JNIM Attack Kills 15 Soldiers in Benin Military Camp

The attack on a military camp in Kofouno, northern Benin is part of growing violence along the Niger-Benin-Nigeria borderlands where JNIM militants & bandits are expanding operations.

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Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian announced that Iran will halt missile attacks on neighboring countries unless provoked, following temporary leadership council approval.

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Amnesty Documents Mass Sexual Violence by OLA Rebels in Ethiopia Conflict

Amnesty International says OLA rebels in Ethiopia’s Oromia region committed rape, sexual slavery & killings in Oromia between 2020 and 2024. The report warns the abuses may amount to war crimes in a conflict that began in 2019.

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IRGC Navy’s drone unit says it launched a large-scale drone attack at dawn on Al Dhafra Air Base in UAE.

According to IRGC sources, the strike targeted key U.S. facilities at the base, including the air warfare center, satellite communications systems, early-warning radars, and fire-control radars.

Tunisia Detains Gaza Aid Flotilla Activists, Bans Campaign Event

Tunisian authorities detained pro-Palestinian activists linked to a planned Gaza aid flotilla & opened a financial probe into donation funds. The mission, involving over 1,000 activists & boats from Spain, Tunisia and Italy, aims to challenge Israeli restrictions.

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BIG: China and Saudi Arabia have signed a $5 billion deal to build a Wing Loong-3 UAV assembly line in Jeddah, producing 48 drones per year.

The contract includes full training, maintenance, and avionics integration, marking a strategic shift from sales to industrial collaboration.

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Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters says it respects the sovereignty of neighboring countries, but warns that all U.S. and Israeli military bases and interests in the region—on land, sea, and in space—will be targeted if attacks continue.

Iraqi Kurdish politician Bafel Talabani:

Iran thought the talks had been going well.

They said this was not a war they were looking forward to, but one they believe they have to fight. For them, it is clearly existential.

I got the impression that they were open to some form of peaceful negotiation, which realistically is the only real solution to this issue.

As for regime change, at the moment it does not appear to be on the cards, from what I can see.

We have seen no uprisings anywhere—nothing of that sort so far. But it is still early days.

I expect this operation to be long and very difficult.

Iraqi Kurdish politician Bafel Talabani:

I don’t see unconditional surrender happening right now in Iran.

The regime has been preparing for this for 45 years, and you can expect fierce resistance.

Some could argue that many of the mission’s key objectives may already have been achieved.

Iraqi Kurdish politician Bafel Talabani:

Kurdistan needs to be a bridge, not a battlefield.

I believe we are uniquely positioned to play a role in de-escalation when the time is appropriate.

From what I see now, the Iranian system may be weakened, but its institutions—though very different from ours—are still institutions, and they remain solid.

I think that once military objectives are achieved, it will be time for diplomacy.

The region has truly suffered from far too many wars and conflicts.

Iraqi Kurdish politician Bafel Talabani:

Iran is a country the size of Western Europe — a ground operation would be extremely difficult.

Sending troops into a country of that scale may not be feasible.

Iraqi Kurdish politician Bafel Talabani:

Iranians, like many people, are very nationalistic.

If they believe that Kurdish forces coming from outside the country could split or fragment Iran, it might actually unite the population against what they would view as a separatist movement.

There are also complications involving Türkiye.

Türkiye would have legitimate concerns, and there could be Turkish intervention against Kurdish forces.

Overall, it is a very complicated scenario, and perhaps having Kurdish forces act as the tip of the spear is not the best approach.

NOW: Hezbollah has issued an evacuation warning in Israel.

Some ships in the Gulf are changing their transponder messages to claim they are Chinese to avoid attacks from Iran.

Ships altered transponder messages to labels like “Chinese Owner,” “All Chinese Crew,” or “Chinese Crew Onboard.”

Source: FT

Tucker Carlson:

Israel is one of the ugliest countries in the world.

They have built nothing of beauty since 1948.

France has deployed its amphibious helicopter carrier Tonnerre to the eastern Mediterranean to support its forces and prepare for possible evacuation of French nationals from Lebanon.

Source: Opex360

Tucker Carlson on Iran:

Unconditional surrender means foreign troops get to rape your wife and daughter if they want.

To avoid that, people will do anything.