English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For  November 01/2025
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
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Bible Quotations For today
feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed
Letter to the Hebrews 12/01-13/:”Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as children ‘My child, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, or lose heart when you are punished by him; for the Lord disciplines those whom he loves, and chastises every child whom he accepts.’ Endure trials for the sake of discipline. God is treating you as children; for what child is there whom a parent does not discipline? If you do not have that discipline in which all children share, then you are illegitimate and not his children. Moreover, we had human parents to discipline us, and we respected them. Should we not be even more willing to be subject to the Father of spirits and live?For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share his holiness. Now, discipline always seems painful rather than pleasant at the time, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on October 31-November 01/2025
Elias Bejjani/October 21/2025/ My X Account
Halloween in Canada: Concepts, Religious Background, and the Role of Native Canadian Traditions/Elias Bejjani/October 31/2025
The Annual Feast Day of the Apostles: Saints Simon and Jude/Elias Bejjani/October 28, 2025
Appeal from Former Minister Youssef Salameh, Head of the Identity and Sovereignty Forum, to His Excellency the President of the Republic: Why Did You Call for the Army to Join the Resistance Against Israel?
Aoun’s Position Does Not Mean the Return of the “Wooden Trinity”
In Washington, No Voice Rises Above the Voice of Negotiation
Lebanon’s president accuses Israel of ‘intensifying’ attacks in response to negotiations
Aoun: Lebanon ready for negotiations but mutual will needed
Spanish Army Chief reaffirms support for Lebanon's stability during visit to Baabda
Two Hezb Members Killed in South Lebanon
Israeli drone strikes kill two in Kounine, Nabatieh
Lebanon Approves Ortagus Proposal to Include Civilians in Ceasefire Committee
Israel warns it 'won't bury its head in the sand' as Hezbollah tensions grow
Ceasefire breaches: Israel reviews Lebanon strategy amid concerns over Hezbollah and Lebanese Army
Expatriate voting plan ignites tensions in Lebanon’s cabinet and parliament — the details
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Official to Visit Lebanon Soon
Qassem: Intimidation will not change our stances
Sheikh Qassem: USA Doesn’t Even Denounce Israeli Aggression on Lebanon, Hezbollah Will Never Relinquish Power
War-torn Wazzani works to bring water—and life—back to Lebanon's south
Trump stirs global tensions with surprise nuclear test order
Israel warns it 'won't bury its head in the sand' as Hezbollah tensions grow
Disarmament and Elections on the Agenda in Bkerkeh
Caught between Israeli violations and Hezbollah’s unyielding posture, Lebanon faces unpredictable escalation
Israeli-Lebanon Ceasefire Shows Cracks as Aoun Calls on Lebanese Army To Confront IDF
Beirut and Wily Words/Mustafa Fahs/Asharq Al-Awsat/October 31/2025
Us and Our History/Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al-Awsat/October 31/2025

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on October 31-November 01/2025
US backs repeal of Caesar Act sanctions on Syria, State Department says
German FM discusses return of refugees, help with reconstruction during visit to Syria
Israel returns remains of 30 more Palestinians to Gaza
Israeli attacks kill three Palestinians in Gaza, testing fragile truce
Palestinians bury 15-year-old shot by Israeli forces in West Bank
As the guns fall silent, Gazans find newly-reopened banks have no cash
Ankara awaits Israeli go-ahead to send rescuers to Gaza, US wants Turkish peacekeepers
Turkey says Gaza meeting to be held on Monday amid ceasefire concerns
Trump-Putin summit cancelled after Moscow sends memo to Washington: Report
Trump says he is not considering strikes within Venezuela
Israel returns remains of 30 more Palestinians to Gaza
UN decries high number of arrests, executions in Iran since 12-day war with Israel
Iran FM calls US resuming nuclear tests ‘regressive and irresponsible’
New LNG Terminal Will Help Extricate Iraq From Iran’s Energy Orbit
Hundreds may have been executed in capture of Sudanese city, UN rights office says
Trump stirs global tensions with surprise nuclear test order

Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on October 31-November 01/2025
Jihad in Bangladesh: Islamists Erasing Hindu Heritage/Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury/Gatestone Institute/October 31/2025
Report: Iran rebuilding its ballistic missile program/Joe Truzman/FDD's Long War Journal/October 31/2025
Kidnapping of U.S. Missionary Shines Light on Persecution of Christians in Africa/Ben Cohen & Dmitriy Shapiro/Providence/October 31/2025
The Regime’s Reformists Are Back, but Iranians Rejected Them Long Ago/Janatan Sayeh/FFD/October 31/2025
Our enemy now is Canada' Alan Dershowitz says on Israel policy/Special to National Post/Dave Gordon/October 30/2025
Western intelligence says Iran is rearming despite UN sanctions, with China’s help/Melissa Bell, Gianluca Mezzofiore, CNN/ October 31, 2025
Cairo talks on Gaza fail to forge Palestinian unity/Daoud Kuttab/Arab News/October 31, 2025

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on October 31-November 01/2025
Elias Bejjani/October 21/2025/ My X Account
Please be informed that my account on the X platform has been suspended for reasons unknown to me. This is the fourth account in five years to be arbitrarily suspended.

Halloween in Canada: Concepts, Religious Background, and the Role of Native Canadian Traditions
Elias Bejjani/October 31/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/10/148754/
Definition and General Concept
Halloween, celebrated every year on October 31, is one of the most popular and colorful events in Canada. Known for costumes, pumpkin decorations, haunted houses, and children roaming neighborhoods shouting “Trick or Treat!”, it is a blend of ancient pagan rituals, Christian traditions, and modern secular customs. Although today Halloween is mainly associated with fun, candy, and costumes, its origins are deeply rooted in ancient religious beliefs and cultural practices that date back thousands of years.
Historical and Religious Background
The origins of Halloween go back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced Sow-in), celebrated in what is now Ireland, Scotland, and parts of France. The Celts believed that on the night of October 31, the boundary between the world of the living and the dead became blurred. They lit bonfires and wore costumes to ward off wandering spirits.
When Christianity spread through Europe, the Church sought to replace or Christianize these pagan celebrations. In the 8th century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as All Saints’ Day (All Hallows’ Day) — a day to honor saints and martyrs. The evening before it, October 31, became known as All Hallows’ Eve, which later evolved linguistically into “Halloween.”Thus, Halloween as we know it today is a mix of pagan and Christian influences — a fusion of the Celtic belief in spirits and the Christian remembrance of the dead.
The Role of Native Canadian Indians
Before European settlers arrived, Indigenous peoples across North America had their own autumn festivals to mark the end of harvest and to honor the spirits of ancestors. While these Indigenous traditions were not directly related to the Celtic Samhain, they shared a spiritual connection with nature, life, and death. When European immigrants — especially from Ireland and Scotland — brought Halloween to Canada in the 1800s, the celebration gradually mixed with Native Canadian storytelling, seasonal harvest ceremonies, and community gatherings. Over time, Halloween in Canada became a cultural event reflecting both European folklore and Indigenous respect for the spirit world and nature’s cycles.
The Origin and Meaning of the Pumpkin Tradition
The pumpkin has become the most recognizable symbol of Halloween. The tradition of carving faces into pumpkins, known as “jack-o’-lanterns,” began with an old Irish legend about a man named Stingy Jack, who tricked the devil and was condemned to wander the earth carrying a lantern made from a carved-out turnip. When Irish immigrants came to North America, they discovered that pumpkins were larger and easier to carve than turnips, and thus they replaced the original vegetable. Lighting a candle inside the carved pumpkin came to symbolize guidance for lost spirits and protection from evil ones, turning the pumpkin into both a symbol of creativity and a charm against darkness.
Halloween and Christianity: Connections and Controversies
While Halloween’s roots touch Christian traditions such as All Saints’ Day (November 1) and All Souls’ Day (November 2), its modern expression has become largely secular and commercial. Many Christians — especially Catholics and Anglicans — observe All Saints’ Day as a holy day of obligation, remembering the faithful who have passed away. For them, the evening before (Halloween) can be seen as a time of reflection rather than superstition.
However, certain Christian denominations, particularly Evangelical and conservative Protestant groups, view Halloween negatively. They argue that its focus on ghosts, witches, and demons glorifies evil or the devil, rather than goodness and holiness.This belief has led some families and churches to avoid Halloween celebrations or to organize “Harvest Festivals” or “Holy Nights” as wholesome alternatives. The Catholic Church, on the other hand, does not officially condemn Halloween, but it encourages believers to avoid practices that promote superstition, occultism, or satanic imagery. Many Catholic educators emphasize that Halloween’s original intent was to honor the saints and pray for the dead, not to celebrate evil.
Is Halloween a Celebration of the Devil?
Despite widespread claims, Halloween is not a “devil’s day.”
Historically, it was a time to confront fear and darkness with courage and faith, not to worship evil. The imagery of ghosts, skeletons, and demons represented the human confrontation with death and the unknown — central themes in both pagan and Christian worldviews. In modern culture, Halloween’s connection to the supernatural is largely symbolic and playful. Most people who celebrate it today do so for entertainment, creativity, and community fun, rather than for any religious or anti-religious reason.
Modern Celebrations in Canada
In Canada, Halloween has become a nationally recognized cultural celebration.
Communities, schools, and families decorate homes with pumpkins, lights, and spooky figures. Children dress up as superheroes, ghosts, or fairy-tale characters and go from door to door saying “Trick or Treat!” — a phrase dating back to medieval times when poor people begged for “soul cakes” in return for prayers for the dead. Canadian cities like Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and Halifax host Halloween parades, haunted house events, and pumpkin festivals. Safety campaigns are also widespread, emphasizing reflective clothing, adult supervision, and careful candy checks. For children, Halloween is primarily about joy, imagination, and sharing. For adults, it can also be a chance to reflect on the mystery of life, death, and the spiritual world — echoing its ancient roots.
Conclusion
Halloween in Canada today stands as a fusion of ancient Celtic rituals, Christian remembrance, and modern social fun. While some view it as a harmless cultural festival, others see it as a reminder to avoid glorifying darkness. The truth lies somewhere in between: Halloween’s true meaning depends on how it is celebrated. If approached with understanding, creativity, and moral awareness, Halloween can be a positive occasion — a night that connects the living with their past, strengthens community bonds, and celebrates the victory of light over darkness.

The Annual Feast Day of the Apostles: Saints Simon and Jude
Elias Bejjani/October 28, 2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/10/148612/
Today, the Catholic Church joyfully celebrates the Feast of the Apostles Saints Simon and Jude — two steadfast pillars upon whom the foundation of Christ’s Mystical Body was laid. Their names, forever linked in the Canon of the Mass, symbolize an apostolic pairing united in mission, martyrdom, and eternal legacy. Though historical details outside the New Testament remain scarce, their fervent dedication to proclaiming the Gospel to the ends of the known world continues to inspire the faithful across generations.
Who They Were and Their Early Lives
St. Jude, often referred to as “Judas, son of James,” or “Thaddeus” in the Gospels to distinguish him from the traitor Judas Iscariot, was one of the close “brethren” or kinsmen of Jesus. Through his father Cleophas (or Alphaeus), the brother of St. Joseph, Jude was a first cousin of the Lord. Tradition holds that he was born in Galilee around 10 AD.
St. Simon, uniquely identified as “the Zealot” (or “the Cananaean”), earned this title either for his affiliation with the Jewish nationalist movement known as the Zealots or for his passionate zeal for the Law. This distinction underscores Christ’s unifying power, which brought together men of vastly different backgrounds — such as Simon the Zealot and Matthew the tax collector — into His circle of Apostles. Tradition suggests that Simon was also born in Galilee, perhaps in Cana, around 5 AD.
The Apostolic Mission in Beirut and the East
After the Ascension of Jesus, the Apostles dispersed from Jerusalem to avoid persecution and to fulfill their divine mandate: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” According to a strong tradition upheld in the Eastern Churches — particularly the Syriac Orthodox and Maronite traditions — Saints Peter, Simon, and Jude journeyed to Beirut (in present-day Lebanon).
There, Simon and Jude were said to have played a crucial role in establishing the early Church, spending several years in Beirut. They are traditionally credited with building the very first Christian church in the city. Local tradition also holds that St. Peter was with them, organizing the first ecclesiastical hierarchy — Patriarchs, Bishops, and Priests — and establishing the early structure of the Holy Mass.
In this formative period, five major Patriarchal Sees were envisioned: Rome (Vatican), Constantinople, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Alexandria.
Antioch, located in the Syrian region, was founded first, with St. Peter as its initial Patriarch around 42 AD. He later moved to Rome around 54 AD. These developments highlight the Levant — including Lebanon — as a vital center for the early Church’s missionary and administrative life. Following their ministry in Lebanon, Saints Simon and Jude continued eastward, spreading the Gospel in Mesopotamia and Persia (modern-day Iraq and Iran), where they accomplished their most celebrated missionary work.
Their Miracles and Enduring Patronage
The apostolic mission of Simon and Jude was accompanied by remarkable miracles.
A prominent tradition recounts St. Jude’s journey to King Abgar of Edessa, who suffered from leprosy. At the king’s request, Jude brought him an image of Christ — the Mandylion or Image of Edessa — through which the king was miraculously healed. This act of mercy and intercession established St. Jude as the Patron Saint of Desperate and Impossible Causes, a devotion that remains widespread to this day.
In Persia, the two Apostles performed many wonders, casting out demons, healing the sick, and converting multitudes to the faith. Their success, however, provoked the anger of local pagan priests, ultimately leading to their martyrdom.
Martyrdom, Relics, and the Legacy of Antioch
According to the most widely accepted account, Saints Simon and Jude suffered martyrdom together in Persia around 65 AD. Yet, another ancient tradition — deeply rooted in Lebanese Christianity — maintains that they were martyred in Beirut, where they had first preached the Gospel.
The Beirut Tradition:
This account affirms that the two Apostles were buried beneath the altar of the first church they founded in Beirut.
The Roman Relocation:
After the legalization of Christianity by Emperor Constantine, their relics were transferred to Rome in the 4th century (c. 325 AD). Today, their remains rest beneath the Altar of St. Joseph in the left transept of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, sharing the sacred space with the Prince of the Apostles himself.
The Apostles Simon and Jude left an indelible mark on the foundation of the universal Church. Through them, the Sacraments and the authentic teachings of Christ were transmitted to the early Christian communities of the East.
The Patriarchal See of Antioch, first established by St. Peter and deeply connected to their legacy, endured centuries of persecution. In 676 AD, St. John Maron, the first Maronite Patriarch, relocated the See to the Monastery of St. John Maroun in Kfarhay, Lebanon — the heart of Maronite Christianity. The continuity of that apostolic line endures today in Bkerke, Lebanon, the current seat of the Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and All the East.
Through their missionary zeal, miraculous works, and ultimate martyrdom, Saints Simon and Jude stand as eternal witnesses to Christ’s truth. Their faith — steadfast even to the shedding of their blood — laid the groundwork for Christianity in the East and remains a luminous example of courage, unity, and perseverance in the service of God.
*The author, Elias Bejjani, is a Lebanese expatriate activist
Author’s Email: Phoenicia@hotmail.com
Author’s Website: https://eliasbejjaninews.com

Appeal from Former Minister Youssef Salameh, Head of the Identity and Sovereignty Forum, to His Excellency the President of the Republic: Why Did You Call for the Army to Join the Resistance Against Israel?
October 31, 2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/10/148746/
Your Excellency, the President,
Perhaps, by assassinating a municipal employee in “Blida,” Israel intended to lure the legitimate authority into a direct confrontation?
So, why did you call for the Commander [of the Army] to have the army join the resistance against Israel?
Have you fallen into their trap? Are you convinced that the army is capable of fighting Israel given the current balance of power?
In reality, Your Excellency’s stance reminds me of General Michel Aoun’s position in March 1989 when he launched the War of Liberation against the Syrian Army. While righteous in principle at the time, it was also suicidal in its results.
Are you aware of the repercussions of this position, and have you launched it to obtain a pass that allows the Lebanese state to enter the door of direct negotiations with Israel? Or are you, like your predecessor, convinced that Lebanon can change the strategies of major powers?
Your Excellency, the President, Let us review history and recall together: In March 1945, Hitler issued what is known as the “Nero Decree,” which ordered the destruction of all German factories and infrastructure so that the Allies could not benefit from them after defeat. He tasked his close associate and Minister of Armaments, Albert Speer, one of the foremost men of the Nazi regime, with implementing the order. Speer refused, deeming the complete destruction of the country a crime against the German people and arguing that something must be left for future generations. His people vindicated him, and the Allies did, too.
And, alongside Albert Speer, France also vindicated General Pétain half a century later because, with his wisdom and realism, he protected Paris from complete destruction and saved its cultural heritage. His populism and patriotism did not lead him to suicide or the suicide of the nation.
Your Excellency, the President, It has been proven that Israel is the fifty-first state of the United States of America. Are we capable of a confrontation?
Your Excellency, the President, We want you to enter history as the one who preserved what remains of the repeatedly patched structure of the state, saved our majestic cedars from what befell the olive trees in the wounded South, protected those of our people who remain alive there, and restored stability to our tormented nation. Please, be completely honest with your people about the full truth and enter history through the main door by saving Lebanon.

