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Six dead after gunmen open fire on Christian funeral in Jordan<\/p>\n
Two gunmen opened fire on a Christian funeral in Jordan<\/a>, killing six and wounding 28 more Friday, a Jordanian government spokesperson said.<\/p>\n The gunmen, who have yet to be identified, reportedly arrived in a car and shot at funeralgoers for minutes before fleeing in the car.<\/p>\n Government spokesperson Mohammad al-Momani called the attack “heinous” and said security forces had been deployed to the scene.<\/p>\n The attack took place in the Karak governorate in central Jordan, which holds a sizable Christian<\/a> population<\/p>\n No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.<\/p>\n Authorities have said the incident is under investigation.<\/p>\n Reuters contributed to this post.<\/p>\n Posted by Robert McGreevy<\/p>\n 5 mins agoBessent says Persian Gulf oil exports have surpassed pre-war levels despite Iran’s attacks<\/p>\n Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent<\/a> said Friday that oil exports from the Persian Gulf have rebounded above pre-conflict levels despite Iran’s efforts to disrupt energy shipments through the region.<\/p>\n In a post on X, Bessent shared a Treasury Department chart showing crude oil and condensate exports through the Strait of Hormuz, the Gulf of Oman and the Red Sea recovering to approximately 17 million to 18 million barrels per day.<\/p>\n The chart shows shipments plunged earlier this year before gradually recovering, with the latest figures exceeding the January-February 2026 average.<\/p>\n Bessent credited the rebound as evidence that Iran has failed to halt energy shipments to international markets despite attacks on commercial vessels and continued tensions in the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n The development comes as the Trump administration maintains economic pressure on Tehran through a U.S. naval blockade aimed at restricting Iranian oil exports while allowing other energy shipments to continue.<\/p>\n Posted by Brittany Miller<\/p>\n 49 mins agoCode Pink co-founder attended Iran conference later sanctioned by US over IRGC links: report<\/p>\n A 2014 conference in Tehran attended by Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin<\/a> was later sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department over allegations that it helped Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) recruit foreign intelligence assets, according to a report by The Telegraph.<\/p>\n The Treasury Department sanctioned the New Horizon organization in 2019, accusing it of facilitating intelligence gathering and recruitment on behalf of the IRGC’s Quds Force.<\/p>\n Benjamin was photographed at the conference with Nader Talebzadeh and Hamed Ghashghavi, two men whom U.S. authorities later identified as intermediaries involved in identifying potential foreign recruits, The Telegraph reported.<\/p>\n The report also cited an intelligence source who alleged that Iran considered Benjamin an asset because of her public advocacy. The characterization does not, by itself, establish that Benjamin knowingly cooperated with Iranian intelligence.<\/p>\n Benjamin returned to Iran in 2019 as part of a 28-member Code Pink delegation that met with then-Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.<\/p>\n Posted by Brittany Miller<\/p>\n 1 hour agoIran’s threat to Gulf internet cables raises concerns over regional communications<\/p>\n Internet connectivity across the Persian Gulf could face disruptions if fighting between Iran<\/a> and the United States resumes, with Iranian security officials reportedly considering attacks on underwater communications cables.<\/p>\n The potential consequences could be concentrated in the region rather than felt worldwide. Alan Mauldin, research director at telecommunications research firm TeleGeography, told Reuters that less than 1% of international bandwidth passes through the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n The assessment comes as two senior Iranian security officials told Reuters that Tehran has prepared plans to damage undersea communications infrastructure in response to renewed U.S. and Israeli military strikes.<\/p>\n One official also described plans to interfere with repairs, potentially extending service disruptions. Neither official identified specific cables or explained how Iran would carry out the attacks.<\/p>\n The reported threat comes as President Donald Trump has suggested the U.S. could launch additional military operations against Iran if Tehran does not reach an agreement with Washington.<\/p>\n Posted by Brittany Miller<\/p>\n 1 hour agoIran reportedly considers attacks on internet infrastructure as Trump threatens more strikes<\/p>\n Internet and telecommunications networks in the Persian Gulf could become targets of Iranian retaliation if President Donald Trump orders additional military strikes against Tehran, according to a Reuters report Friday.<\/p>\n Two senior Iranian security officials told the news agency that Tehran has prepared contingency plans involving underwater communications cables, potentially threatening connectivity across the region.<\/p>\n The reported plans also include obstructing repairs to damaged infrastructure, which could extend disruptions to internet and other communications services.<\/p>\n The warning comes as Trump has raised the possibility of another round of Operation Epic Fury strikes against Iran<\/a>, suggesting Friday that additional military action remains an option if Tehran does not reach an agreement with Washington.