What Israel's Election Means for Netanyahu, Gaza and Palestinian Statehood | Global News Podcast

Oct 28, 2026 | With counting almost complete in Israel's first general election since the 7th October attacks by Hamas and the start of the war in Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc is in the lead. But neither Mr Netanyahu, nor his main opponent, Gadi Eisenkot, have enough support to form a government. They will now have to seek out fresh political alliances, or coax opposition members onto their side.

We'll take a look at how that could play out, and where this election leaves the Palestinian people. Would a coalition led by Mr Eisenkot take a different tack on Gaza, the occupied West Bank or Palestinian statehood?

Israel’s Elections: Why Are Young Voters Leaning Conservative? | BBC News

Oct 27, 2026 | The polls suggest a tight race in Israel’s upcoming election. Candidates are doing all they can to win the approval of young and first-time voters, who are set to play an influential role.

Israel’s security is front and centre in the campaign, as are the events of the Hamas-led October 7 attacks. And polls suggest that young Israelis are increasingly supporting right-wing and far-right parties. In an outcome that will likely be determined by fine margins, that’s important.

In this episode we speak to the BBC’s Middle East correspondent Lucy Williamson, who has been following the candidates on the campaign trail and speaking to young voters.

Netanyahu Loses Majority in Israel - But No Clear Election Winner. What Now? | BBC News

Oct 27, 2026 | Israel’s general election is too close to call, as exit polls suggest that Gadi Eisenkot’s bloc has won the most seats, ahead of Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party. Eisenkot leads the newly formed Yashar party and is the main figure in the "change bloc", a group of opposition parties with the shared goal of ousting Benjamin Netanyahu from power.

Israeli elections can be decided by just a handful of seats, the exit polls have not always been reliable and counting the votes may take several days. All 120 seats in the Knesset, Israel's parliament, are up for grabs, but no party has won an overall majority in the past and governments have been made up of coalitions.

It’s Israel's first legislative election since the Hamas-led attacks on 7 October 2023 and the issue of Israel’s security has dominated the campaign. Netanyahu's challengers have criticised security failures that led to the 7 October attacks, in which around 1,200 people were killed and 251 others taken back to Gaza as hostages. Despite that, Netanyahu has again portrayed himself as the strongman protecting Israel, and claiming a series of military victories.

Sophie Raworth presents BBC News at Ten reporting by Lucy Williamson and Lyse Doucet.

Massacre du 7 Octobre : l'Iran estime que l'attaque du Hamas a « accéléré le déclin » d'Israël

LE FIGARO : Ce 7 octobre marque le troisième anniversaire de l’attaque du Hamas. Un acte qui « a accéléré le déclin du régime sioniste », selon le chef d’état-major des forces armées iraniennes dans un communiqué.

L'attaque du Hamas du 7 octobre 2023 a « accéléré le déclin » d'Israël, a estimé mercredi le chef d'état-major des forces armées iraniennes, au moment où les Israéliens commémorent le troisième anniversaire de la journée la plus meurtrière de l'histoire de leur pays. » | Par Le Figaro avec AFP | mercredi 7 octobre 2026

Abbas wirft Israel „genozidalen Krieg“ vor – wie reagiert Netanjahu?

BERLINER ZEITUNG: Palästinenserpräsident Mahmoud Abbas erhebt vor der UN schwere Vorwürfe gegen Israel und warnt vor einer dauerhaften Teilung der Palästinensergebiete. Benjamin Netanjahu spricht wenig später.

Palästinenserpräsident Mahmoud Abbas hat Israel vor der UN-Generalversammlung einen „genozidalen Krieg“ vorgeworfen und eine politische Wiedervereinigung des Gazastreifens mit dem Westjordanland und Ost-Jerusalem gefordert. Die Palästinenser erlebten „eine der gefährlichsten Zeiten“ ihrer Geschichte, sagte Abbas am Donnerstag in einer vorab aufgezeichneten Videobotschaft.

Die israelischen Streitkräfte hätten in Gaza Tod, Zerstörung, Hunger und Vertreibung verursacht, sagte Abbas. Er sprach von einem „genozidalen Krieg“, der eine „beispiellose humanitäre Katastrophe“ geschaffen habe. Die Bezeichnung ist Abbas’ Bewertung. Israel weist den Vorwurf eines Völkermords zurück und erklärt, seine militärischen Operationen richteten sich gegen die Hamas.