Aoun’s Position Does Not Mean the Return of the “Wooden Trinity”
In Washington, No Voice Rises Above the Voice of Negotiation
Nidaa Al-Watan/November 01/2025 (Translated from Arabic)
The era of President Joseph Aoun witnessed in the past 48 hours an unprecedented experience. Following his stance on Israel’s recent military operation in the southern border town of Blida, Aoun appeared caught between two conflicting pressures: on one side, Western—particularly American—pressure demanding that the Lebanese government decisively move to disarm Hezbollah without delay; on the other, Hezbollah’s campaign praising and supporting Aoun’s position, emphasizing its insistence on retaining its weapons.
In an attempt to contain the political fallout, President Aoun declared during his meeting yesterday with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul:
“The Lebanese Army is fully performing its duties south of the Litani River, in addition to its many missions across the nation. Lebanon welcomes any support to the army and the provision of the necessary resources to enable it to fully safeguard sovereignty and national integrity.” To prevent Hezbollah from exploiting the Blida incident and reviving the outdated “Army, People, and Resistance” formula, the Presidential Media Office issued a statement refuting claims made by a Hezbollah-affiliated media outlet, denying reports that the President made supportive remarks to Army Commander General Rudolph Haykal after the Israeli strike on Blida last Thursday. Meanwhile, the German Foreign Minister called for Hezbollah’s disarmament, stressing both the need for Israel to respect Lebanon’s sovereignty and for Hezbollah to comply with the arrangements governing the cessation of hostilities.
Salam: No Turning Back on the Decision to Restrict Weapons
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, after meeting yesterday morning with Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi in Bkerke, affirmed that the decision to restrict weapons to state institutions “has been made and will not be reversed.” He added that his government is mobilizing all resources to stop Israeli violations.
According to Nidaa Al-Watan, President Aoun reaffirmed to the German guest that Lebanon’s position on negotiations with Israel remains unchanged, and that Lebanon awaits Israel’s official response—expected to be conveyed through Washington—regarding whether it accepts or rejects the talks, which enjoy American, Arab, and European support.
Baabda Palace sources denied claims about civilian representation in the proposed “mechanism committee.” Political sources told Nidaa Al-Watan that Lebanon’s top national priority remains the disarmament of Hezbollah, adding:
“There is a firm international—particularly American—conviction, from envoy Morgan Ortagus to envoy Tom Barrack and within the U.S. administration itself, that Lebanese authorities are not serious about implementing their own decisions. Meanwhile, Israel continues to break all red lines. What happened in Blida was a clear message that its operations will not stop. At the same time, giving Hezbollah excuses is dangerous. Sheikh Naim Qassem stated yesterday that Hezbollah stands behind the army that will resist—does that mean the army will defend Hezbollah? The real issue to address is Hezbollah’s weaponry, which remains the root cause of Israel’s actions.”
The sources added:
“There are strange movements happening behind the scenes involving certain capitals attempting to mediate. These intermediaries must understand that there will be no bargains or compromises—Hezbollah must adhere to the Constitution and the Taif Accord.”
They warned that any lenient positions—such as saying the army will ‘confront’ while Hezbollah hides behind it—will only expose Lebanon to a war that appears increasingly imminent. “Israel continues to send clear messages,” they said. “Hezbollah’s Deputy Leader Naim Qassem tried to soften his earlier tone, claiming the resistance is now in a defensive rather than offensive position to reassure Israel. However, Western and Israeli media are focusing heavily on Hezbollah’s armament, portraying it as a prelude to war. The only way to avoid conflict is for Hezbollah to officially declare the surrender of its weapons, as Hamas did. Otherwise, war is inevitable.”
They concluded:
“If Hezbollah were to hand over its weapons to the army now—before it’s too late—it would be the wisest move, instead of wasting time with hollow campaigns supporting the so-called ‘defensive stance,’ which quickly collapsed under scrutiny.”
Qassem “Appreciates” and Directs the Government
Hezbollah Deputy Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem yesterday praised “the responsible stance of President Joseph Aoun in ordering the army to confront Israeli incursions, a position that must be built upon.” However, he added:
“Let it be known—no intimidation will change our position of resistance and steadfastness.”
He also urged the Lebanese government “to include on its agenda a plan to support the army so it can better resist Israeli aggression.”
Israel and “The Patience That Is Running Out”
In Tel Aviv, Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir warned that Israel’s patience toward Hezbollah’s actions in Lebanon is “running out,” emphasizing that his army “will not tolerate any violation that endangers Israel’s security in any arena.” The Israeli newspaper Maariv quoted Zamir as saying:
“We are operating across all fronts with high readiness, and in some arenas, we will act again—more forcefully than in the past two years.”
New Israeli Strike on Hezbollah
On the ground, Israel resumed its air raids in southern Lebanon, where a drone strike in Kounine targeted a motorcycle, killing one person and injuring another. Earlier, two Israeli Hermes drones flew at low altitude over Bint Jbeil, Ainatha, Kounine, and Shaqra. Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee announced that the strike killed Ibrahim Mohammad Raslan, a Hezbollah maintenance officer involved in rebuilding the organization’s infrastructure. Another airstrike in the Nabatieh–Shukin area targeted a motorcyclist, killing him instantly.
U.S. Delegation to Beirut
A joint delegation from the White House and the U.S. Treasury Department is expected to arrive in Beirut soon to discuss issues related to terrorism financing and to review Lebanon’s financial reform progress. The U.S. Treasury announced that Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John Hurley will tour the Middle East and Europe as part of President Donald Trump’s administration’s efforts to increase pressure on Iran.
Next Cabinet Session and Berri’s Responsibility
Parliamentary sources informed Nidaa Al-Watan that significant progress has been made regarding the upcoming parliamentary elections. The government decided in its last meeting to merge the two proposals: the election logistics plan prepared by Interior Minister Ahmad Hajar, and the draft law by Foreign Minister Youssef Raji abolishing Article 112 to allow expatriates to vote abroad in their home districts for all 128 MPs. The committee will merge both into a single proposal for voting. Once approved, responsibility will shift to Speaker Nabih Berri to act accordingly. The next Cabinet session, scheduled for next week, is expected to be decisive.

Lebanon’s president accuses Israel of ‘intensifying’ attacks in response to negotiations
AFP, Beirut/31 October/2025
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Friday accused Israel of responding to its offer to negotiate by intensifying its air strikes, the latest of which killed a man riding a motorbike in southern Lebanon. Despite a November 2024 ceasefire with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, Israel maintains troops in five areas in southern Lebanon and has kept up regular air strikes. Aoun had called for negotiations with Israel in mid-October, after US President Donald Trump brokered a ceasefire in Gaza. “Lebanon is ready for negotiations to end the Israeli occupation, but any negotiation... requires mutual willingness, which is not the case,” Aoun said on Friday. Israel “is responding to this option by carrying out more attacks against Lebanon... and intensifying tensions,” he added during a meeting with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul. Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) said an Israeli drone targeted a man on a motorbike in the village of Kunin on Friday. The health ministry reported one death and one person wounded. The Israeli military claimed it had “eliminated... a Hezbollah maintenance officer” who was working to reestablish the Iran-backed group’s infrastructure sites in southern Lebanon. The strike came a day after the Israeli military killed a municipal worker in a raid in the Lebanese border village of Blida. Aoun ordered the army on Thursday to confront such incursions. Hezbollah began launching cross-border fire at Israel following the outbreak of the war in Gaza in October 2023, kicking off a more than year-long conflict that culminated in two months of open war before last year’s ceasefire was agreed. Israel, however, has never stopped carrying out air strikes on Lebanon -- usually claiming it is targeting Hezbollah positions -- and has stepped up the attacks in recent days. Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed at least 25 people in October, including one Syrian, according to an AFP toll based on figures from the Lebanese health ministry. On Tuesday, the spokesman for the UN rights commission, Jeremy Laurence, said Israeli forces had killed 111 civilians in Lebanon since the ceasefire went into effect. Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi asked his visiting German counterpart on Friday to “help put pressure on Israel to stop its attacks.”“Only a diplomatic solution, not a military one, can ensure stability and guarantee calm in the south,” Raggi was quoted by the NNA as saying. He added that “the Lebanese government is continuing to gradually implement its decision to place all weapons under its control.” Hezbollah was badly weakened during the war, and the United States has intensified pressure on Lebanese authorities to disarm the group. Hezbollah and its allies oppose the plan.

Aoun: Lebanon ready for negotiations but mutual will needed
Naharnet/October 31/2025
President Joseph Aoun on Friday called on the international community, the EU and the U.S. to press Israel to abide by last year’s ceasefire agreement and enable the Lebanese Army to deploy up the southern international border and continue implementing the plans devised for extending Lebanon’s sovereignty across its territory. Aoun voiced his remarks in a meeting in Baabda with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul. “We are not advocates of war, because we have tried it and drew lessons from it. That’s why we want to restore stability to Lebanon starting by its south,” Aoun added, noting that “the negotiation choice is for recovering our occupied land, returning the captives and achieving full withdrawal from the hills.”Aoun, however, lamented that Israel “has only met this choice with further attacks on Lebanon, in the South and the Bekaa, and with raising up the level of escalation.”“Israel’s snubbing of the continuous calls for halting its attacks confirms that Israel’s hostile decision is still its first choice, which puts a responsibility on the shoulders of the international community to support Lebanon’s stance that calls for achieving security and stability,” the president added. Stressing that “the Lebanese Army is full performing its duty in the South Litani area, in addition to its many missions across the country,” Aoun said Lebanon welcomes “any support for the army in order to provide it with the necessary assets to fully perform its role in preserving sovereignty and the country’s safety.”
He added: “The army is the only guarantee for protecting Lebanon and defending its sovereignty and there can be no sustainable security without it.”“Lebanon is ready for negotiations in order to end the Israeli occupation, but any negotiation cannot be from one side but rather needs a mutual will, something that is not available until the moment. As for the negotiation shape, time and place, that would be decided later,” Aoun went on to say.

Spanish Army Chief reaffirms support for Lebanon's stability during visit to Baabda
LBCI/October 31/2025
President Joseph Aoun met with Spanish Army Chief Admiral Teodoro Lopez Calderón Friday afternoon at the Baabda Palace, in the presence of Spanish Ambassador to Lebanon Jesus Santos Aguado and a delegation of senior Spanish officers. The visit came as part of Admiral Calderón’s tour to inspect Spain’s contingent serving within the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). During the meeting, Admiral Calderón briefed President Aoun on his observations following his visit to South Lebanon, emphasizing Spain’s continued support for the Lebanese Army and the U.N. peacekeeping mission. He underscored that Madrid remains committed to helping maintain security and stability in the south. The admiral noted that the Spanish contingent has been deployed in South Lebanon for 20 years, during which its members have implemented international resolutions and built strong, friendly ties with local communities—even through the region’s most challenging periods. President Aoun welcomed Admiral Calderón and expressed appreciation for Spain’s long-standing contribution to UNIFIL. He commended Spain’s willingness to continue assisting Lebanon in preserving peace and security in coordination with the Lebanese Army and European partners, also committed to ensuring stability in the south.

Two Hezb Members Killed in South Lebanon
This is Beirutt/October 31/2025
Tensions sharply escalated across southern Lebanon on Friday as Israeli drone and warplanes struck target in the Nabatiyeh and Bint Jbeil districts, leaving several casualties. In one incident, an Israeli drone launched a guided missile at a motorcycle in Talat Shukain, in the Nabatieh caza, killing the driver instantly. Ambulances rushed to the scene following the explosion. According to Al Arabiya, the person killed in the attack was a member of Hezbollah. In addition, an Israeli fighter jet struck a building near the entrance to the industrial zone on Nabih Berri Road in Kfarraman. The missile hit the roof, causing a powerful blast that shook the area and triggered panic, though no injuries were reported. The region also witnessed intense drone activity throughout the day. Earlier on Friday, another drone targeted a motorcycle in the town of Kounine, resulting in one death and one injury, according to the Ministry of Public Health’s Emergency Operations Center. Residents also reported two Israeli “Hermes” drones flying at low altitude over the towns of Bint Jbeil, Aynatha, Kounine, and Shakra. Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee confirmed the strike in Kunin, claiming that Israeli forces “eliminated a Hezbollah terrorist in southern Lebanon.” Adraee identified the target as Ibrahim Muhammad Raslan, described as a maintenance officer in Hezbollah who was allegedly involved in rebuilding the group’s military infrastructure. He said Raslan’s activities “posed a threat to the State of Israel and its citizens and violated the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.”Separately, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the Lebanese Army (LAF) under UN Security Council Resolution 1701. In a statement on X, UNIFIL said that its peacekeepers “conduct daily patrols with the Lebanese Army to help restore security and stability,” emphasizing that such cooperation is “essential to support the army in extending state authority in southern Lebanon.” UNIFIL’s statement came shortly after remarks by President Joseph Aoun, who reiterated that the LAF remains “the only guarantee for protecting Lebanon’s sovereignty and ensuring its defense.” During a meeting at Baabda Palace with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, Aoun said Lebanon is “ready to engage in negotiations to end the Israeli occupation,” but stressed that “no negotiation can be one-sided; it requires mutual will, which is not yet available.”

Israeli drone strikes kill two in Kounine, Nabatieh
Naharnet/October 31/2025
One person was killed and another wounded in an Israeli drone strike Friday on a motorcycle in the southern town of Kounine. The Israeli army identified the slain man as Ibrahim Mohammad Reslan, claiming that he served as a maintenance officer for Hezbollah and was “attempting to rebuild Hezbollah's terrorist infrastructure.”Later in the day one person was killed in an Israeli drone strike on a motorcycle on the Nabatieh-Shoukine road. An Israeli drone strike also hit the rooftop of a building at the entrance of Nabatieh's industrial zone, causing no casualties. Despite a November 2024 ceasefire with Hezbollah, Israel maintains troops in five areas in southern Lebanon and has kept up regular air strikes. Israel usually says it is targeting Hezbollah militants and positions -- and has stepped up the attacks in recent days. Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed at least 25 people in October, including one Syrian, according to an AFP toll based on figures from the Lebanese health ministry. On Tuesday, the spokesman for the U.N. rights commission, Jeremy Laurence, said Israeli forces had killed 111 civilians in Lebanon since the ceasefire went into effect. Hezbollah was badly weakened during the war, and the United States has intensified pressure on Lebanese authorities to disarm the group. Hezbollah and its allies oppose the plan.

Israel warns it 'won't bury its head in the sand' as Hezbollah tensions grow
Naharnet/October 31/2025
Lebanon placed its army on high alert Thursday after President Joseph Aoun ordered troops to confront any Israeli incursion into the country’s south, following a deadly overnight Israeli army ground raid in the village of Blida near the border. According to Lebanese media reports, the army began deploying reinforcements and setting up new positions in southern villages, including in Blida. The Lebanese presidency said Aoun instructed the army commander, General Rodolphe Haykal, “to confront any Israeli incursion into the liberated lands of southern Lebanon to defend Lebanon’s territory and the safety of its citizens.”The order came hours after Israeli troops entered the Blida municipal building. A municipal worker, identified as Ibrahim Salameh, was killed in the operation. Lebanese media said he was shot while sleeping in the building, describing the incident as “an execution.”
Meanwhile, Israel’s security cabinet met Thursday evening to discuss the situation in Lebanon amid claims that the group is rebuilding its military capabilities with Iran’s support. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, meeting with U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert in Jerusalem, said Hezbollah “continues to intensify its efforts to recover and rebuild its strength with Iran’s backing. This is dangerous to Israel’s security just as it threatens Lebanon’s future. Israel cannot bury its head in the sand in the face of this trend.”

