This is a thread specifically for the war, not a general megathread (use the pinned /c/genzedong thread for that).
Please keep related news in this thread rather than making separate posts. Remember to include sources and avoid spreading rumours.
—❗️🇺🇸/🇮🇷 NEW: The IRGC announces the downing of an American MQ-9 ‘Reaper’ drone over the Strait of Hormuz, the 54th so far
@Middle_East_Spectator
❗️Qatar plans to tackle Lebanon’s power crisis through Syria energy links
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Qatar has proposed building two power plants in Lebanon and signing a 20-year liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply agreement as part of a three-year plan to revive the country’s struggling electricity sector, according to a document reviewed by Reuters.
The National Integrated Energy Investment Program includes two 825-megawatt combined-cycle power plants at Deir Ammar in northern Lebanon and Zahrani in the south. The proposal also outlines LNG supplies through a floating storage and regasification unit and the Arab Gas Pipeline via Syria, alongside 800 megawatts of solar power, 440 megawatts of wind energy, battery storage and electricity imports from Syria.
The initiative, developed with input from the Lebanese and Qatari governments, aims to attract private financing without requiring upfront public spending by Lebanon. However, it still requires approval from both governments, and financing arrangements and guarantees remain under negotiation.
The proposal comes as Lebanon’s state electricity company continues to provide only a few hours of power daily, forcing households and businesses to depend on expensive private diesel generators.
Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani pledged support for reviving Lebanon’s electricity sector during a visit last week. The proposed initiative also builds on Qatar’s expanding energy investments in neighboring Syria, where Qatari conglomerate Power International Holding has secured contracts for 5,000 megawatts of power generation, alongside oil and gas projects.
❗️Israeli settlers vandalize Shireen Abu Akleh memorial in occupied West Bank
Armed Israeli settlers raided the town of Ajjah, south of Jenin, and destroyed a monument erected in honor of slain Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.
According to WAFA, the settlers arrived in two vehicles near the Ajjah roundabout before smashing the memorial structure installed by the local municipality.
The memorial was established by the Ajjah municipality to honor the veteran Palestinian-US correspondent, who was killed by an Israeli soldier who shot her in the head on 11 May 2022, while she was covering an Israeli military raid on the Jenin refugee camp.
https://t.me/thecradlemedia/69878
🇮🇷🇺🇸⚡ Major fire on commercial ship targeted in the Strait of Hormuz.
It’s reported that the ship had violated Iran’s regulations in the Strait of Hormuz.
❗️Leaked intelligence files expose Jared Kushner’s multi-billion dollar financial entanglements with Gulf monarchs and Israeli leadership
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Investigative journalist Matthew Cole’s upcoming book, Princes and Thieves: Jared Kushner and Mohamed bin Zayed’s Secret Plot to Remake the Middle East, reveals that Dutch intelligence covertly monitored Jared Kushner’s iPhone in 2018 and uncovered secret bank accounts funded by the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
According to the disclosures, as reported by Vanity Fair, the financial channels were established to bankroll backchannel diplomacy, drive regional normalization with Israel, and bypass official foreign policy channels while Kushner served as a senior White House adviser.
The explosive findings detail elaborate shadow financial networks that utilized Azerbaijani banks to launder and obscure massive capital transfers totaling billions of dollars from Gulf royals. Funds deposited into accounts such as First Abu Dhabi Bank and Israel’s Central Bank—managed under the oversight of regional figures including Emirati and Israeli leadership—provided Kushner with off-the-books resources to orchestrate covert geopolitical objectives.
These objectives included efforts to dismantle regional resistance frameworks, undermine the Iran nuclear deal, and force capitulation on Palestinian sovereignty.
The covert financial arrangement highlights how high-level US diplomacy in the region operated through opaque monarchical financing, raising serious questions regarding federal ethics disclosures and potential violations of foreign agent laws. The arrangement underscores the deeply transactional nature of Washington’s regional alignment with Tel Aviv and Abu Dhabi.
Qatar signs deal to buy millions of tons of US LNG through 2054
The US-Israeli war on Iran has helped the US remain the world’s dominant natural gas exporter and gain new customers in Asia
❗️Pakistan ratifies Mecca Defense Alliance pact with Saudi Arabia & Turkiye
Pakistan has finalized the ratification of the Mecca Defense Alliance agreement, a joint defense pact with Saudi Arabia and Turkiye, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry confirmed on Friday.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar met with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan, in Istanbul on Friday for their first meeting. The two officials reviewed bilateral ties and discussed regional developments, particularly the situation in West Asia and Palestine. They voiced concern over threats to regional stability and underscored the need for dialogue, diplomacy, and coordinated efforts to advance peace and security.