Abbas verwies zudem auf die Lage im besetzten Westjordanland einschließlich Ost-Jerusalems. Dort beschleunigten sich nach seinen Worten der israelische Siedlungsausbau, Landnahmen, Hauszerstörungen und Angriffe von Siedlern. Israel versuche, seine Kontrolle über palästinensisches Gebiet weiter auszudehnen, sagte der 90-Jährige. » | Alexander Schmalz | Donnerstag, 24. September 2026

Trump Declares Palestine Action a Global Terror Group

THE TELEGRAPH: Organisation faces same sanctions as Hamas and Islamic State in move that sees supporters banned from US

Palestine Action has been declared a global terrorist organisation by the US.

The protest group has been added to a list that includes Hamas, al-Qaeda and Islamic State, meaning supporters face a lifetime ban from entering the US.

US officials said that by promoting its “acts of terrorism” on social media, Palestine Action encouraged others to copy its tactics overseas, including in America. It is the first known case of a British Left-wing activist group being subjected to US counter-terrorism sanctions.

Under the new measures, Palestine Action’s assets in the US, including bank accounts and property, are being frozen, and Americans are banned from doing business with the group.

The sanctions also prohibit people from giving funds, goods or services to Palestine Action, effectively cutting it off from the global financial system. » | Connor Stringer Chief Washington Correspondent | Wednesday, August 26, 2026

I feel sorry for the people of Gaza. They have suffered genocide. So, does my sympathy for those poor people mean that I would be considered a terrorist too? I know who I think are the terrorists! — © Mark Alexander

Trump Sends Son-in-law to Israel, Tells Iran to Surrender and Threatens to Bomb Ally

Aug 17, 2026 | Donald Trump is not having much luck in the Middle East - such is the US President’s frustration that today he even threatened to bomb Oman, America's ally, if they got in the way of peace talks with Iran.

And almost 11 months after the Gaza ceasefire deal was signed, the Strip is still a tent city amongst the rubble, caught between Trump’s impatience and Benjamin Netanyahu’s need for political survival.

Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner was dispatched to the Middle East to meet with the leadership of Hamas and then to huddle with the Israeli prime minister along with former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair.

A spokesman for Netanyahu, who flatly rejected the 15-point Gaza peace plan last week, described the talks as "deep and constructive." But the next step still depends on Hamas agreeing to surrender its arms and Israeli troops to withdraw.

Meanwhile, Trump has apparently opened up a whole new front in his war with Iran threatening to bomb Oman if they "got in the way" of his peace talks, while Tehran has threatened to go on the offensive.

Israel Rejects Trump's 15-point Plan for Gaza, Netanyahu Says | BBC News

August 9, 2026 | Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected US President Donald Trump's 15-point plan for Gaza, saying there will be no military withdrawal until Hamas is "genuinely" disarmed.

Trump's Board of Peace said last month that it had reached an agreement for the "complete disarmament" of Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza. However, Hamas said it would surrender its heavy weapons only if Israel ended "all forms of aggression" and withdrew its forces from the territory.

"Israel rejects the 15-point document," Netanyahu said at a cabinet meeting on Sunday. The decision is another setback for Trump's peace initiative for Gaza, which was announced in September last year.

Israels Ministerpräsident zu Trumps Gaza-Plan: „Wir haben nicht zugestimmt, es ist nicht unser Entwurf“

TAGESSPIEGEL: US-Präsident Trump hat seinen Plan für eine Entmilitarisierung des Gazastreifens als „Meilenstein“ bezeichnet. In Israel stoßen die US-Vorschläge indes auf Ablehnung.

Israels Regierungschef Benjamin Netanjahu hat den Plan von US-Präsident Donald Trump für ein Ende des Kriegs im Gazastreifen erneut abgelehnt. „Wir haben nicht zugestimmt, es ist nicht unser Entwurf“, sagte Netanjahu in einem in der Nacht zum Mittwoch in Onlinediensten veröffentlichten Video. Trump hatte seine Pläne für eine Entwaffnung der Hamas und einen Rückzug der israelischen Armee als „Meilenstein“ bezeichnet.