Ceasefire breaches: Israel reviews Lebanon strategy amid concerns over Hezbollah and Lebanese Army
LBCI/October 31/2025
Aside from an official statement warning that "time is running out" regarding the Lebanese Army’s efforts to disarm Hezbollah and Lebanon's "violation" of the ceasefire deal, Israel has not issued any formal position following a late-night meeting in Tel Aviv on its Lebanon strategy. The meeting, which lasted until midnight, brought together Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, and senior military and intelligence officials to discuss Israel's approach toward Lebanon. Military officials reportedly threatened to counter what they described as Hezbollah's preparations for the next war through an expanded operational plan.According to the Israeli army, Tel Aviv continues to monitor the Lebanese Army's implementation of its plan to confine Hezbollah's weapons south of the Litani River. However, Israeli and U.S. assessments suggest that Hezbollah has managed to establish pockets of resistance that complicate the Lebanese Army's operations. While Israeli intelligence estimates that Hezbollah currently faces difficulties in launching a major attack, the Israeli army has intensified its airstrikes in Lebanon and expanded its ground deployment along Lebanese territory near the border. Defense Minister Katz described this military presence as a measure to "reassure border residents." On the ground, Israel claims its forces have carried out more than 1,000 strikes against Hezbollah targets and assassinated 349 of its commanders since the ceasefire agreement was reached. Still, Israeli sources acknowledge that Hezbollah has been rapidly rebuilding its capabilities. Intelligence sources further allege that nearly half of the Lebanese Army's personnel are Shiite and reluctant to confront Hezbollah. They add that mounting U.S. pressure on Beirut aims to push Lebanon toward direct negotiations with Israel, potentially leading to a long-term settlement. The same sources claim that U.S. President Donald Trump is seeking political achievements in the Middle East but continues to face major challenges in both Lebanon and Gaza.

Expatriate voting plan ignites tensions in Lebanon’s cabinet and parliament — the details
LBCI/October 31/2025
Proposals for amendments to Lebanon’s election law are being considered on two fronts: expatriate voting and the use of a magnetic voting card and a so-called “megacenter.”The six-member committee has held consultations among its members and is expected to meet early next week after Interior Minister Ahmad al-Hajjar returns from Bahrain. According to LBCI, Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji will bring to the meeting a draft law that merges his proposal to amend Article 112 of the election law—allowing expatriates to vote for 128 deputies according to their electoral districts—with the Interior Minister’s proposal to replace the magnetic card with a QR code. A committee member said that, for now, only Rajji’s and al-Hajjar’s proposals are on the table, though other suggestions could emerge, particularly from Hezbollah and the Amal Movement. The member noted that implementing expatriate voting for six deputies faces challenges in preparing and approving the necessary organizational steps. Transmitting the committee’s proposals to the cabinet does not mean the matter is settled. The process could become more complicated. If the government does not submit the draft law to parliament, ministers backed by the Lebanese Forces could take escalatory measures, including walking out of cabinet sessions or potentially resigning. If the draft law is sent to parliament and allows expatriates to vote for all 128 deputies based on their place of residence, ministers backed by the Hezbollah-Amal Movement political duo could also take escalatory steps. Sending the draft law to parliament does not guarantee its passage. The key decision lies with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who may choose not to convene a general session, or, if he does, may not place the bill on the agenda. Expatriate voting, whether for six deputies or all 128 based on residence, remains at the mercy of the government and parliament. If obstacles persist, Article 11 of the election law, which governs expatriate voting, could be canceled, leaving expatriates with no option but to travel to Lebanon to cast their ballots.

U.S. Treasury Sanctions Official to Visit Lebanon Soon
This is Beirut/October 31/2025
The U.S. Treasury Department announced that John Herlihy, Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, will begin a tour of the Middle East and Europe starting this Friday, as the administration of President Donald Trump seeks to increase pressure on Iran. According to the statement, Herlihy, the Treasury’s top sanctions official, will visit Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and Lebanon in the coming days, marking his first trip to the Middle East since taking office. Following his re-election, Trump reinstated his “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran, aimed at preventing Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon. Herlihy said in the statement, “President Trump has made it clear that Iran’s terrorist and destabilizing activities must be confronted with sustained and coordinated pressure.”He added, “I look forward to meeting with our partners to coordinate efforts to deny Iran and its proxies access to the financial resources they rely on to evade international sanctions, fund violence, and undermine regional stability.”The statement noted that Herlihy will discuss strengthening Trump’s maximum pressure campaign against Tehran, particularly targeting its regional allies. In Turkey, he will explore ways of “bilateral cooperation to stop malicious activities in the region and sanctions evasion.”

Qassem: Intimidation will not change our stances
Naharnet/October 31/2025
Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem noted Friday that Israeli attacks on Lebanon increase whenever a U.S. official visits the country or talks about it. “What is America's stance on 5,000 Israeli violations against Lebanon?” Qassem asked, in a televised address.
He added that Israel has attacked the Lebanese Army and UNIFIL and Washington has not commented on those attacks. “Intimidation will not change our stances that are supportive of resistance and resilience and we are not advocates of surrender and defeat,” Qassem stressed. “Israel can kill and occupy but it cannot take away our dignity,” he said. He added that President Joseph Aoun’s stance in giving the army instructions to confront Israeli incursions after the Blida raid is “a responsible stance that can be capitalized on.”Qassem also called on the government to “study a plan for supporting the army to enable it to confront the Israeli attacks.”The Hezbollah chief also warned that any new agreement with Israel would absolve it of its crimes, calling for Israel’s implementation of “the agreement that Lebanon has already implemented.”“Any new agreement would aim to reset the attacks and open a new door and we will not accept that Lebanon be stripped of its strength,” Qassem added.

Sheikh Qassem: USA Doesn’t Even Denounce Israeli Aggression on Lebanon, Hezbollah Will Never Relinquish Power
Al-Manar English Website/October 31/2025
Hezbollah Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem maintained that every inch of Lebanon is part of the entire homeland, adding that the landowner is the one who holds the future.
“Whoever resists regains the land, and whoever bargains over it loses it.”
In a televised address via Al-Manar during the inauguration of “Ardi” (My Land) Exhibition for Lebanese tradition food in Beirut’s Dahieh, Sheikh Qassem said that the market is an innovative and productive idea, thanking Jihad Al-Binaa Foundation, which worked diligently to make it a reality. “The participants in the market are the people of the land — those who returned to South Lebanon and those steadfast today on the frontlines reaping the fruits of the land.”“The olive pickers on the border frontlines are the true sovereigns who cling to their land in a unified and interconnected country called Lebanon,” his eminence added. Sheikh Qassem said, “The land is a blessing, and we must be its protectors; preserving and reviving it is a duty. The agricultural and industrial jihad launched by His Eminence Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah aims to resist external pressures and rely on our own resources.”“Jihad Al-Binaa Foundation carries out numerous efforts that serve the farmers, while unfortunately, the state remains absent from caring for both the agricultural and industrial sectors. There is a need to find proper marketing methods to reduce the intermediaries between the farmer and the buyer.” Sheikh Qassem wondered how only 0.45% of the state budget in Lebanon is devoted for the agricultural sector, calling on the government to support the two productive sectors of industry and agriculture.
Politically
The United States of America claims to be acting in Lebanon to solve problems, but it is not an honest mediator; rather, it is the sponsor of aggression and its expansion, Sheikh Qassem said. Hezbollah Leader indicated that the Israeli attacks increase each time an American envoy’s visit is announced, amid ongoing pressures. He pointed out that American statements often include justification for ‘Israel’ and portray it as a state that does its best, while Lebanon is held responsible and pressured to surrender its ability, freedom, and independence to give ‘Israel’ everything it wants. “What is the United States’ position on 5,000 acts of aggression against Lebanon? On the contrary, it always justifies these violations.”Sheikh Qassem affirmed that when President Aoun called for confronting the attacks, an American official claimed that the army was assisting the Resistance, asking, “Has defending the country become a crime?”“What is America’s stance on the Israeli killing of civilians, the destruction of facilities, the crime in the town of Blida, and the assassination of the martyr Salameh?”Sheikh Qassem affirmed that the aggression against the town of Blida is a blatant attack and has no justification. He emphasized that Israeli aggression against Lebanon is part of a campaign targeting civilians, their livelihoods, and their right to return to their towns.
America has given Lebanon nothing, his eminence stressed.
Sheikh Qassem affirmed, ” Intimidation will not change our positions; we will never accept surrender or forced commitments. Our bond with our land is stronger than their military power, no matter how great it may be.”Sheikh Qassem also questioned America’s stance on the killing of Lebanese civilians, the destruction of agricultural facilities, and the incursions into some areas, especially the major crime in the town of Blida, where a martyr was assassinated while inside an official institution. He considered these aggression a violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty and national dignity. Sheikh Qassem stressed that threats and pressure will not change the stance of those supporting the resistance and steadfastness, rejecting surrender and defeat. He explained that the Lebanese people’s connection to their land is stronger than the enemy’s military power, no matter how strong it is. “The sacrifices made are a trust in everyone’s hands and form a bridge to the future of generations.”“‘Israel’ can kill, but it cannot prevent the life of dignity in us. ‘Israel’ can occupy, but it cannot continue its occupation. ‘Israel’ can bomb here and there, but it cannot remove the love of the land and the attachment to it and the desire for independence from our hearts and our lives.”“To our partners in the homeland, we say: when you support Lebanese people in other regions, you are supporting Lebanon,” Sheikh Qassem said, “We do not ask for your support; we only ask that you do not stab us in the back.”
Sheikh Naim Qassem emphasized that the Lebanese government is primarily responsible for achieving national sovereignty by expelling the Israeli enemy, liberating the land, reconstruction, and freeing prisoners. He stressed that achieving these goals will open the doors to stability, prosperity, and solving problems in Lebanon easily and smoothly. Sheikh Qassem explained that understanding among the Lebanese is possible and easy, but they do not accept taking orders from any foreign party, and they refuse to have Lebanon shaped in others’ images. He considered that following up on Israeli aggression and violations against Lebanese sovereignty is the responsibility of the state. Sheikh Qassem praised the stance of President Jospeh Aoun in giving orders to the army to respond to Israeli incursions, affirming that such stances from the three presidents, ministers, and state officials form a basis that can be built upon.
“The government is responsible for expelling the enemy, protecting sovereignty, and stopping violations — and the President’s stance on this matter is a responsible one. The positions of the three presidents and several officials are constructive, and our stance is unified; let us strengthen our unity.”Sheikh Qassem called on the government to develop a plan that enables the army to confront the Israeli aggression, adding that Lebanon faces a real danger due to American savagery and Israeli expansionism. “The essence of patriotism lies in sovereignty, independence, and freedom. The goal of the Resistance is to protect the land and liberate the nation. Everyone in Lebanon bears responsibility in confronting the occupation according to their role and duty.”Justifying Israeli aggression serves the enemy; some must stop offering such excuses and pretexts, his eminence maintained. “Let Israel implement the agreement that Lebanon has already implemented. Any new agreement aiming to neutralize resistance or open a new door to aggression will be rejected — we will not accept stripping Lebanon of its strength.” It is worth noting that this year’s version of the exhibition takes place after a major Israeli aggression on Lebanon in the fall of 2024, which targeted the southern suburb of Beirut, the south, and the Bekaa, and destroyed many civilian facilities, including the Sayyid al-Shuhada complex, which hosts the exhibition’s events.

War-torn Wazzani works to bring water—and life—back to Lebanon's south
LBCI/October 31/2025
The recent Israeli war destroyed much of the infrastructure and disrupted life in Lebanon’s border villages, cutting off those who wanted to return. In the town of Wazzani—named after the river that runs alongside it—and neighboring villages, residents now face a water crisis. The war destroyed the Wazzani water pumping station, and scenes following the Israeli withdrawal show how it was blown up. Yet from the heart of the spring, repair work on the pump began, aiming to bring life back to the area. Restoring water pumping from the Wazzani spring marks an important first phase, but the second phase proved more complex. The Maysat station in Wazzani suffered major damage, including the destruction of its main water reservoir, the shelling of other tanks, and damage to the pumps and the facility building. Water pumping has not yet resumed to supply the 34 villages that rely on the Wazzani station, as work continues to repair the facility and the connected stations that distribute water. Efforts are ongoing to restore water to the villages before the end of the year, led by the International Committee of the Red Cross and the South Lebanon Water Establishment.
There is a determination to repair other infrastructure as well, to strengthen residents’ resilience and encourage the return of displaced families — but the real test will be ensuring these facilities are not targeted again.

Trump stirs global tensions with surprise nuclear test order
Agence France Presse/October 31, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump's surprise directive to begin nuclear weapons testing provoked global criticism on Friday, as it raised the specter of renewed superpower tensions.
The announcement on social media was issued just before Trump -- who boasts frequently about being a peace president -- went into a summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea. Trump's announcement left much unanswered -- chiefly whether he meant testing weapons systems or actually conducting test explosions, something the United States has not done since 1992. Key U.S. foe Iran on Friday called the directive "regressive and irresponsible", adding that it was a threat to international security. "A nuclear-armed bully is resuming testing of atomic weapons. The same bully has been demonizing Iran's peaceful nuclear program," foreign minister Abbas Araghchi posted on social media.
Japanese atomic bomb survivors group Nihon Hidankyo sent a letter of protest to the US embassy in Japan on Friday. The directive "directly contradicts the efforts by nations around the world striving for a peaceful world without nuclear weapons and is utterly unacceptable," the Nobel Peace Prize-winning group said in the letter obtained by AFP.
Global nuclear testing ban -
Following Trump's meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, China's foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun urged the United States to "earnestly abide" by a global nuclear testing ban. China and the United States observe a de facto moratorium on testing nuclear warheads, though Russia and the United States regularly run military drills involving nuclear-capable systems. United Nations chief Antonio Guterres said through his deputy spokesman that "nuclear testing can never be permitted under any circumstances."The United States has been a signatory since 1996 to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, which bans all atomic test explosions, whether for military or civilian purposes. Vice President JD Vance said the U.S. nuclear arsenal needed to be tested to ensure it actually "functions properly," but did not elaborate on what type of tests Trump had ordered. The president's statement "speaks for itself," Vance told reporters at the White House. "It's an important part of American national security to make sure that this nuclear arsenal we have actually functions properly, and that's part of a testing regime," he added. It came days after Russia declared it had tested nuclear-capable, nuclear-powered cruise missiles and sea drones."Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis," Trump said on Truth Social earlier this week. Trump also claimed that the United States has more nuclear weapons than any other country. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said in its latest annual report that Russia possesses 5,459 nuclear warheads, compared to 5,177 for the United States and 600 for China.
The Kremlin questioned whether Trump was well-informed about Russia's military activities. The recent weapons drills "cannot in any way be interpreted as a nuclear test," spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists. "We hope that the information was conveyed correctly to President Trump."Peskov then implied that Russia would conduct its own live warhead tests if Trump did it first. Further muddying the waters, Trump also repeated to reporters a previous claim that he wants negotiations with Russia and China on reducing nuclear weapons forces. "Denuclearization would be a tremendous thing," he said.
Last US test in 1992 -
The United States conducted 1,054 nuclear tests between July 16, 1945, when the first was conducted in New Mexico, and 1992. Its two nuclear attacks on Japan during World War II make it the only country to have used the weapons in combat. The last US nuclear test explosion was in September 1992, a 20-kiloton underground detonation at the Nevada Nuclear Security Site. Then-president George H.W. Bush imposed a moratorium on further tests in October 1992 that has been continued by successive administrations. Nuclear testing was replaced by non-nuclear and subcritical experiments using advanced computer simulations.

