... on a quiet day, I can hear her breathing

Hegseth says Iran has choice between deal or ‘devastation’

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United States Secretary of War Pete Hegseth speaks during the press conference held by The United States President Donald Trump in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on April 6, 2026, in Washington DC, United States. [Celal Güneş – Anadolu Agency]

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Saturday that Iran faces a choice between abandoning its “nuclear ambitions” and reaching a deal or facing devastating military action, Anadolu reports.

“Iran’s going to have a choice to make real quick about whether they’re going to give those up at the table or face the kind of devastation that America can bring and will bring swiftly if necessary,” Hegseth told Reserve Officers’ Training Corps cadets and military recruits at the University of Tennessee.

He accused Tehran of building a large conventional missile arsenal to deter military action while pursuing “nuclear ambitions,” arguing that US military strength was essential to forcing adversaries to negotiate.

READ: Iran says renewed talks with US require ‘credible guarantees’ against new attacks

Hegseth also said that Iran “funds the proxies in Hezbollah, funds the proxies in the Houthis in Yemen,” adding that Washington had sought to deter attacks on US forces and shipping.

The defense chief framed the policy on Iran as part of US President Donald Trump’s wider effort to reassert American power, including confronting drug cartels and limiting the influence of Iran, China and Russia in Latin America.

Referring to Venezuela, Hegseth said the US operation there would have “generational implications,” describing the country as a strategic partner and highlighting its oil resources.

He said Washington was seeking to push its rivals out of the Western Hemisphere while strengthening its military presence and partnerships across the Americas.

READ: Beyond oil: The Gulf crisis is becoming a food security crisis

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Donald Trump sings and dances, says that it's fun to kill everyone ... unless he gets distracted or falls asleep. — Donald Trump sings and dances, says that it’s fun to kill everyone … unless he gets distracted or falls asleep.

Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza's hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel. New Labour UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham continues Labour party policy of active support and complicity in Israel's genocide. — Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel. New Labour UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham continues Labour party policy of active support and complicity in Israel’s genocide.

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham admits to blatently lying and engaging in deception to become leader of the UK Labour Party and Prime Minister.

Ed Miliband says that he and the Labour Party are full of shit criminalising people holding signs as terrorists despite anything he says.

Andy Burnham stands with Israel

18 October 2026

Palestinians in Gaza City protest Israeli military’s ‘Yellow Line’ expansion

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Palestinians gathered in eastern Gaza City on Saturday, to protest the Israeli military’s recent expansion of the “Yellow Line” buffer zone into residential neighborhoods, Anadolu reports.

The “yellow line” is a notional line inside the Gaza Strip to which the Israeli army withdrew under the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war, under which a ceasefire took effect on Oct. 10, 2025. It separates areas in eastern Gaza that remain under Israeli army control from areas west of the line where Palestinians are allowed to move.

The line separates areas occupied by Israeli forces in the east from areas where Palestinians are permitted to remain in the west.

Israeli ceasefire violations have killed 1,488 Palestinians and injured 5,281 as of Sunday, according to the latest figures from Gaza’s Health Ministry.

Since the war began in October 2023, more than 74,000 Palestinians have been killed and over 175,000 injured, while around 90% of Gaza’s infrastructure has been destroyed, according to the ministry.

READ: Repeated displacement leaves Gaza shelters deteriorating ahead of winter: IOM

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Andy Burnham stands with Israel

18 October 2026

Iran says renewed talks with US require ‘credible guarantees’ against new attacks

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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Baghdad, Iraq, on June 28, 2026. [Murtadha Al-Sudani – Anadolu Agency]

Iran remains open to negotiations but requires “credible guarantees” before resuming talks, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday, state news agency IRNA reported.

“Iran does not accept coercion, threats and intimidation and will not relinquish its sovereign rights under pressure. But it remains ready for dialogue based on mutual respect and credible guarantees,” Araghchi told the 52nd session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers in Baghdad.

He said Iran negotiated “in good faith” over the past two years, but claimed diplomatic efforts were repeatedly followed by military attacks, creating “deep mistrust” over restarting negotiations without guarantees against a recurrence.

Nevertheless, Araghchi said, Tehran has kept the door to diplomacy open.

He referred to a previously conveyed seven-day proposal through Qatar under which, he said, the Strait of Hormuz could be reopened and normal maritime traffic restored if the necessary conditions were met.

READ: Vance suggests disagreement with Trump over Iran war

Araghchi also referred to the June 17 Islamabad understanding between Iran and the US, reached through Pakistan’s mediation and with Qatar’s support.

He said maritime traffic recovered to around 60% of its pre-war level within two weeks before implementation of the understanding stalled.

