Lukashenko:

I am not a dictator; I don't have the resource to dictate.

Now Trump has this resource, and he dictates.

U.S. officials say Iran still has significant military power left, more than the Trump administration publicly claims.

— Around 50% of Iran’s ballistic missiles and launch systems are still intact.

— About 60% of the IRGC’s naval forces (especially small attack boats) remain and are still disrupting shipping.

— Roughly ⅔ of Iran’s air force is still operational, despite heavy strikes.

— U.S. leaders like Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth say the operation was a decisive victory that crippled Iran.

— But intelligence assessments say Iran can still launch missiles, drones, and attacks, especially in the region.

Source: CBS

The Pentagon suddenly reduced the official casualty count by 15 wounded troops with no explanation.

Total casualties went from 428 → 413 (or 411 depending on report), raising suspicion.

Sources and former officials say the system tracking casualties (DCAS) may be undercounting or omitting hundreds of injuries.

Some cases (like shipboard injuries or illness deaths) aren’t being included at all.

At least one reported death (Maj. Sorffly Davius) is missing from official tallies.

Source: The Intercept

Iran’s Ghalibaf:

A complete ceasefire only makes sense if it is not violated by the maritime blockade and the hostage-taking of the world’s economy, and if the Zionist warmongering across all fronts is halted; reopening the Strait of Hormuz is impossible with such a flagrant breach of the ceasefire.

They did not achieve their goals through military aggression, nor will they through bullying. The only way forward is to recognize the rights of the Iranian nation.

Senator Graham:

I expect the blockade will be growing and that it could become global soon.

Clearing Iranian mines from the Strait of Hormuz could take up to six months, the Pentagon told Congress.

The estimate was shared in a classified briefing to the House Armed Services Committee.

Source: WaPo

BREAKING: Trump:

Very good news! I have just been informed that the eight women protestors who were going to be executed tonight in Iran will no longer be killed.

Four will be released immediately, and four will be sentenced to one month in prison.

I very much appreciate that Iran, and its leaders, respected my request, as President of the United States, and terminated the planned execution.

Thank you for your attention to this matter!

House Democrat leader Hakeem Jeffries:

Donald Trump is clearly the dumbest person ever to sit at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Pakistani officials say they still hope to restart talks between the United States and Iran, despite new tensions after Iran seized two cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Iran’s ambassador on Wednesday, and officials believe a second round of negotiations could take place within days.

Source: NYT

US Ambassador to Türkiye Tom Barrack on Israel & Hezbollah:

Everybody has been equally untrustworthy.

We have never trusted Hezbollah. You cannot eliminate an embedded militia solely by kinetic means.

Pure ‘mowing the lawn’ has never worked.

Endless war is idiocy, we need enforceable outcomes.

Source: Fox News

US Ambassador to Türkiye Tom Barrack on Türkiye & its possible F-35 purchase:

Calling the prolonged impasse "insane" is blunt common sense.

Türkiye remains a vital ally.

Russia benefits from the wedge between the U.S. and Türkiye.

Sanctions and exclusion from the F-35 program, triggered by the S-400 purchase, have strained ties unnecessarily while Russia benefits from the wedge.

Let me be explicit: any resolution will fully satisfy Section 1245 of the NDAA.

That means verifiable cessation of possession and operability of the Russian S-400 system, with formal certifications from the secretaries of Defense and State confirming there is no risk of compromise to sensitive F-35 technology.

There will be no shortcuts on American security standards.

Real breakthroughs are imminent.

Source: Fox News

A new investigation by the Conflict Insights Group says Colombian mercenaries, backed by the UAE, helped Sudan’s RSF capture El-Fasher in October 2025.

The fighters operated drones, trained RSF units, and supported the siege.

Phone-tracking data links them from Colombia to a UAE military facility and then into Sudan.

The report says this support was critical to the assault and may tie the network to war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Source: BBC

Former European Council Chief Charles Michel publicly countered Ursula von der Leyen after she referenced Turkish influence alongside Russia and China.

Michel highlighted Türkiye as a core NATO ally, energy hub, and migration partner, calling for realism in EU policy.

The exchange triggered debate across Europe.

US Ambassador to Türkiye Tom Barrack on his strong leadership remarks in the Middle East:

When I said that ‘powerful leadership regimes,’ whether benevolent monarchies or the kind of monarchical republics seen elsewhere in the region, are the only structures that have actually worked in the Middle East, I was speaking from decades of hard-earned observation, not ideology.

Imported models have repeatedly collapsed.

Look at the track record.

Countries that tried to adopt Western-style democracy quickly after the Arab Spring largely failed, often descending into chaos, civil war or new forms of authoritarianism.

Meanwhile, stable, results-oriented leadership in places like the Gulf monarchies has delivered security, economic growth, modernization and real improvements in people’s lives.

Türkiye, operating as a presidential republic with regular multiparty elections, also demonstrates how strong, centralized leadership under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has delivered stability, economic dynamism and assertive regional influence, though critics have described it as a hybrid regime with strong authoritarian tendencies.

This is not a change in U.S. policy away from supporting democratic governance and human rights. It is a realistic assessment of what produces stability so that human rights and prosperity can take root.

Source: Fox News

Peru’s Defense and Foreign Ministers—Carlos Díaz and Hugo de Zela—quit after President José María Balcázar halted a major F-16 purchase from Lockheed Martin.

The president said an interim government shouldn’t approve such a deal.

Mouin Rabbani | Middle East Expert | Jadaliyya E-Magazine:
 

Turkish & Israeli strategy in Syria is diametrically opposed.
 
Israel wants Syria weak, powerless & defenseless.
 
Türkiye wants a stable Syria with a central government, but one that is friendly to Ankara.
 
Both countries are deeply involved in Syria. So a direct clash, not only between forces they support but perhaps even directly, is entirely plausible. But it remains a big if.

FULL INTERVIEW

NEW: Trump administration is expected to move to reclassify marijuana as soon as Wednesday.

Source: Axios

Trump:

“YOU CAN’T COMPROMISE ON SANITY AND COMMON SENSE!”

White House:

Trump is a humanitarian at heart.