Lebanon Approves Ortagus Proposal to Include Civilians in Ceasefire Committee
Janoubia/October 31/2025
The “Al-Hadath” channel quoted a Lebanese presidential source confirming that Lebanon has approved Morgan Ortagus’s proposal to include civilians in the ceasefire committee. The same source added that Hezbollah has also agreed to Ortagus’s proposal for Lebanese negotiations with Israel. According to the report, Presidents Joseph Aoun, Nabih Berri, and Nawaf Salam have agreed that Lebanon will be represented by civilians in the ceasefire committee. The source clarified, however, that Lebanon “has not agreed to be represented in the negotiations with Israel by ministers or ambassadors.”President Joseph Aoun announced earlier today that Lebanon is ready to enter negotiations aimed at ending the Israeli occupation, stressing that “any dialogue cannot be one-sided; it must be based on mutual will, which has not yet been achieved.”During his meeting with German Foreign Minister Johann Vadewol, Aoun added that “the form, timing, and location of the negotiations will be determined later.” He further explained that “Lebanon’s decision to negotiate aims to reclaim occupied territories, secure the return of prisoners, and achieve a full withdrawal from the hills. However, the other side has shown no willingness to cooperate and has continued its aggressions in southern Lebanon and the Beqaa region, escalating tensions further.”It is worth noting that during her recent visit to Lebanon, U.S. envoy Morgan Ortagus presented a proposal to several Lebanese officials suggesting the expansion of the existing “mechanism” between Lebanon and Israel to include ministers alongside military representatives — a move intended to give the joint follow-up process a combined political and military character

Israel warns it 'won't bury its head in the sand' as Hezbollah tensions grow
Naharnet/October 31, 2025
Lebanon placed its army on high alert Thursday after President Joseph Aoun ordered troops to confront any Israeli incursion into the country’s south, following a deadly overnight Israeli army ground raid in the village of Blida near the border. According to Lebanese media reports, the army began deploying reinforcements and setting up new positions in southern villages, including in Blida. The Lebanese presidency said Aoun instructed the army commander, General Rodolphe Haykal, “to confront any Israeli incursion into the liberated lands of southern Lebanon to defend Lebanon’s territory and the safety of its citizens.”The order came hours after Israeli troops entered the Blida municipal building. A municipal worker, identified as Ibrahim Salameh, was killed in the operation. Lebanese media said he was shot while sleeping in the building, describing the incident as “an execution.”
Meanwhile, Israel’s security cabinet met Thursday evening to discuss the situation in Lebanon amid claims that the group is rebuilding its military capabilities with Iran’s support. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, meeting with U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert in Jerusalem, said Hezbollah “continues to intensify its efforts to recover and rebuild its strength with Iran’s backing. This is dangerous to Israel’s security just as it threatens Lebanon’s future. Israel cannot bury its head in the sand in the face of this trend.”

Disarmament and Elections on the Agenda in Bkerkeh
This is Beirut/October 31, 2025
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on Friday declared that a “decision has been made” to confiscate illegal weapons across the country, affirming that the Lebanese Army has already presented a plan for implementation. “There will be no reversal of the decision to confiscate weapons,” Salam said following a meeting with Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai in Bkerke, stressing that “in less than a week, we will receive a new report from the army commander concerning this issue.” The prime minister noted that the government had also taken “serious steps” to address the issue of weapons in Palestinian camps, revealing that more than 20 truckloads of heavy arms had been handed over to the authorities. “This is an ongoing process that we have not yet completed,” he added. Turning to border tensions, Salam said Lebanon is “witnessing an Israeli escalation,” stressing that the government is “working through the established mechanism and through Arab and international channels to mobilize all capabilities to return to the ceasefire agreement.”On domestic matters, the prime minister confirmed that parliamentary elections will be held on their constitutional date. “We are working as a government on this basis, and this is not open to discussion,” he said.
He added that a small parliamentary commission had been formed to review the implementation of the electoral law, acknowledging that “certain gaps and ambiguities remain,” while emphasizing that this is “a matter for the legislative branch” and therefore “beyond the government’s scope of action.”The Prime Minister also spoke about his recent meeting with Pope Leo XIV, calling it “very important and fruitful,” and expressed hope that the Pope’s upcoming visit to Lebanon, scheduled for November 30 to December 2, “will be highly positive.”

Caught between Israeli violations and Hezbollah’s unyielding posture, Lebanon faces unpredictable escalation
The Arab Weekly/October 31/2025
Developments put more strain on the ceasefire with Israeli warplanes flying over the presidential palace in Beirut..
Caught between Hezbollah’s unwillingness to disarm and Israel’s desire to impose its total control over developments north of the border, the Lebanese state finds itself facing an unpredictable escalation which risks triggering a military showdown it cannot afford. Feeling compelled to stand up for his country’s sovereignty, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun instructed the army on Thursday to confront any Israeli incursion into southern Lebanon after Israeli forces crossed the border overnight and killed a municipal employee, despite a US-brokered ceasefire. Aoun’s decision was described by analysts as a token decision but still unprecedented. Lebanon’s army has historically stayed on the sidelines of major conflicts with Israel, and has not confronted the Israeli military in recent months. The new development seemed to further strain the ceasefire. with Israeli warplanes flying over the presidential palace in Beirut, shortly after Aoun’s first order for the army to engage Israeli troops since he became president in January. Lebanese militant group Hezbollah called for support for the army in confronting Israel. “Hezbollah urges full support for the army with all available capabilities to enhance its defensive strength and provide it with the necessary political cover to confront this savage enemy,” the group said in a statement. The United States is said to be frustrated over the slow pace of the Lebanese government’s enforcement of the disarmament of Hezbollah, which is unwilling to relinquish its weapons north of the Litani. The US military estimates the Lebanese army has since the ceasefire with Israel removed 10,000 rockets and 400 missiles from Hezbollah’s arsenal, which included between 120,000 and 200,000 projectiles before the war.
Washington wants the Lebanese state to move more aggressively against Hezbollah while the government continues to take care to avoid a confrontation with the Iran-backed party or provoke unrest among the country’s Shia. To further pressure Lebanese authorities, Washington is willing to tolerate Israel’s incursions provided they do not spin into a full fledged showdown upending its vision of normalised relations between Israel and Lebanon in the future, say Middle East analysts. Despite the Lebanese fears of a new war, the analysts believe it is unlikely Israel would launch a major onslaught on Lebanon in the near future. “For now, Israel’s main concern remains Iran” while “Hezbollah remains a side show, one the Israelis may yet prefer to resolve by crippling Tehran”, wrote recently Michael Young for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Israel has continued air strikes and limited ground operations in Lebanese territory since the ceasefire. It says its actions are intended to prevent Hezbollah from rebuilding its military presence in the south, while Lebanon accuses Israel of violating the truce. On Wednesday morning, Israeli troops entered the border town of Blida and fired at the municipality building, killing an unarmed worker there, the Lebanese army said in a statement, calling it ‘a criminal act’ and a violation of the ceasefire agreement. Aoun asked army commander General Rudolph Haykal “to have the Lebanese army confront any Israeli incursion into the liberated southern territories, in defence of Lebanese lands and the safety of citizens,” a statement from the presidency said. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam condemned the incursion as “a flagrant aggression against Lebanese state institutions and sovereignty”.
The Israeli military said that during an operation to “dismantle Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure in the Blida area in southern Lebanon, the troops identified a suspect inside the structure”. It added that “an immediate threat against the troops was identified, and they fired to remove it”, noting the “incident is under review”.The Israeli military accused Hezbollah of using the building “for terrorist activity under the guise of civilian infrastructure”. After deploying to the site at 4 am the Lebanese army found no military infrastructure in the building and saw pockmarks indicating Israeli troops had fired heavily from outside the building, a Lebanese security official said. Aoun condemned the attack as part of a pattern of Israeli aggression and said it was launched shortly after a meeting of an international ceasefire monitoring committee that is chaired by the US The five-member committee, which includes the United States and France, is in charge of overseeing the implementation of the truce. The Lebanese president urged the committee to go beyond recording violations and to press Israel to abide by the November 27, 2024, ceasefire agreement and halt its breaches of Lebanese sovereignty. On Wednesday, during the meeting of the ceasefire’s monitors in the Lebanese border city of Naqoura, US envoy Morgan Ortagus said Washington welcomed the “decision to bring all weapons under state control by the end of the year”.
The Lebanese army “must now fully implement its plan”, she added. During a meeting on Tuesday with Ortagus, Aoun called for an end to Israeli strikes. Trying to accommodate the demands of the Shia community and its political leadership, he also emphasised “the need to enable southern citizens to return to their homes and repair damaged ones, especially with winter approaching”.

Israeli-Lebanon Ceasefire Shows Cracks as Aoun Calls on Lebanese Army To Confront IDF
FDD/October 31/2025
Latest Developments
Response to IDF Operation Against Hezbollah: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun instructed the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) to “confront” IDF troops when they cross the border into Lebanon to carry out operations. Aoun made the comment following an overnight raid by the IDF in the border town of Blida. The IDF said that the raid was conducted to dismantle Hezbollah infrastructure. IDF troops reportedly opened fire on a municipal building after identifying “an immediate threat,” killing a worker identified as Ibrahim Salameh, who was sleeping in the building. The IDF stated that the incident is under review.
Tensions With Israel Rise as Lebanon Is Slow to Disarm Hezbollah: Israel has conducted frequent airstrikes and occasional commando raids in southern Lebanon and the Beqaa Valley to prevent Hezbollah from rearming and rebuilding its infrastructure, actions that violate the ceasefire agreed to in November 2024. In August, Aoun’s government endorsed a plan to disarm Hezbollah nationwide, consolidating all arms in the country under the LAF. So far, the LAF has made little progress in disarming Hezbollah, leading to Israeli media reporting that Israeli officials are considering intensifying combat operations in Lebanon “in light of Hezbollah’s efforts to strengthen its presence” and “trying, and even succeeding, in restoring its offensive and defensive capabilities.”U.S.-Lebanon Joint Military Exercises: U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) announced the conclusion of the weeklong joint maritime exercise “Resolute Union 26” with the Lebanese Armed Forces-Navy (LAF-N) on October 30. The exercises focused on “maritime security operations, including visit, board, search, and seizure, as well as explosive ordnance disposal and diving.” The United States has been the LAF’s primary partner, providing funding to pay salaries and equipment in an effort to bolster its strength against Hezbollah. On October 29, U.S. Deputy Envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus urged Beirut to speed up the disarmament of Hezbollah to meet its goal of completing the process by the end of the year.
FDD Expert Response
“Aoun’s statement is largely symbolic but important. He knows the LAF cannot confront the IDF in any meaningful way. But he’s signaling to the Lebanese that the LAF and the Lebanese state are their sole defenders. However, in so doing, he’s giving in to Hezbollah’s post-ceasefire demand that the Lebanese government confront Israel. Even without armed action against Israel, if Aoun proceeds without first disarming Hezbollah — the sole reason for Israel’s operations and presence in Lebanon — by force, if necessary, he will have officially aligned Lebanon with Hezbollah as a direct and active adversary of Israel, granting the group a significant political victory.” — David Daoud, Senior Fellow
“Lebanon signed on to the Cessation of Hostilities, which stipulates disarming Hezbollah, but has not upheld its commitment, forcing Israel to do Beirut’s job. When President Aoun says that his army will counter any Israeli incursion against Hezbollah, he is putting the two states on a collision course.” — Hussain Abdul-Hussain, Research Fellow

Beirut and Wily Words
Mustafa Fahs/Asharq Al-Awsat/October 31/2025
A country that once took pride in its distinct sectarian diversity, Lebanon now finds itself overwhelmed by an excess of plurality, leading to the conflation of plurality and arithmetic being added to the longstanding conflation of sects and sectarianism. The late Imam Mohammad Mahdi Shamseddine once said that “sects are a blessing, while sectarianism is a curse.” This characterization, which we often see invoked in reference to the Lebanese and their multitude of sects, suggests that the components of this rich mosaic - a large portion of them - often operate in thoroughly sectarian ways in their daily political, social, cultural, and at times, even economic interactions, deepening mutual resentments.
Sects and sectarianism, as well as the state and authority, have given rise to many narratives. However, the abundance of narratives is not necessarily a sign of intellectual or political dynamism, nor a reflection of Lebanon’s vast mix of ideas, texts, and worldviews. Indeed, it stems from domestic disputes between factions whose regime is tailored to their interests and shaped by their struggle for power and their ties to foreign powers. Everything from the official to the unofficial narrative - whether relayed by the three branches of government, state institutions, political parties, the media, or echoed by certain intellectual, cultural, political, or economic elites - remains both a blessing and a curse. Much of it is merely “wily words.” The stream of regional and international envoys arriving in Beirut is gaining steam, and the wily words grow louder with it. From the visit of Egyptian envoy and intelligence chief General Hassan Rashad to that of US envoy Morgan Ortagus, and the arrival of Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit in the interim, the public has been flooded by contradictory statements.
Each official conveys a different mood, and every domestic actor spins to suit their narrative. Rashad’s visit, for instance, brought to mind the visit of a European counterpart who had come to Beirut from Tel Aviv just weeks after the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation. The European envoy warned Lebanese officials that, in Tel Aviv, he “met only madmen. If you don’t stop the support front, then from north to south, Lebanon will become a bank of targets.”
Rashad’s message may not have been identical in timing or circumstance; the statements emerging from Beirut appeared outwardly positive, and they have seemingly reassured the Lebanese. Ortagus also reportedly spoke of encouraging Lebanese steps, while parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who is directly concerned with the situation in southern Lebanon, was quoted as saying there would be no war and that the panic was unfounded. Such words invite suspicion. We should see them as wily words, especially since every visit to Beirut seems to produce multiple versions of the same story.
It might be reasonable for the political class not to disclose everything it knows. However, it is unreasonable for the authorities to spread narratives that contradict their conversations behind closed doors. Realism is indeed necessary. Even if war is not imminent and even if local actors are fearmongering, failing to tell the Lebanese that the solutions will be difficult, that tensions will persist, and that sterile disputes endure to deceive, is meant to conceal the structural crisis of the authorities and coax foreign actors.
In Lebanon, the narratives change by the hour, by the day, and by the visit. Most of the time, the narrative seeks to deceive, and it is usually illogically untenable in both its claims and demands. The Lebanese people need a dose of honesty and realism, especially those of the South, not more wily words. Because ultimately, he who deceives us is not one of us.

Us and Our History
Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al-Awsat/October 31/2025
Since the early-mid nineteenth century, with the reforms of Egypt’s Ibrahim Pasha and the Ottomans’ Tanzimat, two broad historical narratives have been wrestling over history and, by extension, reality. However, these two grand narratives have branched off into many sub-narratives, with new branches emerging to this day. The reforms in Egypt and the Tanzimat- attempts to transfer some of the European experience’s lessons to the region and incorporate some aspects of European modernity into the region- triggered a flood of acrid controversy and even more bloodshed in Syrian and Lebanese cities and towns.
With the 1908 coup d'etat that reinstated the constitution Sultan Abdul Hamid had suspended, the great divide manifested itself once again, with a sharp class dimension becoming an additional layer to these alignments that had been formed along religious, sectarian, and ethnic lines.
However, Kemal Atatürk's abolition of the Caliphate in 1924 was the event that shook and mobilized the Islamic world from end to end. In this earthquake, some saw adaptation to the post-imperial world of nation-states ushered in by the First World War. Far greater numbers of people, however, saw it as the end of imperial glory and opposed the idea of removing religion from the public arena. The men who fielded themselves to be the next caliph were neither few nor unimportant. Among them were King Fuad I of Egypt and Sharif Hussein ibn Ali, and an "Islamic Congress for the {defunct} Caliphate” was also held in Egypt in mid 1926.
Having shown that it cannot be rekindled or retrieved, the caliphate became the subject of extensive and drawn out political debate. For example, Hajj Amin al-Husseini pushed a narrative that his rival, Fawzi al-Qawuqji, who would subsequently command the ‘’Arab Salvation Army,’’ had been a British agent. The latter hit back with claims that Husseini had been colluding with the Germans to revive the caliphate. A rumor spread that, having been defeated at El Alamein and Russia, the Nazis were seeking to compensate for these setbacks by winning over Muslims in British India. According to this narrative, Husseini was to be the new caliph, with Sultan Abdulmejid II, the last surviving (in Paris) sultan at the time, abdicating to him.
We continue to hear echoes of reviving the caliphate and sultanate to this day. In the literature of extremist Islamic movements, the abolition of the caliphate is the root cause of our world’s damnation, while history will not correct course until it is restored.
Meanwhile, national identification, which is supposed to bring people together and unify them, failed to survive the bitter divisions. Egyptian national identity, which fits the paradigm better than any of its Arab equivalents, rests on two antithetical referential conceptions to this day. Pioneered by Mustafa Kamil and Muhammad Farid in the late nineteenth century, the first emphasizes Egypt's Islamic identity, rejecting secession from the Ottoman Empire at the time and advocating for a privileged position for Egypt within it. The other emerged in the early twentieth century; pioneered by Ahmad Lutfi al-Sayyid and Saad Zaghloul, it emphasizes secularism and conceives of the country as a fully-fledged national entity.
In Lebanon and Iraq, national identity was developed in line with the Egyptian model, with each "patriot" accusing the other “patriots” of treason and selling out the homeland, whose definition and nature were contested, to colonialism, a similarly contested notion.
Whenever political disputes became over-statured with vitriol, cultural disputes made room. In this way, we found some among us drawing on the Abbasid era the notion of "Shoubiyya" to attack their "brothers in the homeland," while others split their "brothers" into "the constant" (them) and "the changing" (us).
As to when it seemed that this spalling fragmentation could not be explained through Israel alone, "Orientalism" was rushed in to save us and safeguard a pristine image of our conditions.
With phenomena and labels like "Umayyadism" resurfacing and the discovery that May 6 1916 is not fit to be a holiday, and as a minorities conference is held in Israel, the scale of this schism, which cannot be mended through condemnation of Orientalists nor condemnation of Israel (though the latter certainly deserves condemnation), is currently being reaffirmed. As for (the much-appreciated) solidarity "with us," as soon as it leaves New York and London to get a little closer, it finds itself confronted with a question: Should solidarity be given to our Umayyads or to our Abbasids? To the constant or the changing?
The renowned French historian Fernand Braudel distinguishes between three forms of history based on the time-span covered. The history of an "eventement" covers one to eight years, making it suitable for studying wars, revolutions, election campaigns, and individual biographies. The history of a "conjuncture" covers twenty to fifty years; it is particularly useful for understanding economic and technological developments, scientific revolutions, and artistic movements. As for “longue durée’’ history, it is measured in centuries and revolves around the slow, gradual transformations in nature, and the geographic history of countries. This is the deepest among histories: if the history of an "eventement" resembles the surface of water and the history of a "conjuncture" is like a powerful current of water, then ‘’longue durée’’ history is the tide- the deepest and most fundamental force channeling the water.
Since our conflicts tend to take after natural and biological events, they- and generations of us with them- risk becoming longue durée history, with one crucial difference in the final outcome.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on October 31-November 01/2025
US backs repeal of Caesar Act sanctions on Syria, State Department says
Reuters/31 October/2025
A US State Department spokesperson said the Trump administration supports repealing the Caesar Act sanctions on Syria through the National Defense Authorization Act bill, which is being discussed by US lawmakers at the moment. “The United States is in regular communication with regional partners and welcomes any investment or engagement in Syria that supports the chance for all Syrians to have a peaceful and prosperous country,” the spokesperson said.