On Yemen, Araghchi said the conflict has no military solution and should be resolved through an inclusive political process and negotiations, adding that Iran is ready to help facilitate dialogue between the parties based on a previously agreed peace roadmap.

He reiterated Tehran’s position on Palestine, and called for coordinated action by OIC members to support Palestinian rights.

The two-day OIC foreign ministers’ meeting opened in Baghdad on Saturday, bringing together representatives of member states to discuss regional crises, Palestine, peace, development and cooperation.

Iraq assumed the organization’s rotating presidency from Türkiye at the meeting, held under the theme “Dialogue and Solidarity: Two Essential Pillars for Promoting Peace and Sustainable Development.”

READ: Iranian lawmaker says indirect talks with US continuing through Qatar, Oman: Report

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Andy Burnham stands with Israel

18 October 2026

Iran’s IRGC says 2nd supertanker hits naval mine in Strait of Hormuz

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Commercial vessels and oil tankers sit anchored in the waters off Bandar Abbas in southern Iran’s Hormozgan Province on September 9, 2026. [Fatemeh Bahrami – Anadolu Agency]

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy said Saturday that a second supertanker had struck a naval mine and caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz, Anadolu reports.

In a statement, the IRGC Navy said the tanker was carrying more than 2 million barrels of crude oil and had switched off its positioning and radar systems while attempting to use an “unauthorized” route.

The mine strike caused a major explosion in the vessel’s engine room, leaving the tanker immobilized, the statement said.

The IRGC did not identify the vessel or provide information about its crew, casualties, or possible environmental damage.

READ: Strait of Hormuz transits remain 70% below pre-conflict levels: UK maritime agency

The latest incident came after the IRGC said a first supertanker had struck a naval mine while attempting to pass through what it called an “unauthorized” route in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has imposed restrictions on shipping through parts of the strategic waterway amid its conflict with the US, while insisting vessels must follow routes authorized by Tehran.

The US and its regional allies have rejected Iran’s restrictions and maintained that vessels have the right to freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important energy transit routes.

READ: Iran’s IRGC Navy threatens to sink US warships approaching Strait of Hormuz

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Andy Burnham stands with Israel

18 October 2026

Repeated displacement leaves Gaza shelters deteriorating ahead of winter: IOM

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A view of the heavily damaged city infrastructure and destroyed buildings while displaced Palestinians struggle to survive in makeshift tents along the coastline of Gaza City, Gaza, Palestine, on October 07, 2026. [Ali Jadallah – Anadolu Agency]

Repeated displacement during three years of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has left shelters across the enclave increasingly deteriorated, while restrictions and funding shortages are hampering preparations for winter, a senior UN migration official said late Friday.

Karl Baker, regional crisis coordinator for the Gaza response at the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said some Palestinians have been displaced as many as eight times, damaging or destroying tents and other temporary shelters each time families are forced to move.

“When they move, all those goods that they currently have or did have either get destroyed, or they have to seek new shelter,” Baker told UN News.

Even basic materials such as tarpaulins need to be replaced roughly every six months, but humanitarian agencies have been unable to bring replacements into Gaza at the required scale, he said.

Baker said agencies now need to move beyond temporary solutions toward more durable transitional shelters.

Materials needed for stronger roofing, concrete floors, and more substantial walls, however, are affected by Israel’s “dual-use” restrictions over security concerns.

“After three years of war, we do need to improve the level of shelter which is inside, and move further away from temporary and more toward transitional type of shelter,” he said.

READ: Gaza residents face another winter amid shelter shortages, dwindling aid

Baker said IOM remains in constant contact with Israeli authorities, but some durable materials continue to be denied entry over security concerns.

He also cited funding shortages and disruptions to international shipping as obstacles, saying IOM relies on suppliers in countries including China, India, and Pakistan.

Although funding has begun to arrive, it remains insufficient to meet the needs of an estimated 1.8 million to 1.9 million people requiring shelter assistance, he added.

Baker said only around 30% of Gaza is currently accessible to most of the population, forcing displaced Palestinians into increasingly crowded and often flood-prone areas.

“The 30% in which they currently live is a very large displacement camp,” he said.

With winter rains already beginning, humanitarian organizations are working to address flood-prone areas and deploy water pumps, but Baker warned that getting displaced Palestinians through the winter would be the biggest challenge.

Earlier this month, IOM said available and incoming shelter supplies covered only 17% of Gaza’s winter needs, while more than half of tents and makeshift shelters were in poor condition.

A ceasefire has been in effect since Oct. 10, 2025, but Israeli attacks and restrictions on the entry of humanitarian and shelter supplies have continued.

READ: UN says Gaza shelter supplies cover just 17% of winter needs as nearly 2M require aid

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Andy Burnham stands with Israel

18 October 2026