Trumps Team glaube, „dass es für eine Entwaffnung der Hamas und eine Entmilitarisierung des Gazastreifens sorgen kann. Das prüfen wir“, sagte Netanjahu weiter. Er habe Änderungsvorschläge gemacht. Netanjahus teils rechtsextreme Koalitionspartner erhöhten in den vergangenen Tagen den Druck, die Vereinbarung abzulehnen. » | Tagesspiegel | Mittwoch, 5. August 2026

Israel’s Extremists: The Radical Men Pushing the Region Toward Chaos | ENDEVR Documentary

June 7, 2026 | In the space of a year, Israeli democracy has faltered. From the judicial reforms that deeply divided the country in the first nine months of 2023, to the war against Hamas that followed the tragedy of the 7 October massacre,

Benyamin Netanyahu’s government, the most right-wing in the country’s history, has continued to deepen Israel’s internal divisions and led the country to face the worst existential threat in its history.

Two men embody the radical initiatives of this government, two leading ministers who occupy regalian functions: internal security and finance. Their names: Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich. Both are complete unknowns on the international scene, brought into the spotlight by the events of recent months. They are the heirs of two ideological currents that were once marginal: Kahanism and religious Zionism.

Today, they are throwing all their weight behind their ideological agenda: imposing Jewish supremacist legislation, in the case of the former, and re-founding biblical Israel, in the case of the latter.

Who are they? What do they want? What is their background?

This documentary investigates two men whose strategy is to sow chaos in order to advance their ultimate project: imposing Jewish law on “Greater Israel”, from the sea to the Jordan River, and thus definitively annexing the West Bank, Gaza and even beyond.

This documentary originally aired in 2024

Iran War Was Trump’s ‘Biggest Foreign Policy Failure’ | Andrew Neil

Jun 15, 2026 | “Everyone who is an American ally… is a loser in this war. And the winners are Iran, Russia, China, and the proxy terrorists of these countries like Hezbollah and Hamas.”

An agreement has been reached to bring the conflict in Iran to an end, but President Trump is being given “far too much credit” for resolving a war he started without “any real explanation of the purpose”, says Times Radio presenter Andrew Neil.


To me, this all sounds like more of Trump’s BS! If I am not greatly mistaken, this so-called peace deal is the triumph of hope and fiction over fact and truth! — © Mark Alexander

With No Medicine and No Escape, Gaza’s Cancer Patients Watch Their Tumours Grow

THE TELEGRAPH: Aid blockades and Israeli evacuation restrictions leave Gazans stranded with inadequate healthcare

Minutes after Najat al-Loh learnt that the 7cm lump in her right breast was cancer, her oldest son Atta died from wounds sustained in an Israeli bombardment.

“As I stood there talking to the doctor, I received the news,” she said. “I collapsed entirely, not just emotionally but physically. My daughter was screaming.”

Nine months on, the 48-year-old now has five more lumps across her chest and under her arms, some the size of tennis balls.

Her face is riven with exhaustion and despair as she hands over the chaotic bundle of medical papers to Khaleel, her 13-year-old son, to see whether he can make sense of them.

The war in Gaza ended just a few weeks after her diagnosis on Aug 17, thanks to Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan that promised to flood the benighted strip with food, medicine and life-saving equipment. Yet in that time, Ms Loh has had access to only the most rudimentary cancer care, allowing the disease to spread far beyond the point of a cure.

She is one of an estimated 13,000 cancer patients who are trapped in a territory with virtually no specialist services left and – save for a lucky few – unable to leave to get the treatment they need.

Both Israeli blockades, which started in the early 1990s but intensified after the war in Gaza started in 2023, and foot-dragging by other countries, including Britain, are responsible.

With Hamas refusing to hand over its weapons, Israel is reportedly contemplating tightening aid deliveries further and US attention diverted by Iran, the situation seems likely to worsen. » | Henry Bodkin Jerusalem Correspondent. Nedal Hamdouna in Gaza | Sunday, May 31, 2026

If this isn't CRUELTY, what is? And we ALL know WHO is RESPONSIBLE for it! — © Mark Alexander

Bernie Sanders - Senate Showdown: Should the US Keep Funding Israel’s War?

Apr 17, 2026 | Bernie Sanders address two Senate votes that could determine whether the United States continues funding Israel’s military campaign under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. After the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas, which killed over 1,200 Israelis and took hostages, Israel had the right to respond. But that response, critics argue, has violated international law. In Gaza, more than 72,000 Palestinians have been killed and much of the territory destroyed, including homes, schools, hospitals, and infrastructure. Severe blockades have caused widespread hunger. Violence has also escalated in the West Bank, where over 1,000 Palestinians have been killed since then.