German FM discusses return of refugees, help with reconstruction during visit to Syria
The Arab Weekly/October 31/2025
Wadephul said Germany had a “special obligation” to help with reconstruction in Syria.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul discussed the possible return of Syrian refugees with President Ahmed al-Sharaa during a visit to Damascus on Thursday.Germany has a large Syrian community, with hundreds of thousands having settled there after fleeing the civil war.Wadephul said it was “in the understandable interest of the Syrian government to create the conditions for as many Syrians as possible to return”.However, this was currently “only possible to a very limited extent, because a great deal of infrastructure in this country has been destroyed”, he added. “Anyone who wants to return to Syria will be given a tearful send-off by us. But we will understand that perfectly well.”As the German government looks to crack down on migration to curb the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), its leaders have sought to resume deportations to Syria. But Wadephul said this applied to only “very few exceptional cases of truly serious criminals”.Germany has a large Syrian community, with hundreds of thousands settling there after fleeing the civil war. “Many have not only found protection here, but also a new home,” Wadephul said. “Some are also considering returning to Syria to rebuild their country. I would like to deepen this special relationship between our countries together with our partners in Syria.” Wadephul said Germany had a “special obligation” to help with reconstruction in Syria. He vowed that Berlin would “work in a very practical manner to ensure that German companies can operate here”.According to the United Nations, one million Syrian refugees have returned from abroad since the fall of Bashar al-Assad late last year. Syria’s foreign ministry said in a statement he and Wadephul had discussed bilateral relations “as well as ways to enhance cooperation in the political, economic and humanitarian fields”. This was Wadephul’s first trip to Syria, though his predecessor Annalena Baerbock visited twice, most recently in March to reopen the German embassy in Damascus. As part of his visit, Wadephul was taken on a tour of Harasta, a Damascus neighbourhood heavily bombed by the Assad government. He said the scenes were “reminiscent of the images we saw from Germany in 1945 after World War II”.Syria has been ruled by a new radical Islamist-led government since the overthrow of Assad in December.Its relations with the West have warmed, the United States lifting sanctions and European governments developing closer ties. However, Syria has seen continued unrest, including clashes between different religious and ethnic groups often involving the new government’s security forces and their allies. “Syria faces immense challenges,” Wadephul said. “It needs a government that guarantees all citizens, regardless of gender, religious, ethnic or social affiliation, a life of dignity and security.”Wadephul and a German delegation will also head to Lebanon and Bahrain during this Middle East trip, his ministry said.

Israel returns remains of 30 more Palestinians to Gaza
AFP/31 October/2025
Israel has returned the bodies of 30 more Palestinians to Gaza as part of an ongoing exchange deal under a US-brokered ceasefire plan, a hospital told AFP on Friday. Al-Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis told AFP that “the bodies of 30 Palestinian prisoners were received from the Israeli side as part of the exchange deal.”Under the truce, Israel is to return the remains of 15 Palestinians for every deceased Israeli hostage returned by Hamas. Friday’s transfer brings the number returned to Gaza to 225. The bodies were brought to Al-Nasser by the Red Cross, after being handed over by Israel, as has been the case in previous exchanges, the hospital said. Under the October 10 ceasefire plan, Hamas has already returned 20 surviving hostages taken two years ago during its October 7, 2023 assault on Israel. It has also begun sending back the bodies of 28 deceased hostages known to be missing, but the process has been slow and Israeli anger is mounting. Hamas has sent back 15 bodies identified as Israeli hostages and those of two foreign workers - one Thai and one Nepalese - also taken in the October 7 attack. It has also returned the partial remains of a deceased Israeli hostage who had already been recovered, as well as an unidentified body that had not been listed among the 28 missing. There are 10 bodies of October 7 hostages thought to remain in Gaza, plus one more missing since 2014. All are Israeli apart from one Tanzanian and a Thai. The Israeli government has accused Hamas of breaking the truce agreement, and families of the hostages have demanded tougher action to force the Palestinian group to comply. Hamas insists it is committed to the ceasefire plan but is struggling to find the remaining dead because two years of Israeli bombardments have erased Gazan landmarks. Egyptian recovery teams equipped with earth-moving equipment have joined the effort to search for the bodies.

Israeli attacks kill three Palestinians in Gaza, testing fragile truce
Reuters/31 October/2025
The Israeli military attacked the Gaza Strip for a fourth day on Friday, killing three people, Palestinian health authorities said, in another test of a fragile ceasefire agreement. Residents reported Israeli shelling and gunfire in northern Gaza on Friday, as Israel continued to bombard areas of the enclave despite saying that it remains committed to a ceasefire brokered by US President Donald Trump. The Israeli military did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment. Another Palestinian died of wounds sustained from previous Israeli shelling, the Palestinian WAFA news agency reported. The US-brokered ceasefire, which left thorny issues like the disarmament of Hamas and a timeline for Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip unresolved, has been tested by periodic outbreaks of violence since it came into place three weeks ago.Between Tuesday and Wednesday, Israel retaliated for the death of an Israeli soldier with bombardments that Gaza health authorities said killed 104 people.
More bodies handed over
Gaza’s health ministry said the Red Cross had delivered to it 30 bodies of Palestinians killed by Israel during the war, a day after Hamas handed over two bodies of hostages. Under the ceasefire accord, Hamas released all living hostages held in Gaza in return for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and wartime detainees, while Israel agreed to pull back its troops, halt its offensive and increase aid. Hamas also agreed to hand over the remains of all 28 dead hostages in exchange for 360 Palestinian militants killed in the war. After Thursday’s release, it had handed over 17 bodies, while 225 Palestinian bodies have so far been returned to Gaza. Hamas has said that it will take time to locate and retrieve the bodies of all the remaining hostages. Israel has accused Hamas of violating the truce by stalling in the handover. Two years of conflict in Gaza have killed over 68,000 Palestinians, according to Gazan health authorities and left the enclave in ruins. Israel launched the war after Hamas-led fighters attacked southern Israel in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and bringing 251 hostages back to Gaza.

Palestinians bury 15-year-old shot by Israeli forces in West Bank
AFP, Ramallah/31 October/2025
Crowds of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank town of Silwad attended the funeral of a 15-year-old boy on Friday after he was shot dead by Israeli forces overnight. About 200 mourners clapped and chanted as they carried the body of Yamen Hamed, wrapped in a Palestinian flag, through the crowded streets. Some waved Palestinian flags, while others clutched those representing Hamas and its longtime rival Fatah - the party of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas. Inside, women sobbed over the teenager’s body, stroking and kissing his face. Women sobbed over the teenager’s body, stroking and kissing his face. Earlier on Friday, the Palestinian health ministry had announced the death of “Yamen Samed Yousef Hamed... by occupation bullets in Silwad, northeast of Ramallah.”When asked by AFP about the incident, the Israeli military said that during an operation in Silwad, “a terrorist was identified with a suspicious flaming object that was suspected to be an explosive device.”“After identification, the soldiers responded with fire and eliminated the terrorist,” it added. Yousef Hamed, the boy’s father, said his son had been joyful in his final moments. “Right before, he was at home with us, happy and playing,” he told AFP.
“Usually, when he leaves, he just says: ‘Bye, I’m leaving’. This time as he was leaving, he said goodbye to each of his brothers, his mother, everyone, one by one.... It was as if he somehow felt it this time, or God inspired him,” he added. “He said goodbye to everyone, then he left, but did not come back.”
Violence in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, has soared since the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023 triggered the Gaza war. A new ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect in the territory on October 10, mediated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar. At least 996 Palestinians, including militants, have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces or settlers since the start of the war in Gaza, according to the Ramallah-based Palestinian health ministry.During the same period, 43 Israelis, including soldiers, have been killed in Palestinian attacks, according to official Israeli figures.

As the guns fall silent, Gazans find newly-reopened banks have no cash
Reuters/October 31, 2025
GAZA/CAIRO: The ceasefire in Gaza has eased the trauma of Israel’s air strikes and blockade but a shortage of cash has left Palestinians unable to spend what little money they have without falling victim to wartime profiteers. Banks, many damaged or destroyed along with homes, schools and other institutions across Gaza during two years of war, began reopening on October 16, six days after the ceasefire was announced. Queues soon formed but people came away disappointed. “There is no money, liquidity at the bank,” said father-of-six Wael Abu Fares, 61, standing outside the Bank of Palestine. “You just come and do paperwork transactions and leave.”People need cash for most everyday transactions in Gaza, whether to buy food in the market or pay utility bills, but Israel blocked transfers of banknotes along with most other goods following the attack and mass hostage-taking by Hamas-led militants in October 2023.
HUGE FEES TO CASH SALARIES
“Banks are open, Air conditioning is on, but they are mostly doing electronic business, no deposits, no withdrawals of cash,” Gaza economist Mohammad Abu Jayyab told Reuters. “People go to some greedy merchants to cash their salaries and they give them cash for a huge fee, which ranges between 20 percent and sometimes goes to 40 percent.”Mother-of-seven Iman Al-Ja’bari longs for a time when transactions at banks used to take less than an hour. “You need two or three days to go back and forth, back and forth, spending your whole life standing there,” she said. “And in the end, you only get 400 or 500 shekels ($123 or $153). What can this (amount) buy with the incredibly high prices today that we can’t afford?.”For a few Palestinians, the cash crunch has provided an opportunity to eke out a living. Manal Al-Saidi, 40, repairs damaged banknotes to cover some basic needs. “I work and I make 20, 30 shekels ($6, $9), and I leave with a loaf of bread, beans for dinner, falafel, anything, something simple,” she said, wiping notes. “Not that I can get (afford) vegetables or anything, no, just enough to get by.”Some people resort to electronic transfers through bank apps for even small items such as eggs or sugar, but the sellers apply additional fees. The issue of cash supplies into Gaza was not included in US President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan, which also left the details of reconstruction and security to be decided. COGAT, the arm of the Israeli military that oversees aid flows into the Gaza Strip, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether or when banknotes may be allowed back in. The shortage of notes and coins has compounded the crisis for Gazans who have lost relatives, jobs and homes, used up their savings and sold their possessions to buy food, tents and medications. Some have resorted to barter to get by. Palestinian merchant Samir Namrouti, 53, has got used to banknotes that are almost unrecognizable through overuse. “What matters to me is its serial number. As long as its serial number is there, that’s it, I treat it as money,” he said.

Ankara awaits Israeli go-ahead to send rescuers to Gaza, US wants Turkish peacekeepers
The Arab Weekly/October 31/2025
Washington wants Turkey involved in Gaza international peacekeeping, along with Qatar and Egypt, reported US website Axios
Washington wants Turkish troops to be part of any future international force in Gaza while Turkish rescuers are still waiting by the Gaza border for Israeli approval to help with search and rescue operations, a defence ministry source said Thursday.The 81-member team from the AFAD disaster management left for the Gaza border just over a week ago with specialised search-and-rescue tools, including life-detection devices and trained search dogs. But they need Israel’s approval to enter Gaza, which has been largely reduced to rubble after two years of Israeli bombardments.“AFAD is still waiting at the border. Israel still did not issue any authorisation” for the team to enter, the source said. Israel’s relationship with Turkey has nosedived since the Gaza war started in October 2023 with Israel’s Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu adamantly opposed to a Turkish presence in Gaza. Ankara is hoping its role as a guarantor of the recent Gaza ceasefire will give it some leverage and allow it to participate in the international peacekeeping mission currently being put together. Washington wants Turkey involved, along with Qatar and Egypt, reported US website Axios, because it sees them as best able to get Hamas “to agree and to behave,” according to a US official. “The Turks were very helpful in getting the Gaza deal and Netanyahu’s bashing Turkey has been very counterproductive,” the US official said. “We are aware of the Israeli concerns and are working to create something that can achieve stability and that both sides can find acceptable,” the official added. The Turkish defence ministry source said efforts to establish a task force were ongoing, with Turkey “still in contact” with counterparts over its participation, and its military “ready” to get involved if needed. “Turkey is one of the architects of the ceasefire and signed the agreement. We did all our preparations and are waiting,” the source said. Earlier this week, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said only countries that were “at least fair” to Israel could send troops to secure Gaza, ruling out Turkey’s participation over its “hostile statements” and “diplomatic and economic measures” against Israel.
“It is not reasonable for us to let their armed forces enter (the) Gaza Strip, and we will not agree to that,” he added.

Turkey says Gaza meeting to be held on Monday amid ceasefire concerns
Reuters/31 October/2025
Foreign ministers of some Muslim countries will meet in Istanbul on Monday to discuss the Gaza ceasefire and next steps there, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Friday, voicing concern over whether the ceasefire will continue. Speaking at a press conference in Ankara, Fidan said the gathering would include foreign ministers of countries represented at a meeting with US President Donald Trump in New York in September. That meeting, to discuss the situation in Gaza, was attended by Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Pakistan and Indonesia. “The topics being discussed currently are how to proceed to the second stage, the stability force,” Fidan said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted last week at his opposition to any role for Turkish security forces in the Gaza Strip as part of a mission to monitor a US-backed ceasefire with the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Trump-Putin summit cancelled after Moscow sends memo to Washington: Report
Reuters/31 October/2025
The United States cancelled a planned Budapest summit between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin following Russia’s firm stance on hardline demands regarding Ukraine, the Financial Times reported on Friday. The decision came after a tense call between the two countries’ top diplomats, the Financial Times said, citing people familiar with the matter. Reuters could not immediately verify the FT report. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Officials in the Russian government were not immediately available for comment. Plans for a summit in Budapest this month between Trump and Putin were put on hold after Moscow stuck to demands, including that Ukraine cede more territory as a condition for a ceasefire. Trump has backed Ukraine’s call for an immediate ceasefire on current lines. Days after Trump and Putin had agreed to meet in the Hungarian capital to discuss how to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, the Russian foreign ministry sent a memo to Washington underlining the same demands to address what Putin calls the “root causes” of his invasion, which include territorial concessions, a steep reduction of Ukraine’s armed forces and guarantees it will never join NATO, the newspaper reported. The US then cancelled the summit following a call between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, after which Rubio told Trump that Moscow was showing no willingness to negotiate, the FT report added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this month that while Ukraine is ready for peace talks, it will not withdraw its troops from additional territory first as Moscow demanded.