Both ministers also strongly condemned Ansrallah’s ongoing operations in Saudi Arabia and reaffirmed their commitment to coordinating closely on regional issues, including through the Mecca Defense Alliance.
❗️Oil prices surge to multi-year high as threats of expanded US strikes against Iran disrupt global markets
International crude benchmarks surged sharply today, with Brent crude climbing 2.7 percent to $116.20 a barrel—its highest level since June 2022—as global energy markets price in severe supply risks driven by threats of renewed US military strikes against Iran.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) simultaneously advanced over 3 percent to $102.50 per barrel, marking its highest level in five weeks and putting both benchmarks on course for a third consecutive week of gains.
The market rally follows statements from US President Donald Trump indicating that Washington may launch further strikes against Iranian territory, asserting that previous military actions had “knocked the hell out of them.”
Reports indicating that US and Israeli military officials have drafted plans for expanded operations targeting regional energy infrastructure have further rattled energy traders, coinciding with an order from the US State Department instructing non-essential diplomatic staff to evacuate Saudi Arabia amid persistent long-range retaliatory strikes against Gulf energy infrastructure.
❗️Israeli occupation forces launch collective punishment demolitions in Hebron after giving residents five minutes to evacuate
Israeli bulldozers have begun demolishing homes and municipal structures in Hebron following a lethal shooting near a military checkpoint, with local sources confirming that residents were given just five minutes to evacuate their belongings.
Reporting from Al Bireh, Al Jazeera correspondent Nida Ibrahim highlighted that occupation forces bypassed typical administrative and legal appeal procedures to execute immediate, sweeping demolitions around the site of the shooting.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir openly called for the complete dismantling and disarmament of the Palestinian Authority, while Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich urged a ‘Gaza-style’ military offensive and punitive demolitions against Palestinian structures.
❗️Greece says it is enforcing Iran-related sanctions after US targets law firm
Greece’s Finance Ministry said on Thursday that it was enforcing existing sanctions related to Iran and supporting efforts to combat ‘money laundering and terrorist financing.’
The statement followed an announcement by the US Treasury Department on Wednesday that it had sanctioned Karnakis & Karnakis, a law firm operating in Greece and Panama, accusing it of providing legal services to Iranian shipping networks for years.
The US Treasury also said the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network had issued an administrative subpoena as part of an investigation into an unnamed Greek bank. In response, Greece’s Finance Ministry said it had taken note of the US announcement, adding that “all available information is being evaluated, and appropriate measures are being taken in accordance with established procedures and applicable national, EU, and international law.”
VIDEO | Three Israeli Merkava tanks seen near residential homes in Zawtar al-Sharqiya, in southern Lebanon.
Video: https://t.me/thecradlemedia/69880
BREAKING | Israeli occupation forces intentionally setting fire to residential homes in Eastern Zawtar, southern Lebanon.
BREAKING | Israeli occupation forces detain Al-Aqsa Mosque preacher following Friday prayers in occupied East Jerusalem
Israeli occupation forces have arrested Sheikh Khaled Abu Jumaa, a prominent preacher at Al-Aqsa Mosque, immediately after he concluded leading Friday prayers at the holy site, according to a statement released by the Jerusalem Governorate Media Office.
Eyewitnesses reported to Yaffa News Network that Israeli security personnel detained the religious figure near the compound’s gates shortly after thousands of worshippers gathered for the weekly congregational sermon.
Hmm. Still not getting all notifications, so im not sure what the issue is. I wonder if they have the calf?
It makes one wonder, do they think their version of the Almighty isn’t so mighty, or if he won’t be enraged at them trying to destiny swap.
❗️Israeli military orders forcible displacement of Palestinian families from homes and land near Jenin
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The Israeli military has ordered the forcible displacement of Palestinian families living in the village of Khirbet al-Sarouj, located west of Jenin in the occupied West Bank, demanding they evacuate their homes and livestock shelters within seven days, according to WAFA.
Residents reported that occupation forces raided the area—which contains seven family homes and ten livestock shelters—to deliver the forced evacuation notices directly to the community.
Local families expressed grave concern that the displacement order aims to facilitate land confiscation for the establishment of an illegal Israeli settler outpost.
The forced clearance in the Jenin governorate coincides with sweeping military lockdowns and a severe surge in state-sanctioned settler activity across the West Bank, designed to systematically isolate Palestinian communities and expand settlement infrastructure.
BREAKING | At least seven people killed in a shooting attack at a church in the village of Hamoud, located in the Al-Karak governorate of southern Jordan.
According to reports from state broadcaster Al-Mamlaka and Petra News Agency, gunmen opened fire inside the church building during a service, leaving multiple casualties before fleeing.
Jordanian security forces have launched a search operation in the area.