ANTHONY DAVIS can be supported on Patreon here.

Four Ways Trump’s War Is Weakening America

THE NEW YORK TIMES — OPINION: When President Trump attacked Iran on Feb. 28, we called his decision reckless. He went to war without seeking congressional approval or the support of most allies. He offered thin and contradictory justifications to the American people. He failed to explain why this naïve attempt at regime change would end better than earlier attempts by the United States in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

In the six weeks since, the recklessness of his war has become clearer yet. He has disdained careful military planning and acted on gut instinct and wishfulness. After Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel predicted to Mr. Trump that the attacks would inspire a popular uprising in Iran, the director of the C.I.A. countered that the notion was “farcical,” The Times reported. Mr. Trump proceeded nonetheless. He was so confident that he assembled no plan to respond to an obvious countermove available to Iran: causing a spike in oil prices by blocking the Strait of Hormuz. Nor did he develop a feasible strategy for securing the enriched uranium that Iran can use to rebuild its nuclear program.

Last week he careened from illegal and immoral threats about erasing Iranian civilization to a last-minute cease-fire that accomplishes few of his announced war aims. Iran continues to defy a central part of the deal and block most traffic from crossing the Strait of Hormuz. Mr. Trump’s irresponsibility has left the United States on the cusp of a humiliating strategic defeat.

As we have emphasized, Iran’s regime deserves no sympathy. It has spent decades oppressing its people and sponsoring terrorism elsewhere. And the current war, combined with the June attacks by the United States and Israel and other Israeli operations since 2023, weakened Iran in important ways. Its navy, air force and air defenses have been degraded, and its nuclear program has been set back. Its murderous network of regional allies — including Hamas, Hezbollah and Syria’s fallen government — has been eroded.

Yet these successes cannot mask the ways in which the war has weakened the United States. We count four main setbacks for America’s national interests that are the direct result of Mr. Trump’s carelessness. These setbacks likewise weaken global democracy when authoritarians in China, Russia and elsewhere were already feeling emboldened. » | The Editorial Board | The editorial board is a group of opinion journalists whose views are informed by expertise, research, debate and certain longstanding values. It is separate from the newsroom. | Sunday, April 12, 2026

Leer en español.

Benyamin Netanyahou accuse l'Espagne d'« hostilité » et l'exclut du mécanisme de surveillance de la trêve à Gaza

LE FIGARO : «L’Espagne a choisi d’être contre Israël de façon répétée (...) Ceux qui attaquent l’État d’Israël au lieu de s’en prendre aux régimes terroristes ne seront pas nos partenaires pour façonner l’avenir de la région», a déclaré le premier ministre israélien.

Le premier ministre israélien Benyamin Netanyahou a accusé vendredi l'Espagne d'« hostilité » envers son pays et a annoncé l'exclusion de Madrid du mécanisme de surveillance international de la trêve dans la bande de Gaza. « L'Espagne a choisi d'être contre Israël de façon répétée (...) Ceux qui attaquent l'Etat d'Israël au lieu de s'en prendre aux régimes terroristes ne seront pas nos partenaires pour façonner l'avenir de la région », a déclaré Benyamin Netanyahou dans un message vidéo.

Il a accusé Madrid, avec qui Israël entretient des relations exécrables, de faire preuve d'« hypocrisie » et d'« hostilité », et de « diffamer les soldats de l'armée israélienne ». « J’ai donc ordonné aujourd'hui d'exclure les représentants espagnols du centre de coordination de Kiryat Gat », mis en place sous supervision américaine pour surveiller le cessez-le-feu entré en vigueur le 10 octobre entre Israël et le mouvement islamiste palestinien Hamas à Gaza. Le Centre de coordination militaro-civile (CCMC) est un organisme de surveillance sous supervision américaine de la fragile trêve. » | Par Le Figaro avec AFP | vendredi 10 avril 2026

Israel Passes Law to Hang Palestinians Convicted of Deadly Attacks

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Experts say the law was written in such a way as to ensure that it was unlikely to ever apply to Jewish extremists who commit similar crimes.

Israel’s Parliament passed a law on Monday that would allow the hanging of Palestinians convicted of deadly militant attacks, but critics say it will almost certainly not be applied to Jewish extremists convicted of similar crimes.