Trump says he is not considering strikes within Venezuela
Reuters/31 October/2025
President Donald Trump on Friday denied he was considering strikes inside Venezuela, appearing to contradict his own comments from last week and amid intensifying expectations that Washington may soon expand drug-trafficking-related operations. The United States has built up a large military presence in the Caribbean in recent months, with fighter jets, warships and thousands of troops. That presence will significantly expand in the coming weeks with the arrival of the Gerald Ford aircraft carrier strike group. On Friday, when asked by reporters on Air Force One if media reports that he was considering strikes within Venezuela were true, Trump said: “No.”It was not immediately clear if Trump was ruling out future strikes inside Venezuela or simply saying no final decision had been made yet.
At least 14 boats already targeted
In recent weeks, Trump has publicly said that his administration will carry out strikes against drug-related targets inside Venezuela. “The land is going to be next,” Trump told reporters last week. The US campaign in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific has already targeted at least 14 boats that Washington said were involved in the illegal drug trade, killing 61 people. While the exact timing of any land strikes is unclear, officials close to Trump had suggested it could be soon. Senator Lindsey Graham, a senior Republican lawmaker, on Sunday said Trump had told him the administration planned to brief lawmakers on military operations against Venezuela and Colombia when he returned from his trip to Asia. Trump returned to Washington on Thursday. A US official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the military had provided a range of options, including strikes against military facilities inside Venezuela, such as runways. That is not a surprise given the nexus between Venezuela’s military and drug trafficking. The Venezuelan opposition, watchdog groups and some Latin American neighbors have long accused the Venezuelan government - especially the military - of having ties to the drug trade, particularly in the country’s west, along the border with Colombia. President Nicolas Maduro’s government has always denied any criminal connections. Maduro has repeatedly alleged that the US is hoping to drive him from power.

Israel returns remains of 30 more Palestinians to Gaza
Agence France Presse/October 31/2025
Israel has returned the bodies of 30 more Palestinians to Gaza as part of an ongoing exchange deal under a US-brokered ceasefire plan, a hospital told AFP on Friday. The Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis told AFP that "the bodies of 30 Palestinian prisoners were received from the Israeli side as part of the exchange deal". Under the truce, Israel is to return the remains of 15 Palestinians for every deceased Israeli hostage returned by Hamas. Friday's transfer brings the number returned to Gaza to 225. The bodies were brought to Nasser by the Red Cross, after being handed over by Israel, as has been the case in previous exchanges, the hospital said. Under the October 10 ceasefire plan, Hamas has already returned 20 surviving hostages taken two years ago during its October 7, 2023 assault on Israel. It has also begun sending back the bodies of 28 deceased hostages known to be missing, but the process has been slow and Israeli anger is mounting. Hamas has sent back 15 bodies identified as Israeli hostages and those of two foreign workers -- one Thai and one Nepalese -- also taken in the October 7 attack. It has also returned the partial remains of a deceased Israeli hostage who had already been recovered, as well as an unidentified body that had not been listed among the 28 missing. There are 10 bodies of October 7 hostages thought to remain in Gaza, plus one more missing since 2014. All are Israeli apart from one Tanzanian and a Thai. The Israeli government has accused Hamas of breaking the truce agreement, and families of the hostages have demanded tougher action to force the Palestinian group to comply. Hamas insists it is committed to the ceasefire plan but is struggling to find the remaining dead because two years of Israeli bombardments have erased Gazan landmarks. Egyptian recovery teams equipped with earth-moving equipment have joined the effort to search for the bodies.

UN decries high number of arrests, executions in Iran since 12-day war with Israel
The Arab Weekly/October 31/2025
With the 21,000 people arrested by Iranian authorities during the 12-day war, the Islamic Republic targeted a broad swathe of Iran’s civil society.
United Nations researchers on Thursday denounced Iran’s intensification of oppression since the country’s 12-day war with Israel in June, with more than 21,000 arrests and mistreatment of minorities and journalists. “Since March of this year, we have documented further deterioration of the human rights situation in Iran,” said Sara Hossain, who heads the Independent International Fact Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran, a body established by the UN Human Rights Council in 2022. “Air strikes by Israel on Iranian territory and a subsequent domestic crackdown by the Iranian authorities further constricted civic space, undermined due process, and eroded respect for the right to life.”With the 21,000 people arrested by Iranian authorities during the 12-day war, Hossain said the Islamic Republic targeted a broad swathe of Iran’s civil society, including “lawyers, human rights defenders, journalists and even social media users who simply published content relating to the hostilities.”Iran has also ramped up executions, with more than 1,200 to date in 2025, already exceeding the 2024 total, which was the highest recorded figure in Iran since 2015. “There are strong indications that the government of Iran continues to systematically implement the death penalty in ways that contravene international human rights law,” Hossain said. The investigation also found that the Islamic Republic’s repression of ethnic and religious minorities has “intensified” with “over 330 Kurds and large numbers of Arabs” arrested and “hundreds of thousands of Afghans” deported, Hossain said. Iran has accused members of the Baha’i faith of being “Zionist spies,” targeting them in house raids and confiscating their property, Hossain said. The probe also found Iran’s government continuously deactivates journalists’ SIM cards, and repression of the press is “not confined to Iran’s borders,” she added. “We have received information indicating that over 45 journalists face credible threats in seven countries for reporting on events in Iran,” Hossain said, denouncing the intimidation and surveillance as violations of free expression and security.
Hossain noted that current repressions reflect “a recurring pattern where the government of Iran responds to protests and dissent with intense repression marked by human rights violations.”The Islamic Republic has repeatedly cracked down on protest movements, including a university student uprising in 1999 and 2009’s Green Movement, in response to the contested re-election of then-president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Hossain’s UN mission was created in the wake of Iran’s harsh crackdowns on the “Women, Life, Freedom” protests in 2022, which were sparked by the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after she was arrested for allegedly flouting modesty laws for women. “Repressive measures and policies continue to deprive women and girls of their fundamental rights,” she said.The mission also examined Israel’s deadly air strikes on Evin prison. “Our preliminary investigation indicates that the Israeli air strikes hit civilian buildings in the prison complex, which do not constitute legitimate military objectives, and that the strikes on these buildings were likely intentional,” Hossain said. She added that Iranian authorities may have failed to take reasonable measures to protect detainees.

Iran FM calls US resuming nuclear tests ‘regressive and irresponsible’
AFP, Tehran/31 October/2025
Iran’s foreign minister called on Thursday US plans to resume nuclear testing “regressive and irresponsible”, after a surprise directive by US President Donald Trump. “A nuclear-armed bully is resuming testing of atomic weapons. The same bully has been demonizing Iran’s peaceful nuclear program,” Abbas Araghchi said in a post on social media. “The (US) announcement of a resumption of nuclear tests is a regressive and irresponsible move and a serious threat to international peace and security,” he added.

New LNG Terminal Will Help Extricate Iraq From Iran’s Energy Orbit
FDD/October 30, 2025
Iraq is slowly taking steps to wrench its energy sector free from Iran’s influence, but it will require both American support and strong encouragement to do so. Excelerate Energy, an American company, announced an agreement on October 28 with Iraq to build the country’s first floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal at Khor al-Zubair on the Persian Gulf. The terminal will be Iraq’s first direct access to import LNG from the global market, and Excelerate will also serve as the project’s LNG supplier. The value of the investment is estimated at around $450 million, and the project’s contract is for five years with the possibility of an extension. The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad said, “This project is a crucial step for Iraq’s energy independence from Iran, strengthening Iraq’s sovereignty and creating prosperity for both our nations.” Iraqi energy independence from Iran is an important component of the Trump administration’s maximum pressure campaign on Tehran.
Baghdad Buys Billions’ Worth of Gas Each Year From Tehran
Despite Iraq’s status as OPEC’s second-largest oil producer and the country’s substantial natural resources, it relies on Iranian energy to power its grid. In recent years, Iraq has bought $4-$5 billions’ worth of gas from Iran per year. This imported gas generates 30 percent to 40 percent of Iraq’s electricity, according to Iraqi officials. In March 2024, Iraq signed a five-year deal to purchase gas from Iran, however, gas exports to Iraq in 2025 fell by about 40 percent between April and August. Even combined, Iraq’s imports and its own resources frequently fail to meet domestic energy needs. Iran’s own struggles to meet its domestic energy demands hinder its ability to reliably export gas, especially in times of high demand, such as the hot summer months. The result is blackouts all over Iraq.
Opportunities for Iraq To Diversify Imports, Increase Domestic Gas Production
Iraq has secured deals with international energy companies to develop domestic infrastructure and expand energy imports beyond Iran. However, some approaches would fail to remove Iran’s influence from Iraq’s energy sector. For example, one proposal includes purchasing gas from Turkmenistan, which would require Iran to play a crucial intermediary role. Iranian imports aren’t Iraq’s only challenge in the energy sector. Iraq flares about 30 percent of the gas produced by its oil fields. This is both a wasteful and environmentally detrimental practice that Iraq engages in due to infrastructure and technology limitations that leave the country unable to harness all of its natural resources. The Iraqi government plans to reduce gas flaring by attracting investments to develop the necessary infrastructure to capture and utilize the gas to meet domestic demand.
Trump Administration Should Prohibit Iraq’s Import of Iranian Gas
In March, the Trump administration rescinded a Biden-era sanctions waiver that had authorized Iraq to purchase Iranian electricity. This exemption gave Iran access to $10 billion that had previously been held in escrow. These funds have since fueled Iran’s malign activity at home and across the region, at least indirectly. Despite rescinding the waiver that permitted Iraq to purchase Iranian electricity, the administration still allows for the import of Iranian gas. Instead, it should lay out a short timeline for Iraq to cease importation of Iranian gas and replace the lost supply from non-sanctioned sources. American companies can support Iraq’s energy diversification by investing in and developing Iraqi infrastructure to help it harness the potential of its domestic supply. Also, investments in projects like Excelerate’s LNG terminal venture support Iraq’s ability to import gas without relying on Iran.
*Bridget Toomey is a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). For more analysis from Bridget and FDD, please subscribe HERE. Follow Bridget on X @BridgetKToomey. Follow FDD on X @FDD. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.

Hundreds may have been executed in capture of Sudanese city, UN rights office says
Reuters, Geneva/31 October/2025
Hundreds of Sudanese civilians and unarmed fighters may have been killed during the Sudanese paramilitary forces’ capture of the long-besieged city of al-Fashir, the UN human rights office said on Friday. The city, the Sudanese army’s last significant holdout in the western region of Darfur, fell to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces on Sunday, ending an 18-month siege. “We estimate the death toll of civilians and those placed hors de combat during the RSF attack on the city and its exit routes, as well as in the days after the takeover, could amount to hundreds,” UN human rights office spokesperson Seif Magango told a Geneva press briefing on Friday, describing testimonies of summary executions and mass killings. One witness described the killing of a couple of hundred men by fighters who shouted racial slurs and then began shooting. A high-level RSF commander called accounts of killings “media exaggeration” by the army and its allied fighters “to cover up for their defeat and loss of al-Fashir.”The RSF’s leadership had ordered investigations into any violations by RSF individuals and several had been arrested, he said. Tens of thousands of people have fled the city amid the upheaval and some of the testimonies of the al-Fashir atrocities are from survivors who had to walk for three or four days to the town of Tawila, he said. Magango said the office had received testimonies from aid workers that at least 25 women were gang-raped when RSF fighters entered a shelter for displaced people near the university. “Witnesses confirm RSF personnel selected women and girls and raped them at gunpoint, forcing the remaining displaced persons - around 100 families - to leave the location amid shooting and intimidation of older residents,” he told reporters. The President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Mirjana Spoljaric, said the abuses in al-Fashir were indefensible. “Lives in Sudan now depend on strong and decisive action to stop these atrocities,” she said in a statement.

Trump stirs global tensions with surprise nuclear test order
Agence France Presse/October 31, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump's surprise directive to begin nuclear weapons testing provoked global criticism on Friday, as it raised the specter of renewed superpower tensions. The announcement on social media was issued just before Trump -- who boasts frequently about being a peace president -- went into a summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea. Trump's announcement left much unanswered -- chiefly whether he meant testing weapons systems or actually conducting test explosions, something the United States has not done since 1992. Key U.S. foe Iran on Friday called the directive "regressive and irresponsible", adding that it was a threat to international security. "A nuclear-armed bully is resuming testing of atomic weapons. The same bully has been demonizing Iran's peaceful nuclear program," foreign minister Abbas Araghchi posted on social media. Japanese atomic bomb survivors group Nihon Hidankyo sent a letter of protest to the US embassy in Japan on Friday. The directive "directly contradicts the efforts by nations around the world striving for a peaceful world without nuclear weapons and is utterly unacceptable," the Nobel Peace Prize-winning group said in the letter obtained by AFP.
Global nuclear testing ban -
Following Trump's meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, China's foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun urged the United States to "earnestly abide" by a global nuclear testing ban. China and the United States observe a de facto moratorium on testing nuclear warheads, though Russia and the United States regularly run military drills involving nuclear-capable systems. United Nations chief Antonio Guterres said through his deputy spokesman that "nuclear testing can never be permitted under any circumstances."The United States has been a signatory since 1996 to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, which bans all atomic test explosions, whether for military or civilian purposes. Vice President JD Vance said the U.S. nuclear arsenal needed to be tested to ensure it actually "functions properly," but did not elaborate on what type of tests Trump had ordered. The president's statement "speaks for itself," Vance told reporters at the White House. "It's an important part of American national security to make sure that this nuclear arsenal we have actually functions properly, and that's part of a testing regime," he added. It came days after Russia declared it had tested nuclear-capable, nuclear-powered cruise missiles and sea drones.
"Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis," Trump said on Truth Social earlier this week. Trump also claimed that the United States has more nuclear weapons than any other country. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said in its latest annual report that Russia possesses 5,459 nuclear warheads, compared to 5,177 for the United States and 600 for China. The Kremlin questioned whether Trump was well-informed about Russia's military activities. The recent weapons drills "cannot in any way be interpreted as a nuclear test," spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists. "We hope that the information was conveyed correctly to President Trump."Peskov then implied that Russia would conduct its own live warhead tests if Trump did it first. Further muddying the waters, Trump also repeated to reporters a previous claim that he wants negotiations with Russia and China on reducing nuclear weapons forces. "Denuclearization would be a tremendous thing," he said.
Last US test in 1992 -
The United States conducted 1,054 nuclear tests between July 16, 1945, when the first was conducted in New Mexico, and 1992. Its two nuclear attacks on Japan during World War II make it the only country to have used the weapons in combat. The last US nuclear test explosion was in September 1992, a 20-kiloton underground detonation at the Nevada Nuclear Security Site. Then-president George H.W. Bush imposed a moratorium on further tests in October 1992 that has been continued by successive administrations. Nuclear testing was replaced by non-nuclear and subcritical experiments using advanced computer simulations.

