Bessent on Iran:

Either the regime is going to change within, the people are going to come up, or we will see what happens.

NEW: Zelensky ordered an "adequate, tangible" response that would "mirror" Russia's attack on SBU building today.

Poklad is alive & well.

The UN says the world will likely warm more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels within the next few years.

This means the planet will pass a level of warming linked to more severe heat, floods, droughts, rising seas, and other climate impacts.

The goal now is to stop temperatures from rising too far above 1.5°C.

Source: AP

BIG: Iran appears more confident after six months of war with the U.S., according to recent U.S. intelligence assessments.

Tehran believes it has learned the limits of American military power, retained enough missiles and drones to keep fighting, and gained leverage by disrupting the Strait of Hormuz.

The broader assessment is that Iran sees little reason to negotiate now.

Instead, it may try to prolong the conflict through the U.S. midterm elections, betting that high energy prices, casualties and an unpopular war will weaken President Trump politically.

Source: NYT

NEW:The Pentagon pulled its mandatory testosterone screening order just one day after issuing it.

The guidance, which would have required blood tests for all troops 30 and older, was removed from the website and reclassified as a "draft."

Medical experts had objected, saying there's insufficient evidence for mass screening of men without symptoms.

Source: Military

Explosive devices were found near overhead power lines at two substations in Saxony’s Görlitz district, Germany, raising fears of further sabotage.

On September 2, similar rocket-like devices were found damaging power lines at a substation in Brandenburg, about 50 km away, while another sabotage attack targeted a substation near Bergheim, close to Cologne.

Police are investigating.

Source: BILD

NOW: Iran appears to have fired missiles again.

Target not yet confirmed.

NEW: The US Air Force is fast-tracking a cheap, expendable drone to replace the MQ-9 Reaper.

The new "Massed Modular Aircraft" would cost about $10 million — a third of a Reaper — with at least 180 planned.

The reason: 45 Reapers lost in the Iran war, about 25% of the fleet, over $1 billion gone.

Production ended in 2025 so there's no way to replace them.

A top general said they're going through Reapers "at a rate that is concerning."

Trump:

The Radical Left Lunatics, Dumocrats, and Communists would rather have us LOSE the War in Iran, than have President Donald J. Trump WIN the War for America.

In other words, they’d rather have us LOSE than have us WIN!

These are very sick people who suffer from serious TDS, sometimes referred to as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME.

Zelensky:

Today, we discussed that Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will visit Moscow and Kyiv on Sunday.

As with previous diplomatic visits by the American side, we will ensure the normal functioning of Russian airspace so that the negotiators can arrive safely.

We are concerned about their safety, not about Russia.

Iran's Ghalibaf:

China’s emphasis on fostering common security reflects a principle Iran has long championed.

Regional countries must be taking their future into their own hands, and true stability can only come through a new security architecture that is homegrown.

Iran stands ready.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Gaza:

We control almost 70% of the Gaza Strip.

Apparently it will be ruins, and I hope it remains that way for many, many years, as a kind of memorial of iniquity to anyone who messes with the Jewish people and does to us what those Nazis did.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich:

I keep saying: historically, there is no such thing as a Palestinian people.

Who was the first Palestinian king? What was the Palestinian currency? Is there a Palestinian language?

There is nothing. There is no culture.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Christianity:

The thesis of Islam—and Christianity as well—worked when we were in exile.

So what did Christianity do? Christianity, because it is much more organized and centralized, had the Church convene and change its theology. You know, a religion invented by man can also change its conception.

Islam, because it is much more decentralized and does not have a centralized leadership capable of doing this, does not know how to deal with it.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich:

This is our land. It belongs to us, and we are obligated to live in it, and it has sanctity.

And anyone else who claims rights to it is simply a liar.

And as I said, there is no such thing as a Palestinian people. It is an invention intended to fight the Zionist movement.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich:

I always say there are three partners in the economy.

Truly, first of all, the Holy One, blessed be He. As I said, there is no other way to explain it.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich:

This is how God created the world: He chose a land, He chose a people, and when they are together, they flourish.

And when they flourish, they bring light and goodness to the entire world.

Our purpose really is to be a light unto the nations—a beacon of morality, of values, of culture, and of kindness.

And this is the reality.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich:

The Israeli economy, which is holding up through such a long and expensive war, with such fantastic results—I don’t think there is anything comparable anywhere in the world. That is a miracle.

There is tremendous divine assistance.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says Israel is receiving "divine abundance" from God.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich:

What, fundamentally, are Christianity and Islam built on?

Everyone knows that there was a Jewish people; they don’t deny history.

But these two religions claim that at some point the Jewish people sinned, and God cast them away and replaced them with themselves.

Christianity says that this begins with "that man"; Islam, with Muhammad.

The Trump administration is drafting a post-war Middle East strategy aimed at containing Iran, stabilizing the region and expanding ties between Israel and Arab states.

The plan could include a U.S.-backed regional alliance, Gaza and Israel-Syria/Lebanon deals, and Saudi-Israeli normalization.

The strategy is still in its early stages and is expected to take several more weeks to finalize.

Source: Axios