The law is a victory for Israel’s far right and reflects the country’s shift to a harder line against Palestinians in the wake of the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the Gaza war that followed. The death penalty has long been legal in Israel, but only two people have been executed in the country’s 78-year history.

The Knesset, Israel’s Parliament, passed the law after hours of debate on Monday night over the objections of Israeli justice officials, liberal rights groups and major European allies like Britain and Germany.

It makes death by hanging the default sentence in Israeli military courts for Palestinians convicted of deadly attacks. Israeli citizens — both Jewish and Palestinian Arab — could also face the death penalty for killings intended to “negate the existence of the State of Israel.” Experts say, however, the chances it would be applied to Jewish Israelis for attacks against Palestinians are minimal. » | Aaron Boxerman and Johnatan Reiss | Monday, March 30, 2026

LIRE AUSSI :

Israël : le Parlement adopte une loi controversée instaurant la «peine de mort pour les terroristes» : Cette proposition de loi introduite par l’extrême droite a été adoptée en troisième lecture par 62 voix contre 48. »

Palestinian Man Recounts Brutal Sexual Assault by Israeli Settlers

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The man said his attackers stripped him naked, beat him and zip-tied his genitalia, an account corroborated by family members and a rights activist who were also beaten.

Screenshot taken from this NYT article. | Suhaib Abualkebash, with a bruised eye, in Khirbet Humsa, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. He said he had been assaulted by Israeli settlers. | Credit...Afif Amireh for The New York Times
Israeli settlers beat a Palestinian man in the occupied West Bank, stripped him naked, tied his arms and legs and then zip-tied his penis, he, his family members and another witness said on Wednesday.

“I thought I was going to die,” the man, Suhaib Abualkebash, a 29-year-old shepherd, told The New York Times. “I thought this was the end.”

Several family members and an American woman corroborated details of Mr. Abualkebash’s account, saying they witnessed the sexual assault on Friday by several men among a group of more than 20 settlers who marauded though a Bedouin encampment. The relatives and the American said they had been beaten, too, adding that the assailants had kicked and slapped children during the attack. Family members also shared copies of reports they had filed to the Israeli police.

Israeli settlers have been waging an escalating campaign of violence and land theft against Palestinians across much of the West Bank. It has intensified as Israeli attitudes toward Palestinians have hardened since the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the war that ensued. The attacks have increased while international attention has been focused on the U.S.-Israel war with Iran. Settlers have killed seven West Bank Palestinians so far this year, six of them since the war began on Feb. 28. » | David M. Halbfinger and Fatima AbdulKarim | Reporting from Khirbet Humsa in the West Bank | Wednesday, March 18, 2026

This is truly a heart-rending story. Is there no limit or end to the cruelty in this world? Are people now totally bereft of compassion and feeling for others?

Many years ago, when I worked in the Middle East, I had many Palestinian colleagues. I have very fond memories of them, too. In work, I spent a lot of time with them. They were gentle and kind colleagues, always willing to help when help was needed. Even on weekends if, for example, I needed help moving house. And they would never take money for the assistance they gave me; in fact, they couldn’t do enough for you. I shall never forget their kindness toward me. So, when I read of Palestinians suffering like this, it touches and moves me greatly. — © Mark Alexander

A War for One Man

Screenshot of Benjamin Netanyahu taken from this guest essay. | Jim Watson/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
THE NEW YORK TIMES — OPINION: Benjamin Netanyahu has spent much of his political life trying to make war with Iran seem not only inevitable but overdue. Thus, for the Israeli prime minister, the latest conflict was a victory the moment it began. Not because every consequence is good for Israel, but because he can sell almost every conceivable result as proof that he was right all along: that Iran had to be confronted, that force was unavoidable and that delay would only have made the threat more treacherous.

Mr. Netanyahu does not need a clean victory — he just needs a durable narrative. This is not just about distracting Israeli voters when they head to the polls this year. This is also about cementing an Israeli national security doctrine that always trumps diplomacy. He needs Israelis talking about Tehran rather than Oct. 7, about existential enemies rather than political accountability or the unresolved disaster in Gaza — where, after nearly two and a half years of indiscriminate destruction, Hamas still remains — or the crisis in Lebanon, where the renewed conflict with Hezbollah shows no signs of waning.