The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on October 31-November 01/2025
Jihad in Bangladesh: Islamists Erasing Hindu Heritage
Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury/Gatestone Institute/October 31/2025
The rise of Islamist extremism in South Asia is entering a new and troubling phase.
Their real goal, however, is far darker than banning a Hindu organization: it is to purge majority-Muslim Bangladesh of its remaining Hindu population and to reshape the country into a theocratic state.
In a disturbing development, the government's response to a court petition demanding a ban on ISKCON described the movement as a "religious fundamentalist organization". This rhetoric, once confined to the fringe, now finds a place in official discourse - a dangerous sign of how far Islamist influence has penetrated the state. [I]n the eyes of Islamist ideologues, peaceful outreach represents a challenge -- the assertion of a pluralistic worldview that contradicts their absolutist doctrine.
What makes this current wave of anti-Hindu agitation particularly alarming is its transnational dimension. Intelligence officials in Dhaka have identified growing coordination between Bangladeshi and Pakistani Salafist groups, some with direct ideological or logistical ties to organizations once linked to Al Qaeda and ISIS. The persecution of ISKCON is not merely an attack on a Hindu organization -- it is part of a larger strategy to dismantle Bangladesh's secularism and to replace tolerance with totalitarian theology.
If left unchecked, this campaign could transform Bangladesh into yet another bastion of jihadist ideology in South Asia. In Bangladesh, the latest target of jihadist wrath is the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), a global Hindu organization.
The rise of Islamist extremism in South Asia is entering a new and troubling phase. What began as a political movement cloaked in piety has increasingly transformed into a campaign of cultural and religious erasure. In Bangladesh, the latest target of jihadist wrath is the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), a global Hindu organization. Islamists now brand it an "extremist Hindutva group", call for banning it, commit arson against its temples, and violence against its followers. Their real goal, however, is far darker than banning a Hindu organization: it is to purge majority-Muslim Bangladesh of its remaining Hindu population and to reshape the country into a theocratic state. Since last year's jihadist-backed coup in Bangladesh, attacks on ISKCON centers and Hindu temples in the country have sharply escalated. Hardline groups such as Hefazat-e-Islam (HeI) and Intifada Bangladesh have taken the lead in this campaign, with vocal support from elements within the country's government. In a disturbing development, the government's response to a court petition demanding a ban on ISKCON described the movement as a "religious fundamentalist organization". This rhetoric, once confined to the fringe, now finds a place in official discourse - a dangerous sign of how far Islamist influence has penetrated the state. The case of Chinmoy Krishna Das, a former ISKCON member imprisoned for advocating better treatment of religious minorities, underscores the climate of intimidation. Radical mobs have repeatedly targeted ISKCON's temples in Bangladesh, vandalizing idols and torching prayer halls. Each attack serves the same purpose -- to terrorize religious minorities and silence voices that preach coexistence.
Recently, security agencies uncovered a chilling plot that could have ignited nationwide violence. Islamists fabricated a story that Mawlana Muhibullah Miyaji, a 60-year-old Muslim cleric from Tongi, had been abducted and tortured by ISKCON members. The narrative spread rapidly on social media, prompting calls for jihad against Hindus. Only a swift police investigation - aided by surveillance videos and forensic evidence - exposed the story as a complete fabrication.
Authorities believe the motive behind this staged abduction was to incite mob attacks on Hindu communities and ISKCON centers, plunging the country into chaos while distracting attention from the rapid radicalization of Bangladesh's Islamist ecosystem.
To the outside world, ISKCON hardly appears as a threat. Founded in New York City in 1966 by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the movement has grown into a global spiritual and humanitarian network. With over 500 temples, rural communities, and vegetarian centers worldwide, ISKCON promotes vegetarianism, devotional service, and universal brotherhood. Yet in the eyes of Islamist ideologues, peaceful outreach represents a challenge -- the assertion of a pluralistic worldview that contradicts their absolutist doctrine.
What makes this current wave of anti-Hindu agitation particularly alarming is its transnational dimension. Intelligence officials in Dhaka have identified growing coordination between Bangladeshi and Pakistani Salafist groups, some with direct ideological or logistical ties to organizations once linked to Al Qaeda and ISIS. The return of radical Islamist preacher Zakir Naik into Bangladesh -- made possible by the Yunus regime's decision to lift the ban on his Peace TV -- is viewed as a signal of state appeasement. Naik's record is well known: he has justified suicide bombings, glorified Osama bin Laden, and inspired the murderers behind the 2016 ISIS-style attack on Dhaka's Holey Artisan Bakery. Even more disturbing is the arrival of Ibtisam Elahi Zaheer, a senior figure in Pakistan's Markazi Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadis and close associate of Hafiz Saeed, the mastermind of the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai, India. Zaheer's speeches -- urging Muslims to "kill apostates" and denouncing Jews and Christians as "enemies of Islam" -- have drawn scrutiny from UK authorities for inciting violence. His presence in Bangladesh today raises urgent questions about who facilitated his entry and what networks stand behind him.
The growing coordination of Islamist movements across national borders, coupled with a permissive government, threatens not only Bangladesh's fragile communal harmony but also regional stability. The persecution of ISKCON is not merely an attack on a Hindu organization -- it is part of a larger strategy to dismantle Bangladesh's secularism and to replace tolerance with totalitarian theology. If left unchecked, this campaign could transform Bangladesh into yet another bastion of jihadist ideology in South Asia.
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/22020/bangladesh-islamists-erasing-hindu-heritage
**Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury is an award-winning journalist, writer, and Editor of the newspaper Blitz. He specializes in counterterrorism and regional geopolitics.
© 2025 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute.

Report: Iran rebuilding its ballistic missile program
Joe Truzman/FDD's Long War Journal/October 31/2025
Iran is rebuilding its ballistic missile program despite recently imposed United Nations (UN) sanctions, CNN reported on October 29. Citing European intelligence sources, Iran imported shipments of chemicals used to produce medium-range ballistic missiles in recent weeks.
These sources assessed that on September 29, 2,000 tons of sodium perchlorate—a key precursor for solid-propellant missiles—arrived in the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas. Iran purchased the chemical from China to replenish its stocks of ballistic missiles that were either used or destroyed during the war with Israel in June, CNN reported. CNN said that it traced the movements of several cargo vessels that intelligence sources identified as being involved in recent shipments of sodium perchlorate from Chinese ports to Iran. Using ship-tracking data and social media posts from crew members, CNN found that many of these ships have repeatedly sailed between China and Iran since late April. The crews are believed to work for the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines, and social media posts offer a clear record of their voyages.
Among the vessels is the MV Basht, already under US sanctions, which departed the Chinese port of Zhuhai on September 15, reached Bandar Abbas on September 29, and has since returned to China. CNNreported that another vessel, the Barzin, followed a similar route, departing from Gaolan, China, on October 2 and arriving in Bandar Abbas on October 16, before returning to China five days later. Other vessels, such as the Elyana, left Changjiangkou on September 18 and docked in Bandar Abbas on October 12. The MV Artavand departed Liuheng for Bandar Abbas on October 12, with its AIS tracking system deliberately disabled to conceal its route, according to Western intelligence sources cited by CNN. On September 27, the United Nations reinstated sanctions on Tehran, citing its “significant non-performance” in fulfilling nuclear-related obligations. The renewed sanctions include trade restrictions, an arms embargo, and bans on importing materials such as chemicals used in ballistic missile production, along with a range of other limitations. Washington and Jerusalem remain highly concerned about Iran’s ballistic missile program. Besides the missiles being used as a method to deliver a nuclear warhead, Iran has proven that its missile program has the capability of causing significant damage over a long distance in its recent war with Israel in June. According to figures published by the Israel Defense Forces, Iran launched approximately 550 ballistic missiles and about 1,000 drones at Israeli territory. Despite Israel’s robust missile defense, including defensive military support from the US and other allies, the attacks killed 28 people and wounded more than 3,000 in 12 days of fighting. The shipments described by European intelligence agencies suggest that Iran is intent on restoring its prewar missile capabilities, despite recently imposed UN sanctions. Neither US nor Israeli officials have commented on CNN’s report, but both allies are undoubtedly monitoring Iran’s attempts to rebuild following the June war.
*Joe Truzman is an editor and senior research analyst at FDD’s Long War Journal focused primarily on Palestinian armed groups and non-state actors in the Middle East.

Kidnapping of U.S. Missionary Shines Light on Persecution of Christians in Africa
Ben Cohen & Dmitriy Shapiro/Providence/October 31/2025
https://providencemag.com/2025/10/kidnapping-of-u-s-missionary-shines-light-on-persecution-of-christians-in-africa/
Concern is growing over the whereabouts of Kevin Rideout, an American missionary abducted on October 21 in the West African state of Niger. The seizure of this 48-year-old pilot, who works for the U.S.-based organization Serving in Mission, has highlighted the ongoing plight of the people he serves—the region’s Christians, who face increasing violence at the hands of predatory jihadists. Rideout is said to have been snatched by three armed men outside a hotel in the Chateau 1 neighborhood of the capital, Niamey—an area that is reputedly more secure than the rest of the city because it contains the country’s presidential palace. Rideout, who has lived in Niger since 2010, has not been heard from since his phone was last tracked in an area around 50 miles north of Niamey, where terrorists belonging to the Islamic State-Sahel Province (ISSP) maintain a large presence.
News of Rideout’s kidnapping has spread through Christian communities around the world, with many churches offering special prayers for his safety. Those monitoring his fate will be acutely aware of a pattern of kidnappings and ransom demands by jihadists in the region stretching back over a decade.
Kidnapping is a favored tactic of Islamist groups, as repeatedly witnessed in recent decades in Iraq, Lebanon, Gaza and elsewhere in the Middle East. It has been similarly prevalent in the Sahel and West Africa more broadly, with one case—the kidnapping of nearly 300 Christian girls aged 16-18 by the Nigerian jihadist group Boko Haram—becoming an international cause célèbre in April 2014.
Since the early 2000s, ISSP and its Al-Qaeda-affiliated rival, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), have also kidnapped Westerners. Those seized have included several missionaries, stoking fears that Rideout was abducted because he is a Christian involved in missionary work as well as for any ransom that might be paid out on his behalf. In 2022, for example, an American nun in her 80s, Suellen Tennyson, was kidnapped by militants from her convent in Burkina Faso and freed five months later. Another American missionary, Jeff Woodke, was kidnapped by ISSP in Niger in 2016 and sold to JNIM before his release in 2023.  Rideout’s ordeal may yet end in a similar fashion. His hoped for release, however, will not alleviate the deeper issue of the persecution of Christians, a sorely underreported global phenomenon that manifests as far afield as Iran, China and North Korea, as well as across the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa. According to Open Doors International, an organization that monitors and supports persecuted Christians, eight out of the 10 deadliest countries for Christians are in sub-Saharan Africa, where a reported 16.2 million Christians have been displaced.
Testifying before Congress in March, Nigerian Bishop Wilfred Anagbe said that the terrorist groups were implementing a “long-term, Islamic agenda to homogenize the population … through a strategy to reduce and eventually eliminate the Christian identity of half of the population.”
The troubles of Christians in this region of Africa have attracted the attention of some U.S. legislators. Commenting on the “deadly threat” posed by jihadist groups in the immediate aftermath of Rideout’s kidnapping, Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID), the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, noted that “ISIS, JNIM and their affiliates [are] tightening their grip across the Sahel and West Africa. They are seizing territory, escalating their brutal attacks, and abducting innocent civilians year after year, with Westerners and Christians as prized targets.”
In July, meanwhile, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Rep. Riley Moore (R-W. VA) introduced a resolution excoriating the fate of Christians in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. “Our country was founded on religious liberty,” Hawley declared. “We cannot sit on the sidelines as Christians around the world are being persecuted for declaring Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.” Much more needs to be done, both in terms of raising awareness and crafting policy-based responses. Compared to other burning international issues, the persecution of Christians receives pitifully little focus. The near total silence of those politicians and pundits who claim to defend Christianity, among them influencers like Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens and legislators like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), all of whom are obsessed instead with alleged Israeli wrongdoings, is most disturbing. Equally, on the political left—fearful of accusations of “colonialism” and “racism,” the terror confronted by Christians in the Sahel and other parts of Africa is dismissed as a regional peculiarity of no import.
This myopia should not deter the rest of us from defending these persecuted believers. Washington has a special responsibility to secure the safe release of Rideout, an American citizen, from captivity. Together with other Western allies, the United States should also use the Rideout case as an opportunity to counter an appalling threat that, left unchecked, could wipe out the Christian presence in much of Africa.
*Ben Cohen is a senior analyst with the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD) and director of FDD’s rapid response outreach, specializing in global antisemitism, anti-Zionism and Middle East/European Union relations. Follow Ben on X @BenCohenOpinion. Dmitriy Shapiro is a research analyst at FDD. Follow him on X @dmitriyshapiro.

The Regime’s Reformists Are Back, but Iranians Rejected Them Long Ago
Janatan Sayeh/FFD/October 31/2025
https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2025/10/30/the-regimes-reformists-are-back-but-iranians-rejected-them-long-ago/
Once more, the Islamic Republic cloaks repression in the guise of reform. The Islamic Republic, which has long banned public dancing, unveiled women, and mixed-gender celebrations, is now projecting an image of leniency. A regime-backed social media campaign has expanded to state television, where an October 27 broadcast showed two well-known actors dancing on air to a pre-Islamic Revolution song originally performed by a female artist. This effort is part of a broader campaign to rally domestic support that began during the 12-Day War, when the regime tried to fuse nationalism with Islamism to win over a disillusioned population. It has since evolved into a reformist-style narrative. At home, these campaigns aim to project normalcy and weaken the shared anger that fuels protests. Abroad, they seek to ease criticism by portraying Iran as misunderstood, while reformists use the image to appear as pragmatic alternatives to Western policymakers.
The 12-Day War Made the Regime Realize the Extent of Its Unpopularity
During the June war, Iranians circulated videos celebrating Israeli strikes on high-ranking military figures, saying the attacks “targeted regime leaders, not the people.” Israel’s messaging was equally clear, striking the regime’s repression apparatus, such as Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps bases used to suppress protests. Authorities swiftly deployed security forces across major cities, not to confront Israeli aircraft, but to prevent demonstrations at home. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei even asked a well-known religious chanter to perform a patriotic anthem instead of a mourning elegy after the war in an attempt to appeal to nationalism. The gesture fell flat. One caller to a diaspora Persian-language channel said during the war, “We are not compatriots with those who execute our children.”
Offering a False Sense of Improvement
The regime’s attempt to fuse nationalism with theocracy quickly evolved into the familiar “reformist” facade. Regime-linked influencers flooded social media in August with staged images of men and women without hijabs standing beneath religious banners. One photo showed young men and women without hijabs beside a woman in strict hijab, while others showed unveiled women walking in Tehran under captions like “daily life in Tehran.” The message was clear: social restrictions are easing, and Iranians supposedly live harmoniously — and prosperously — under the Islamic Republic.
Former president and key reformist figure Hassan Rouhani made explicit what is usually left unsaid during his October 14 speech, calling for “political,” “social” and “media reforms” after the war to “restore public hope.” In line with the familiar reformist playbook, he called for superficial change meant to placate the public while the regime continues its core agenda of expanding internal intelligence operations to capture alleged “Mossad spies” and reinforcing deterrence against the United States and Israel. This reformist campaign hasn’t changed anything on the ground. Nineteen people were arrested in August in Fars Province for attending a mixed-gender celebration with music and dancing, and two girls were detained the same month for violating the compulsory hijab law. Fifty venues, including cafes, restaurants, wedding halls, and boutiques, were shut down between late June and early October 2025 for “improper hijab” violations.
Iranians Have Rejected Fake Reform
By contrast, chants of “Reformist, hardliner, the story is over” have echoed through protests since 2017. A survey by the Netherlands-based Group for Analyzing and Measuring Attitudes in Iran, released on August 20, found that nearly 70 percent of Iranians oppose the continuation of the Islamic Republic and the dominant political orientation in society is “regime change as a precondition for change.”
The U.S. Should Amplify Iranian Voices for Change
Iranians have repeatedly shown they reject reform within the Islamic Republic’s framework and seek change on their own terms. U.S. public diplomacy should reflect this by fighting back against Tehran’s claims of normalcy. Washington should ensure its messaging exposes the regime’s human rights abuses and serves as a counterweight to its propaganda, amplifying the voices of Iranians who strive to define their own future. **Janatan Sayeh is a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), where he focuses on Iranian domestic affairs and the Islamic Republic’s regional malign influence. For more analysis from FDD, please subscribe HERE. Follow Janatan on X @JanatanSayeh. Follow FDD on X @FDD and @FDD_Iran. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.

