ā ļø ISRAEL WARNS ABOUT IRANāS MISSILE AND NUCLEAR PROGRAMS: Israeli Atomic Energy Commission head Moshe Edri told the IAEAās 70th General Conference: āThe extremist Iranian regime continues to build infrastructure for missile production while simultaneously attempting to advance its military nuclear program. The State of Israel will not stand idly by in the face of threats to its destruction. We have acted in the past to ensure our survival, and we will do so again if necessary.ā
President Trump separately said: āThe failing nation of Iran wants to make a deal, quickly and badly. I will determine whether or not the U.S.A. will choose to engage ā the concept of which we are open toā.
Iranās Tasnim News Agency rejected that account: āIran has repeatedly said it does not seek negotiations for an agreement with the U.S. government. Trump continues making false claims about a deal with Iranā.
š°ļø ISRAELāSAUDI CONTACTS AGAINST THE HOUTHIS: Regional diplomatic sources say Israel and Saudi Arabia are in contact through CENTCOM about Israeli intelligence assistance against the Houthis. The account describes cooperation as more extensive than publicly apparent, but currently limited to intelligence.
An accompanying assessment contrasts these contacts with Saudi Arabiaās reported defense alliance with Pakistan and Turkey, signed a month earlier. It says Riyadh sought help from those partners without receiving it and turned to Jerusalem for assistance. The assessment suggests that agreement terms or approval requirements may explain the absence of Pakistani and Turkish assistance, but that explanation remains uncertain.
The assessment raises whether Israel should condition assistance on Saudi movement toward normalization or a change in its support for Palestinian statehood. It describes Israelās longstanding approach, particularly since October 7, as accepting opportunities for cooperation against shared enemies despite political disagreements. It cites continued cooperation with the United Kingdom despite British sanctions against Israel, arguing that Israel has previously worked with politically antagonistic partners against greater shared threats.
šø SAUDI TALKS AND CONFLICTING CLAIMS ABOUT THE HOUTHIS: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met Cooper in Jeddah today. The meeting followed reports that the crown prince twice called President Trump in recent days to request U.S. strikes against the Houthis, which Trump declined, and came after the Houthis captured Mokha and Perim Island. Cooper was already in Saudi Arabia for coordination meetings last week when the collapse on Yemenās western coast occurred.
Trump said: āHouthis called us and they don't want to fight with us. They let us know they don't want us to go after them. They are letting most ships go throughā.
Houthi Political Bureau member Hezam al-Assad rejected Trumpās account as baseless, adding: āBut reality sums him up with the old proverb: 'The hand you cannot break ā kiss it, and pray for it to break'ā.
The Saudi crown prince also visited Cairo for talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. The agenda focused on Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb security, the Houthis, Iranian attacks on Gulf states and the wider effects of the Iran war. Egyptās potential accession to the Pakistani-Turkish-Saudi Mecca Defence Alliance was not expected to be discussed.
āŖļø CHIKLI CRITICIZES TURKEY AND U.S. AMBASSADOR: Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli said: āIsrael is united with both Greece and Cyprus against Islamic extremism in the region led by Turkeyā.
Criticizing U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, Chikli said: āHe is acting against the interests of the West, Christians and the USā.
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