Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz:

Twenty-four Lebanese villages, hundreds of years old—we destroyed all the buildings, not house by house, but entire villages.

Their destruction has been completed. You need to understand: 15,000 to 20,000 homes across all 24 villages have been destroyed.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz:

Netanyahu achieved what Churchill could not.

He brought Trump together with us to attack Iran—bringing the United States to strike before another Pearl Harbor occurred.

Japan's ruling LDP has proposed major intelligence reforms to counter foreign espionage and disinformation.

The plan includes a new law criminalizing covert foreign interference, expanded intelligence-gathering powers, a foreign-agent registration system, and the creation of an independent foreign intelligence agency by FY2027, while adding oversight measures to address privacy and constitutional concerns.

Source: The Japan Times

Iran and Oman in Talks to Reopen Strait of Hormuz Shipping

Iranian and Omani negotiators are drafting an agreement to restore commercial transit through the Strait of Hormuz, focusing on clearing mined corridors.

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Ukrainian monitoring channels are circulating claims that Iran may launch up to three ballistic missiles at Ukraine in the coming days.

Iran's Foreign Minister said the attack "cannot go unanswered" and lawmakers warned Kyiv will "come to understand" that Iran doesn't let such acts pass.

Iranian MRBMs like the Ghadr, Emad, Sejjil, and Khorramshahr can technically reach Ukrainian territory from northern Iran, and Ukraine's Patriots would struggle against them.

Source: Defense Express

Powerful M7.1 earthquake struck Kumamoto Prefecture in Kyushu, registering the maximum shindo 7 intensity on Japan's scale and prompting a brief tsunami advisory.

At least 40–50 people have been injured with no confirmed deaths yet, and more than 150,000 residents have been told to evacuate.

Damage is extensive.

Elevated sections of the Kyushu Expressway near Yatsushiro Interchange have shifted and separated at expansion joints.

JR Kyushu services, including the Shinkansen, are suspended and Kumamoto Airport is closed.

Around 48,000 households have lost power, and Kumamoto Castle's stone walls have partially collapsed.

Taiwan's Han Kuang military drills next month will simulate a Chinese invasion.

The exercise will test relocating weapons production, converting civilian factories for military use, and protecting key sea routes.

It will also reduce mobile internet speeds to assess wartime resilience under disrupted communications.

Source: Reuters

Porsche has agreed to cut around 5,000 more jobs by 2035 under a new "Future Package" deal with IG Metall and the works council.

That comes on top of the ~3,900 previously agreed and the 500+ positions lost from closing three non-core subsidiaries.

That brings total planned reductions to roughly 9,000 positions — about one in five workers.

Christmas bonuses and future pay increases are being trimmed, mobile work is capped at eight days a month, and workers get a €1,500 transformation bonus in August.

The restructuring is driven mainly by collapsing China sales — down 32% in H1 2026 — and a slower EV transition.

Netanyahu spent weeks trying to secure his White House meeting with Trump today, with US officials accusing the Israeli side of trying to "will a meeting into existence" through media leaks.

Trump was resistant and Netanyahu was initially "blocked," with the sit-down only locked in after he announced he'd attend Sen. Lindsey Graham's funeral.

It's his first face-to-face with Trump since the joint US–Israel campaign against Iran began five months ago.

Netanyahu wants to press Trump against diplomatic concessions to Iran and secure coordination ahead of Israel's 27 October election, but the relationship is visibly more transactional than in the war's early months.

Source: CNN

NEW: Iran publicly hanged two men — Abolfazl Sepahi Badjani, 23, and Amirhossein Safari Hosseinabadi, 29 — at dawn today in Isfahan's Alikhani Square, the same site as the January 2026 protest clashes for which they were convicted.

Two others were executed on 19 July, and eight men remain under death sentence — including one defendant's cousin.

Saudi Aramco has temporarily shut its 400,000-barrel-per-day Jazan refinery after a Houthi attack damaged the facility, including its gasification complex and tank farm.

Repairs are underway, and operations are expected to resume by August 15.

Source: Reuters

Laura Loomer visits the Ukrainian drone facility Senator Lindsey Graham visited just before his death.

Q: There have been reports, they're kind of anonymous, that you've received funding from Israel and Saudi Arabia. Is that true?

Reza Pahlavi: Absolutely false. I have not been a recipient of any governmental or public fund on the outside.

Every dime that comes to my campaign comes from private donations of supporters. Hopefully, we'll have more benefactors that give us bigger checks.

Source: Reuters

Reza Pahlavi:

I think we're very close to regime change.

The regime is at its weakest it's ever been since 47 years.

Source: Reuters

Q: What qualifications do you believe you have to lead a transitional government in Iran?

Reza Pahlavi: If an attorney decides to take a case pro bono, does this mean that he doesn't have a job? I've been doing this voluntarily for free for four decades, right? As my sacrifice for the sake of my country.

I could have easily decided back in Cairo when my father passed away... I can pursue, like many others, a life, business, other things... but I decided to stay in it for the sake of my country.

So, it's been a personal sacrifice for a lifetime.

Source: Reuters

Reza Pahlavi:

When you look at the Second World War and the Nuremberg trials, they prosecuted the top leaders of the Third Reich.

But I don't think it was meant to go after every single soldier that served in the German army.

Source: Reuters

Reza Pahlavi:

Regime change has gotten a bad name in the West. Why was it?

Because it was so poorly implemented and executed in Afghanistan and particularly in Iraq, where the Republican Guards were sent home—half of them ended up becoming ISIS fighters.

I didn't want that to be repeated in the case of Iran.

Source: Reuters

Reza Pahlavi:

You have to understand the sentiments out there.

People in Iran are on the edge of revenge almost.

Source: Reuters