'Our enemy now is Canada' Alan Dershowitz says on Israel policy
Special to National Post/Dave Gordon/October 30/2025
NEW YORK – Alan Dershowitz, the prominent American lawyer, had a blunt assessment about Canada and the Carney government at a recent pro-Israel gathering in New York.
“We have to understand who our enemies are. And our enemy now is Canada,” he told the Post, at the second annual Rage Against Hate conference on Oct. 27 at Manhattan’s Museum of Jewish Heritage. Canada earned his scorn because of its “recognition of a nonexistent entity,” referring to Palestine, and “not doing enough to combat antisemitism.”
And he noted Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Oct. 16 comments to British podcaster Mishal Husain on her podcast, saying Canada would honour the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and arrest him if he entered Canada. Should such an arrest occur, Dershowitz vowed, “I will come up to Canada. I will defend Netanyahu, and I will go after everybody who has tried to arrest him.”
Dershowitz also told the Post he is “in favour of Trump putting tariffs on Canada for its statements regarding Israel and Netanyahu, and even sanctions perhaps.”
The Harvard law professor emeritus and civil liberties advocate was a speaker at the conference, produced by the Israel Law Center, which uses legal action worldwide to fight for the rights of victims of terror, and to seek compensation for violations of international law.
Israeli lawyer Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, the centre’s founder and president, said from the dais that her next litigation target is The New York Times.
“The New York Times Is aiding and abetting Hamas,” she said, making it clear her intention is to take them to court for “blood libel and defamation.”
The centre’s targets include Al Jazeera over its alleged ties to Hamas, and a high-profile lawsuit against the Palestinian Authority and PLO in the U.S., which initially resulted in a US$655 million award for terror victims (later overturned). Other notable cases include suing Airbnb over delisting Jewish-owned properties in Israel, and legal action involving Facebook regarding incitement and hate speech.
Other speakers included former Mossad director Yossi Cohen; Australian broadcaster Erin Molan; Arab-Israeli influencer and former IDF commander Yoseph Haddad; and Anne Bayefsky, president of Human Rights Voices.
A recurring theme surfaced at the conference: the need to combat lies, communicate Israel’s story better, and be attuned to what Israel’s enemies seek to do.
The first and most important thing that we need to do collectively is to listen what they (Islamists) themselves say,” said Jonathan Conricus, formerly international spokesperson of the Israel Defense Forces and a regular fixture in the media.
Islamists, he said, “want to dominate and take control of Western countries, and they’re not shy in achieving it… They are politically organized and disciplined. They are funded. They have powerful mouthpieces, some of them very eloquent and fluent in King’s English.”
Elected officials “need to understand that Israel is the Off-Broadway show. The real show, the real Broadway, from a Muslim Islamist perspective, is the West,” said the senior fellow at the Washington-based think tank Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
Israeli lawyer Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, founder and president of Israel Law Center, speaks at the Rage Against Hate conference at Manhattan’s Museum of Jewish Heritage, Oct. 27, 2025.
Preventing radicalization is a part of what he calls “the battle of narratives,” which he added “with great regret, Israel isn’t yet really fighting this battle well.”
He suggested that more of Israel’s budget is needed for “narrative and media warfare” in order to “equip freedom fighters, defenders of democracy, good people around the world, with data and information.”
British journalist Melanie Phillips said Israel’s enemies “have been able to hijack the language and weaponize the West’s post-truth, post-moral culture, to push their agenda that Israel and the Jews are on the wrong side of just about everything that is good and right and true.”
The author and columnist in The Times said in her speech that the “big lie that we are all up against” is the notion that “peace and justice in the Middle East” will come with a Palestinian state. “There is no such thing as Palestine. There is no such thing as the Palestinian people. The indigenous people of the land of so-called Palestine are the Jews; the Jews are the only people who have any entitlement to any of this land, an entitlement based in law, in history and morality,” she said. Citing a need to “seize back control” of the narrative, it was her belief that those in the West must speak out against the media and governments that are “lying to them.”Dershowitz, similarly, told the Post that “people have fallen for the Palestinian argument.” “Instead of just defending Israel, we have to expose the lies of Palestinianism and stop pandering to pro-Palestinian people. Pro-Palestinian is pro-hate.”
He added that “every element within the Palestinian movement has encouraged terrorism. Not a single one has essentially renounced it,” and he wants anti-Zionists to “learn their cause is not a just one.”
“Palestinianism is not about building a country. It’s about destroying Israel. There isn’t a single pro-Palestine demonstration that I have seen that calls for a two-state solution. Not a single one.”Former Israeli spokesman Eylon Levy said that the “anti-Zionist grip on institutional power hoodwinked the world into believing their libel, and they use that power to commit an industrial act of gaslighting” — which he calls “Gazalighting.”
“They have trashed Israel’s global reputation, made it toxic. They have delivered Hamas a tremendous victory in the form of Israel’s tarnished global standing,” he said in his talk.
Levy told the Post that Israel is on the receiving end of a “vicious information war that is intended to delegitimize and demonize it and ultimately to drive a wedge between it and its allies.”
In order to fight back, Israel must corral trained spokespeople to “communicate with the young generation in social media, but also to make foreign governments understand the information war that is being waged against their citizens.”
That information war is, he said, “a campaign funded directed in large part by many foreign actors whose interests are anti-Western, and seek to subvert their democracies.”
Interview with Norman Spector: 'The war has been transplanted into Canada'
Interview with Noa Tishby: Two years after October 7, Israel has lost the PR war
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Western intelligence says Iran is rearming despite UN sanctions, with China’s help
Melissa Bell, Gianluca Mezzofiore, CNN/ October 31, 2025
Iran appears to be stepping up the rebuilding of its ballistic missile program, despite the reintroduction last month of United Nations sanctions that ban arms sales to the country and ballistic missile activity.
European intelligence sources say several shipments of sodium perchlorate, the main precursor in the production of the solid propellant that powers Iran’s mid-range conventional missiles, have arrived from China to the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas since the so-called “snapback” mechanism was triggered at the end of September. Those sources say the shipments, which began arriving on September 29, contain 2,000 tons of sodium perchlorate bought by Iran from Chinese suppliers in the wake of its 12-day conflict with Israel in June. The purchases are believed to be part of a determined effort to rebuild the Islamic Republic’s depleted missile stocks. Several of the cargo ships and Chinese entities involved are under sanctions from the United States. The deliveries come after more-than-a-decade-old UN sanctions were restored by the snapback mechanism – a provision for Iranian breaches of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) deal to monitor its nuclear program. Under the sanctions re-imposed on Tehran last month, Iran shall not undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons. UN member states must also prevent the provision to Iran of materials that could contribute to the country’s development of a nuclear weapons delivery system, which experts say could include ballistic missiles. States are also required to prevent the provision to Iran of assistance in the manufacture of arms. China, along with Russia, opposed the reimposition of the sanctions, saying it undermines efforts for a “diplomatic settlement of the Iranian nuclear issue.”While the shipped substance – sodium perchlorate – is not specifically named in UN documents on materials banned for export to Iran, it is a direct precursor of ammonium perchlorate, a listed and prohibited oxidizer used in ballistic missiles. However, experts say that the sanctions’ failure to explicitly prohibit the chemical may leave China room to argue that it is not in violation of any UN ban. CNN has followed the journeys of several cargo ships identified by the intelligence sources as being involved in the latest deliveries of sodium perchlorate from Chinese ports to Iran, using ship tracking data and the social media of their crew. Many of those vessels appear to have gone back and forth several times between China and Iran since the end of April. The sources say their crew seem to be employed by the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines and their regular social media posts provide a trail of their stops on the China to Iran journey. Among them is the MV Basht, already sanctioned by the US, which left the Chinese port of Zhuhai on September 15, arrived in Bandar Abbas on September 29 and since returned to China.
Planet Labs satellite images provided to CNN by the Middlebury Institute of International Studies confirm that the Barzin was being loaded with cargo at Gaolan Port, China, on October 1, before departing for Iran. The images then show the Barzin docked at Rajaei Port in Bandar Abbas, Iran, from October 16 to October 19, where it was being unloaded. The Elyana left the Chinese port of Changjiangkou on September 18 and arrived in Bandar Abbas on October 12. Finally, the MV Artavand left the Chinese port of Liuheng and arrived in Bandar Abbas on October 12, with its AIS tracking system turned off to deliberately obscure its movements, according to Western intelligence. It’s not clear if the Chinese government is aware of the shipments. In response to a question from CNN about the transactions, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that, while he was “not familiar with the specific situation,” China has “consistently implemented export controls on dual-use items in accordance with its international obligations and domestic laws and regulations.” “We want to emphasize that China is committed to peacefully resolving the Iranian nuclear issue through political and diplomatic means and opposes sanctions and pressure,” the spokesperson continued, adding that Beijing viewed the return of sanctions under the snapback mechanism as “unconstructive” and a “serious setback” in efforts to “resolve the Iranian nuclear issue.”Similar shipments had previously been reported, but their intensification since the 12-day war – when the Israeli military targeted at least a third of the surface-to-surface launchers that fire Iran’s medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBMs) – suggests a renewed eagerness on the part of the Islamic Republic to arm itself.“Iran needs much more sodium perchlorate now to replace the missiles expended in the war and to increase production. I would expect large shipments to Iran as it tries to rearm, just as I would expect Israel and the US to race to replace the interceptors and munitions that were expended,” said Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Project at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies. The best way to consider the current moment, he told CNN, is as a pause in hostilities, as each side seeks to rearm. “Two thousand tons of sodium perchlorate are only enough for about 500 missiles. That’s a lot, but Iran was planning on producing something like 200 missiles a month before the war and now must replace all the missiles that either Israel destroyed or it used,” he said.
Long-standing ties
China has long been a diplomatic and economic ally for sanctions-hit Iran, decrying “unilateral” US sanctions against the country and buying up most of Iran’s oil exports, despite not reporting purchases of Iranian oil for several years.
That energy trade relies on a network of vessels that filter Iranian oil to independent refineries in coastal China, often through intermediary countries, according to analysts, who note this practice keeps refinement separate from Chinese state-owned enterprises that would be vulnerable to US sanctions. These so-called teapot refineries are known to work with what’s often referred to as a dark fleet of tankers that use concealing tactics to smuggle sanctioned goods. European security sources believe a similarly opaque system, involving front companies that are little more than fake numbers and billing addresses, has been used to keep the sodium perchlorate flowing to Iran. As have more legitimate companies, including two already sanctioned by the US back in April for their part in a “network procuring ballistic missile propellant ingredients on behalf of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).” Most of the companies involved are based in the northeastern Chinese port city of Dalian, according to information from the intelligence sources.
Earlier shipments
In February, CNN reported the shipment of 1,000 tons of sodium perchlorate to Iran from China. By April, the US had slapped sanctions on several Iranian and Chinese entities, including vessels believed to play a role in “a network procuring ballistic missile propellant ingredients on behalf of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).” Yet the shipments continued, the intelligence sources say, with the IRGC’s Self Sufficiency Jihad Organization acquiring another 1,000 tons of sodium perchlorate which left Taicang in China aboard the Hamouna on May 22 and arrived in Bandar Abbas on June 14 or 15. It set sail for the Iranian port less than a month after a massive explosion there on April 27, believed to have been caused by sodium perchlorate, killed 70 and wounded hundreds. The latest shipments represent much bigger quantities in a short space of time. The first of the 10 to 12 shipments that European intelligence sources have been tracking arrived in Iran on September 29, two days after the snapback mechanism – triggered in August by Germany, France, and the United Kingdom, the European partners to the JCPOA – restored UN sanctions. The others all left China after the sanctions were in place.
Tong Zhao, a senior fellow with the nuclear policy program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said that China’s position on the legal status of the reimposition of sanctions may be related to how its authorities would view such shipments.
“First and foremost, China – along with Russia and Iran – has denounced the legality of the snapback in a joint letter to the UN issued on October 18, indicating that Beijing likely does not consider itself bound by the reimposed measures,” according to Zhao.
Had the snapback not been triggered, October 18 would have marked the official end of the 10-year JCPOA, at which point the option to reimpose previous UN sanctions and restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program would expire and the Security Council would close Iran’s nuclear file.
Indeed, China joined with Russia in September to push for a six-month extension of the JCPOA, arguing that more time was needed for diplomatic efforts and pointing to what Beijing saw as signs that Iran wanted to engage with the international community on regulating its nuclear program. The UN Security Council voted down the China-backed resolution in September, one day before the snapback came into force. Beijing was one of the six countries – along with France, Germany, Russia, the UK and the US – that signed the JCPOA with Iran in 2015. In a meeting between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in September, Xi reiterated China’s stance that it “attaches importance to Iran’s repeated pledge that it does not seek to develop nuclear weapons” and “respects Iran’s right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy.”
Zhao also pointed to the fact that the export of sodium perchlorate is not explicitly banned under the pre-JCPOA sanctions regime that is now back in force. What the reinstated UN resolutions do prohibit, he added, is the provision by member states to Tehran of “items, materials, equipment, goods, and technology” which could contribute to Iran’s development of a nuclear weapon delivery system. So, while sodium perchlorate is not named, it “should fall under the broader catch-all controls on materials used in solid-fuel missile production,” he said, but noted that the fact that it is not explicitly prohibited may leave China and other countries with greater room for interpretation. “Beijing may be aware that such exports indirectly support Iran’s missile program,” Zhao said, “yet it may also view this as a matter of principle – asserting China’s sovereign right to make independent export-control decisions on items not expressly banned by the UN.”
**CNN’s Simone McCarthy contributed to this report.

Cairo talks on Gaza fail to forge Palestinian unity
Daoud Kuttab/Arab News/October 31, 2025
Egypt’s efforts to craft a workable post-war plan for Gaza continue to face multiple obstacles. Beyond Israel’s repeated and unreasonable veto of any direct role for the Ramallah-based Palestinian government, even the more modest goal of achieving Palestinian consensus has proven elusive.
When Egypt’s intelligence minister invited select Palestinian faction leaders while excluding others, the Ramallah leadership, particularly the dominant Fatah movement, objected. The invitation extended to Samir Masharawi, a senior member of the Fatah Reformist Movement founded by Mohammed Dahlan, angered officials in Ramallah. Equally upsetting was the exclusion of Ahmad Majdalani, a member of the PLO Executive Committee and leader of the Palestinian Popular Struggle Front, a minor faction with little grassroots following.
Despite the absence of unanimity, those who did attend the Cairo talks agreed with their Egyptian hosts on certain criteria for a proposed technocratic governing body in Gaza. According to an Oct. 24 statement issued after the meetings, the plan envisions a “temporary Palestinian committee composed of independent technocrats from the Gaza Strip to manage essential services and daily life in cooperation with Arab partners and international organizations, based on principles of transparency and national accountability.”
However, the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority has expressed deep reservations about this process, which appears to follow the so-called “20-point Trump plan.” Palestinian officials argue that it disregards key international agreements, including the 1993 Declaration of Principles signed at the White House. This recognized Gaza and the West Bank as a single political entity under Palestinian law as legislated by the Palestinian Legislative Council.
As a compromise, the Palestinian government has offered to cede direct control, while insisting that the proposed committee be chaired by a member of the Palestinian Cabinet. But this idea seems to have been vetoed by Israel and is not supported by Cairo.
Another proposal gaining traction would place Amjad Shawa, the respected coordinator of Palestinian NGOs in Gaza, at the head of the committee. Hamas reportedly finds this acceptable. Yet critics on social media have voiced strong opposition, claiming that many of the NGOs involved lack transparency and accountability.
Progress on any political arrangement has also been delayed by continued Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement and its refusal to move into the second phase of the truce plan. Israel insists that the next phase can begin only after all the bodies of its dead soldiers are returned from Gaza. Eleven bodies remain unrecovered, and the locations of at least five are unknown — a fact acknowledged by both Israel and the US. Nevertheless, Israel continues to condition the formal end of the war on the return of all remains.
Egypt’s efforts continue to face multiple obstacles
A degree of Palestinian national unity would undoubtedly help address the governance vacuum facing Arab and international mediators. But Israel’s continued refusal to release several leading Palestinian prisoners has perpetuated the political stalemate.
That impasse may shift, however, following a surprising comment by US President Donald Trump suggesting that he might support the release of the most popular Palestinian prisoner, Marwan Barghouti. The statement has raised hopes among Barghouti’s family, supporters, and much of the Palestinian public.
Reactions to Trump’s remarks have varied. Jordanian columnist Oraib Rantawi, director of the Al-Quds Center for Political Studies, wrote a column titled “From Solitary Prison to Al-Muqata’a via Gaza,” arguing that the US leader’s statement may have been an attempt to ensure that Barghouti’s release would be credited to him and not to Hamas.Meanwhile, Barghouti’s wife, lawyer Fadwa Barghouti, reportedly sent a letter to Trump, the contents of which remain undisclosed. Her action has stirred concern within the Palestinian leadership about what assurances she may have given on her husband’s behalf. The matter appears to have prompted an unusual and unexplained presidential decree in Ramallah addressing the issue of political succession.
According to a brief published on the official WAFA website on Oct. 26: “President Mahmoud Abbas issued a constitutional declaration stipulating that, in the event of a vacancy in the office of the President of the Palestinian Authority, and in the absence of the Palestinian Legislative Council, the Vice President of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization — also the Vice President of the State of Palestine — will temporarily assume the duties of the president for a period not exceeding 90 days.”
The decree adds that elections must be held within this period, though it allows for a 90-day extension in cases of force majeure. Observers believe this clause could be invoked to delay elections — even if Barghouti is released and Abbas steps down — thereby preventing an immediate vote that the popular Barghouti would likely win. The attempts to force an agreement without respecting international law or the consensus of the main Palestinian factions appear to be an exercise in futility. The Cairo Arab summit common, not to mention common political sense, dictates the inclusion of the Palestinian leadership in all aspects of governing and policing. The sooner the Trump administration understands this and stops adhering to the unreasonable Israeli vetoes, the sooner we will be on the right track to end this ugly war on the people of Gaza.
• Daoud Kuttab is an award-winning Palestinian journalist and former Ferris Professor of Journalism at Princeton University. He is the author of “State of Palestine Now: Practical and Logical Arguments for the Best Way to Bring Peace to the Middle East.” X: @daoudkuttab