<\/p>\n Reuters reported that the Iranian officials did not identify specific cables or provide details about how the attacks would be carried out.<\/p>\n Posted by Brittany Miller<\/p>\n 2 hours agoTrump floats another round of Operation Epic Fury strikes against Iran during Florida rally<\/p>\n President Donald Trump<\/a> suggested Friday that the U.S. could launch another round of military strikes against Iran if Tehran does not reach an agreement with Washington.<\/p>\n Speaking at a midterm campaign rally in Fort Myers, Florida, Trump touted his administration’s military operations against Iran, including Operation Midnight Hammer and Operation Epic Fury.<\/p>\n “We may do another little epic fury, or they’ll agree. If they’re smart, they’ll just say, let’s get down to business,” Trump said.<\/p>\n Trump also defended his decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Obama-era Iran nuclear deal, arguing that the agreement would have allowed Tehran to develop a nuclear weapon.<\/p>\n The president said Operation Midnight Hammer destroyed Iran’s nuclear enrichment capabilities and credited Operation Epic Fury with further weakening the country.<\/p>\n He also pointed to Iran’s struggling economy and high inflation as evidence of the pressure facing Tehran, while leaving open the possibility of additional U.S. military action.<\/p>\n Posted by Brittany Miller<\/p>\n 2 hours agoBessent says US has ‘decimated’ Iran’s oil lifeline under Operation Economic Outcast<\/p>\n Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent<\/a> said Friday that the Trump administration has severely weakened Iran’s oil industry through Operation Economic Outcast, claiming the country’s shadow tanker fleet is depleted, its main oil terminal is empty and its offshore reserves are exhausted.<\/p>\n In a post on X, Bessent said the Treasury Department launched the operation less than two months ago to cut off revenue sources supporting Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Iranian government.<\/p>\n Bessent credited the administration’s economic pressure campaign with disrupting Iran’s ability to generate oil revenue, while accusing Tehran of directing resources toward terrorism and violence abroad instead of addressing the economic hardships facing its citizens.<\/p>\n The remarks come as the U.S. maintains a naval blockade in the Persian Gulf. Marine intelligence firm Kpler recently projected that Iranian crude oil revenues could fall to zero by mid-December, according to a report cited earlier in the live blog.<\/p>\n Bessent also portrayed the campaign as a departure from previous U.S. approaches to Iran, arguing that President Donald Trump is seeking to eliminate the threat posed by Tehran rather than contain it.<\/p>\n Posted by Brittany Miller<\/p>\n 3 hours agoWhite House marks 43 years since deadly Beirut Marine barracks bombing, links attack to Iran<\/p>\n The White House<\/a> on Friday commemorated the 43rd anniversary of the 1983 Beirut Marine barracks bombing that killed 241 American service members, drawing a direct connection between the attack and President Donald Trump’s ongoing military campaign against Iran.<\/p>\n In a post on X, the White House honored the Americans killed in the Oct. 23, 1983, terrorist attack in Beirut, Lebanon, sharing a photograph of the destroyed barracks and a message remembering the victims.<\/p>\n The administration also accused Iran of directing and financing the attack, linking the bombing to its current confrontation with Tehran.<\/p>\n The bombing occurred when a suicide attacker drove a truck packed with explosives into a U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, killing 220 Marines, 18 sailors and three soldiers. The attack remains one of the deadliest single-day losses for the Marine Corps since World War II.<\/p>\n The anniversary comes as Trump continues his military and economic pressure campaign against Iran, with the president saying Friday that the U.S. could seize the country’s oil and asserting American control over the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n Posted by Brittany Miller<\/p>\n 3 hours agoCENTCOM shares images of US fighter jets refueling over Middle East as Iran tensions escalate<\/p>\n U.S. Central Command shared images Friday showing American F-16 fighter jets approaching a KC-135 Stratotanker to refuel during a flight over the Middle East, as tensions between Washington and Tehran continue to escalate.<\/p>\n The images, posted on CENTCOM’s official X account, show a U.S. Air Force airman watching the fighter jets from aboard the tanker aircraft.<\/p>\n The KC-135 Stratotanker plays a critical role in U.S. military operations by refueling aircraft in flight, allowing fighter jets and other military aircraft to extend their range and remain airborne longer without landing.<\/p>\n CENTCOM did not specify where or when the images were taken or whether the refueling mission was connected to ongoing military operations involving Iran.<\/p>\n The post comes as President Donald Trump has signaled that the U.S. could intensify its military campaign against Iran<\/a>. Trump said Friday that the U.S. has established control over the Strait of Hormuz and could seize Iran’s oil if it chose to do so.<\/p>\n Posted by Brittany Miller<\/p>\n 5 hours agoState Department says it’s taken ‘concrete action’ to cut off Houthis’ financial support<\/p>\n State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott told Fox News Digital this week that from the beginning of the Trump administration, “we have instituted a maximum pressure policy to make sure that we’re severing support from the Iranian regime to its terrorist proxies.