Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Gaza:

The IDF is prepared, once the order is given, to eliminate Hamas and finish the job, so that we can also implement the migration plan.

JD Vance to voters:

Give us another chance, or give us another couple of years to continue to work on the amazing things that we've been doing for the past two years.

Andy Burnham has been forced to scale back hopes for a major EU reset after Brussels signaled greater interest in closer ties with Canada.

Ursula von der Leyen asked Canada to become the EU’s first “associate member,” putting Ottawa ahead of the UK in improving relations.

Labour figures are disappointed, having concluded the EU is unlikely to offer better terms than those secured under the Conservatives.

London also remains frustrated over the UK’s exclusion from the EU’s SAFE defense initiative.

Source: Bloomberg

Saudi Arabia aims to restore about half the capacity of its East-West oil pipeline within days after drone attacks halted operations last week.

Saudi Aramco is bypassing damaged sections to resume partial flows and expects the pipeline to return to full capacity in about six weeks.

Source: Bloomberg

NATO's Rutte:

There was a casual assumption made by many that our biggest friend and ally would always provide most of the muscle and pick up the bill no matter what.

It is neither right nor realistic to expect so much from one country, even when that country is the United States.

NATO's Rutte:

NATO 3.0 is the most significant transformation of our alliance in a generation.

We are confident enough in NATO to have our differences, and we are strong enough to overcome them, because we agree on the fundamentals:

Defending our people, our freedoms, and our democracies. We always have, and we always will.

House Speaker Mike Johnson announced the House will leave Washington early for a seven-week midterm campaign recess, delaying a planned vote on impeaching Pete Hegseth over his handling of the Iran war.

Republicans will take their final votes Wednesday, including on a Russia sanctions bill, and return after the November elections.

Source: CNN

Netanyahu:

We will revoke the citizenship of those who defame IDF soldiers, and we will hit them financially.

UK Ministry of Defence:

Major Paul Wilks, 40, has died in a road traffic incident in Ukraine, away from the front lines, on 12 September.

Turkish Foreign Ministry:

We strongly condemn the Houthi drone attack targeting the holy city of Mecca.

We reaffirm our support for the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and security of Saudi Arabia, and once again emphasize our solidarity with Saudi Arabia.

We reiterate our call for the immediate cessation of these attacks, which also threaten regional stability and security, and urge all parties to refrain from any actions aimed at further escalating tensions.

Yemen’s Houthis said they intercepted two Saudi F-15 fighter jets over Taiz Governorate using locally made surface-to-air missiles, forcing them to leave the area.

Italian PM Meloni:

I read the continuous Russian provocations as a form of nervousness, as if they wanted to shift attention onto a conflict that is not going as it should.

Germany will send four Eurofighter jets to Latvia ahead of the Oct. 3 parliamentary election to help protect its airspace amid concerns over repeated drone incursions near NATO’s eastern flank.

The jets will operate from Lielvārde Air Base under NATO’s enhanced Air Policing North mission from late September into early October, following Latvia’s request for additional allied support.

Source: POLITICO

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. is open to discussing “shared risks” with China on AI, while reiterating that “the United States remains the leader in AI.”

The talks with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng are set to take place this weekend in New York and will cover AI, trade, rare earths and other economic issues ahead of the Trump-Xi summit on Sept. 24.

Source: Axios

The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 0.25 percentage points.

Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh:

The plain fact is that inflation is too high and has been for too long.

Israel, Morocco, and the U.S. agreed at a New York summit to upgrade diplomatic relations, appoint ambassadors, expand economic cooperation, and advance the Abraham Accords.

Britain’s First Sea Lord Gen Sir Gwyn Jenkins warned that the Royal Navy must rebuild its capabilities to counter Russia, calling for more warships and drones to protect the Atlantic.

He said the UK must “strengthen our warfighting readiness” and “rediscover what it means to be a maritime nation,” warning that “the greatest threat to our security today is Russia.”

Jenkins said Russia’s submarines, long-range weapons and undersea capabilities were becoming harder to counter:

Russia retains advanced submarines that are increasingly difficult to track, long-range precision weapons, and specialist systems designed to operate deep underwater.

He warned that Moscow was testing Western weaknesses:

Russia is probing, testing and mapping. It seeks advantage in the grey zone, particularly around the critical undersea infrastructure on which modern societies rely.

Arguing that Britain’s security depends on naval strength, he said:

The sea is not peripheral to Britain – it is existential.

Source: The Telegraph

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa:

There was a fear that events would move toward a path of revenge and similar things.

One of the objectives was to advise people not to let the euphoria of joy take them toward situations of revenge, especially in areas that had suffered great harm, such as the city of Hama and others.

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa:

Many revolutions may win, but then enter a cycle of disputes and conflicts.

This was something we were monitoring from the very first moment, as well as the behavior of those working in the revolution — from the military and others.

We would perhaps sit with the military groups before the beginning of the battle; 70% of the discussion was only about the method of dealing with people, and 30% was about the military plans and how to organize them.

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa:

We wanted to prevent the perception among countries that the revolution had achieved victory here and could then move somewhere else.

We cut off that possibility, and whoever was thinking in that direction, we blocked that path from the very beginning.

We brought forward the mechanisms for state-building and related issues. We were also conscious of the importance of calm and measured messaging.