suleiman Abu Shahma and Hazem Mousa on October 7. (photo credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT) The IDF killed two Hamas Nukhba terrorists in strikes on the Gaza Strip on Sunday, the military said in a Thursday statement. The IDF and the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) killed Razek Sahil Suleiman Abu Shahma, Yahya Sinwar’s bodyguard and a Hamas Nukhba terrorist who infiltrated Re’im on October 7. The military and Shin Bet also killed Hazem Mousa, a Nukhba terrorist who infiltrated Re’im on October 7 .