\u00a0<\/p>\n “That includes the Houthis. We’ve also taken action from the State Department to issue sanctions as well as to label the Houthis a terrorist organization,” he added. “So we have taken concrete action from the State Department to designate the Houthis as a terrorist organization, to cut off their financial support.<\/p>\n “We have been living up to and will continue to live up to our commitments to Saudi Arabia,”<\/a> Pigott also said, as the U.S. ally faces continued attacks from the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.\u00a0<\/p>\n Posted by Greg Norman-Diamond<\/p>\n 6 hours agoTanker hit with ‘unknown projectile’ while leaving Strait of Hormuz, UKMTO says<\/p>\n The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre (UKMTO) said Friday that a tanker was struck by an “unknown projectile” as it was leaving the Strait of Hormuz.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n The incident happened Thursday about 7 nautical miles northeast of Limah, Oman, according to the UKMTO.\u00a0<\/p>\n “The tanker was able to continue its voyage to the next port of call,” it added. “Vessels are advised to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity to UKMTO, while authorities investigate.”\u00a0<\/p>\n The UKMTO said in a separate report that since July 6, 57 of 79 projectile strike incidents were reported along the southern route through the Strait of Hormuz that is along the coastline of Oman.\u00a0<\/p>\n Posted by Greg Norman-Diamond<\/p>\n 7 hours agoTrump says ‘we can take the whole country’ of Iran and ‘all of the oil’<\/p>\n President Donald Trump told reporters Friday that “Iran is not able to do much now” as the U.S. is exerting pressure on the regime through Operation Epic Fury<\/a> and Operation Economic Outcast.\u00a0<\/p>\n “And we could if we wanted to, just take all of the oil, we can take the whole country,” Trump said. “We can take all of the oil. And as you know, the Hormuz Strait is totally ours. And that’s the way we’ll keep it.”\u00a0<\/p>\n Trump said Iran has “no money and they have inflation that’s 301% \u2014 that’s the highest in the world right now.”\u00a0<\/p>\n Trump later added, “There’s more oil coming out right now through the Strait of Hormuz than it was even before the war… we have done a hell of a job.”<\/p>\n Posted by Greg Norman-Diamond<\/p>\n 8 hours agoIranian crude revenues to reach zero by end of yea<\/p>\n Iranian revenues from crude oil are set to reach zero by mid-December, according to a recent report by Kpler.<\/p>\n The marine traffic intelligence and data firm cited the U.S. naval blockade in the Persian Gulf<\/a>, claiming that Iranian oil on water outside the blockade zone has fallen to zero.<\/p>\n The firm also predicted increased volatility in the region in the coming months, citing a number of high-friction events in the Middle East.<\/p>\n The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported 11 confirmed incidents in the Middle East last week, following 12 the week before, according to Kpler Insight.<\/p>\n The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)<\/a> also claimed responsibility for strikes on four U.S.-linked tankers in the Persian Gulf on Thursday.<\/p>\n These attacks come as intesifying conflict between the Yemen-based Houthis and Saudi Arabia prompted Saudi Arabia to evacuate a major headquarter on the Persian Gulf.<\/p>\n Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump also signaled an impending intensification of military strikes in Iran following the U.S. Nov. 3 midterm election<\/p>\n Posted by Robert McGreevy<\/p>\n 9 hours agoTwo IDF soldiers killed in West Bank attack<\/p>\n Two Israeli Defense Forces soldiers were killed by gunmen during an attack in the West Bank<\/a>, according to the Israeli Defense Forces.<\/p>\n Staff Sergeant Ron Yonatan Roytman, 23, and Sergeant Yuval Shai Svilem, 20, were killed during a shooting that also wounded three others near the West Bank town of Hebron.<\/p>\n Both soldiers served in the Ari Battalion (775), Search and Rescue Brigade, accoring to the IDF.<\/p>\n “The IDF sends its deepest condolences to their families and loved ones. May their memory be a blessing,” the IDF<\/a> said in a post on Facebook.<\/p>\n Israeli officials said the attack was perpetrated by two Palestinian gunmen wielding an M16 rifle and a handgun.<\/p>\n Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a total lockdown of the West Bank and indicated that a larger scale operation in the West Bank was impending.<\/p>\n Posted by Robert McGreevy<\/p>\n 11 hours agoIsrael orders West Bank full closure after shooting injures 5<\/p>\n Five people were wounded, including two critically, and two suspected gunmen were killed in a shooting Friday in the southern West Bank<\/a>, officials said.<\/p>\n The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported that it responded to a shooting in the Judea Junction area Friday and killed two people it identified as “terrorists.”\u00a0<\/p>\n Hours after the attack, Israel ordered the army to prepare for a full closure of the West Bank, according to the Associated Press.\u00a0<\/p>\n Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held an emergency meeting of his Security Cabinet, claiming Hamas was “planning a major attack aimed at murdering innocent civilians.”<\/p>\n This is an excerpt from a full story<\/a> by Michael Sinkewicz. <\/p>\n Posted by Robert McGreevy<\/p>\n 11 hours agoDeath toll rises to 2 after attack on Saudi airport<\/p>\n The death toll from Wednesday\u2019s attack on King Fahd International Airport in eastern Saudi Arabia has risen to two.<\/p>\n