The U.S. is considering sending thousands of additional troops as the Iran war escalates, with options including securing the Strait of Hormuz or even limited operations inside Iran such as Kharg Island or nuclear sites.

Source: Reuters

BIG: The Pentagon wants more than $200 billion from Congress to fund the Iran war, a huge increase over current costs.

Early costs are already high, exceeding $11 billion in the first week alone.

The money would mainly go to replacing weapons and boosting production after heavy use in strikes.

Even inside the administration, there’s doubt: “does not think the Pentagon’s request has a realistic shot of being approved in Congress.”

Expect a major political fight. Public support is weak and lawmakers are divided.

Source: WaPo

Ex–NCTC chief Joe Kent is under FBI investigation for allegedly “leaking classified information.”

Officials say the probe was already underway “for weeks or even months” before he resigned.

He quit over Iran war policy, saying Iran posed “no imminent threat.”

Source: CBS

“Joe, stop us from getting into a war with Iran”

Charlie Kirk said this to Joe Kent shortly before his death.

“And then he's suddenly publicly assassinated and we're not allowed to ask any questions about that.

We were stopped from continuing to investigate.

There's unanswered questions.

Charlie was under a lot of pressure from a lot of pro-Israel donors. We know Charlie was advocating to President Trump against this war with Iran.”

Joe Kent questions:

Who is in charge of our policy in the Middle East?

Who is in charge of when we decide to go to war or not?

The Israelis drove the decision to take this action.

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud slams Iran:

They continue to attack their neighbors, their brothers, while calling for Islamic solidarity.

How can they expect solidarity and support while attacking Islamic countries, harming their interests, and targeting their civilians?

How can they call for diplomatic solutions while attacking nations that have no connection to the ongoing conflict?

If Iran believes that the Gulf states are incapable of resilience or response, then its calculations are wrong. Political responses are available, and non-political responses are also on the table.

Iran must review its intentions.

If it is sincere in extending a hand of friendship and brotherhood, it must first uphold the principles of Islam, which do not allow a true Muslim to attack their neighbors—especially Muslim neighbors, civilians, and the interests of Muslim nations.

It appears that Iran has not taken these considerations into account, and all of this comes at a price.

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Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud slams Iran:

The Kingdom will not succumb to pressure. On the contrary, this pressure will backfire.

We reserve the right to take military action if deemed necessary. When the time comes, the leadership of the Kingdom will take the required decisions.

We will not shy away from protecting our country and our economic resources.

When I see that two refineries in Riyadh were attacked today, I have to ask: what is the purpose of that? What possible military objective is achieved by targeting a refinery in a non-combat area?

Iran must understand that these actions have consequences.

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Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud slams Iran:

I do not understand how they claim to defend Islamic causes while attacking Islamic countries.

They are not attacking just one nation—Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE, Oman, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Türkiye—all are Islamic countries, and all have been targeted.

Even before this war, what was Iran’s contribution to the Islamic world?

They supported the Houthi militia in Yemen. They supported militias in Iraq—and now they are attacking Iraqi territory.

They have interfered in Lebanon through Hezbollah, not only hijacking political decision-making but also carrying out destabilizing actions across the region, including in Saudi Arabia.

One of the clearest examples is Iran and Hezbollah’s role in Syria.

So where is this so-called support for the Muslim world when such actions are taking place?

How can they claim to support Islamic causes while backing regimes that oppress their own people, assassinating political figures in Lebanon, and empowering militias that hinder development in Iraq?

I do not see any real support for Islamic causes. These are merely slogans used as cover.

In reality, these tools are used to serve Iranian interests—not the principles they claim to defend.

Unidentified drones were spotted over a U.S. military base in Washington where top officials (Rubio & Hegseth) live, raising fears of possible Iranian-linked threats amid rising tensions.

Officials don’t know who sent them.

Security was tightened, and leaders even considered relocating top officials.

Source: WaPo

Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi on Iran War:

America has lost control of its own foreign policy.

This is not America’s war.

There is no likely scenario in which both Israel and America will get what they want from it.

Source: The Economist

Tucker Carlson: Was Iran on the verge of getting a nuclear weapon?

Joe Kent: No, they weren't. They weren't in June either.

The Iranians have had a religious ruling, a fatwa, against actually developing a nuclear weapon since 2004. That's been in place since 2004.

That's available in the public sphere, but then also we had no intelligence to indicate that that fatwa was being disobeyed or it was on the cusp of being lifted.

The Iranians are obviously aware of what's taking place in their region.

Their strategy was to not completely abandon their nuclear program because they saw what happened to Muammar Gaddafi in Libya when he said, 'Hey, I've got no more nukes, I'll do what you say, I'll give up my nukes'.

Joe Kent on why Israel needs America for wars:

I think Israel would be able to defend itself. I think it could conduct limited strikes on its borders.

I think it could continue carrying out pretty impressive targeted assassinations against its adversaries.

What it couldn't do is go topple entire governments. It couldn't do something like the Iran War, the Iraq War.

It couldn't aggressively destabilize Syria. These big heavy lifts of regime change that America has been engaged in, Israel could not do on their own.

Which is why you get back to the Israeli lobby being just so potent and so powerful and so aggressive.

Stephen Miller:

President Trump has calculated through every permutation and every degree of strategy.

NASA’s FIRMS satellite map shows something is indeed burning near the oil terminal and refinery in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia on the Red Sea.

Iranian sources had earlier claimed they carried out a missile strike in that area.

Despite Trump’s claims, the United States had prior knowledge of the Israeli strike and approved it, viewing the operation as a means of applying pressure on Iran.

Source: Axios

US Envoy Tom Barrack on Jeffrey Epstein:

Most of us actually thought that he had he had built his wealth and his prowess over his international relations with Israel.

Senator Chris Van Hollen:

Netanyahu is not dead.

The Trump administration is promoting the Iran war using viral, TikTok-style videos mixing real strikes with movie and video game clips.

Officials say the strategy is working, citing massive reach: “over a four day period… over 3 billion impressions.”

They argue the goal is to engage younger audiences and highlight troops: “What we’re doing is not disrespecting the American troops… we’re highlighting… the heroic work… in a way that captivates an audience.”

Another official described the effort casually: “We’re over here just grinding away on banger memes, dude.”

Source: POLITICO

Joe Kent on Iran:

Ali Larijani was a negotiator who was eager to get us a deal.