A war with Iran does not erase those failures, but it does slide them into the background. It also moves the political conversation back onto emotional and political terrain where Mr. Netanyahu has always felt strongest: using fear with the claim that only he truly grasps the scale of the threat to Israel from Iran, and the (empty) promise that he can remove it through force.

For all these reasons, any day-after scenario is a win for Mr. Netanyahu. If Iran capitulates under military pressure, he can say that force succeeded where diplomacy failed. If Iran refuses but emerges militarily weaker, he can say that Israel bought time by degrading the country’s nuclear and missile capabilities. If the Iranian government survives but is bloodied, isolated and more consumed by internal tensions, he can claim that he has neutered an implacable foe. A prolonged period of chaos and bloodshed in Iran could be cast in Jerusalem not as a tragedy that might have been prevented but as a problem to be managed from afar. Even a hardened Iranian regime can work into the narrative that the country must continue to be confronted. » | A New York Times GUEST ESSAY by Mairav Zonszein | Ms. Zonszein is a contributing writer at Opinion. | Friday, March 13, 2026

La femme du maire de New York Zohran Mamdani au cœur d’une polémique après avoir «liké» des posts sur l’attaque du 7 Octobre

LE FIGARO : Le premier maire musulman de la ville, qui a déjà condamné à plusieurs reprises l’offensive terroriste du Hamas en Israël, a défendu son épouse en affirmant qu’elle n’était pas une personnalité publique.

La femme du nouveau maire du New York est au cœur d’une polémique. Rama Duwaji, une Américaine d’origine syrienne mariée à Zohran Mamdani depuis janvier 2025, est accusée d’avoir aimé plusieurs publications sur le réseau social Instagram qui défendent l’attaque des terroristes du Hamas le 7 octobre 2023. C’est le site d’information en ligne , un média américain ayant son siège à Washington, qui a d’abord rapporté ces informations.

Les posts en question ont été publiés le 7 et le 8 octobre, dans la foulée de l’attaque qui a fait 1200 morts civils et militaires ainsi que 250 otages. Le premier a été publié par un compte tenu par The Slow Factory, une association qui revendique militer « pour les libertés culturelles des communautés autochtones des pays du sud» et qui met en valeur «les voix et les idées de la majorité mondiale (Noirs, Autochtones et autres personnes de couleur) afin de partager leurs connaissances en dehors des frontières, des institutions et des systèmes oppressifs ». La publication « likée » contient l’image d’un bulldozer utilisé par les combattants du Hamas qui a servi à détruire un grillage sécurisé sur la frontière entre Gaza et Israël. » | Par Mayeul Aldebert | lundi 9 mars 2026

Réservé aux abonnés

Trump Threatens Iran With ‘Massive Armada’ and Presses a Set of Demands

THE NEW YORK TIMES: U.S. and European officials say they have put three demands in front of the Iranians, including a permanent end to all enrichment of uranium.

President Trump sharply intensified his threats against Iran on Wednesday, suggesting that if it did not agree to a set of demands the administration had made of the country’s leaders, he could soon mount an attack “with speed and violence.”

Mr. Trump’s threat of a second direct attack on Iran by U.S. forces in eight months came as the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, along with other naval ships, bombers and fighter jets, took up positions in the region in striking distance of the country. Mr. Trump explicitly compared the buildup to the forces he amassed near Venezuela late last year, just ahead of the operation that seized Nicolás Maduro and his wife in the middle of the night early in January.

Mr. Trump gave no specifics about the deal he was demanding, saying only that a “massive Armada” was heading toward Iran and that the country should make a deal. But U.S. and European officials say that in talks, they have put three demands in front of the Iranians: a permanent end to all enrichment of uranium, limits on the range and number of their ballistic missiles, and an end to all support for proxy groups in the Middle East, including Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis operating in Yemen.

Notably absent from those demands — and from Mr. Trump’s post on Truth Social on Wednesday morning — was any reference to protecting the protesters who took to the streets in Iran in December, convulsing the country and creating the latest crisis for its government. Mr. Trump had promised, in past social media posts, to come to their aid, but has barely mentioned them in recent weeks. » | David E. Sanger, Tyler Pager and Farnaz Fassihi | David E. Sanger and Tyler Pager reported from Washington, and Farnaz Fassihi from New York.| Wednesday, January 28, 2026

Donald Trump is a warmonger. He thrives on conflict and chaos. Has there ever been a more belligerent, more obnoxious president of the USA? — © Mark Alexander