Midday yesterday, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that the US and Saudi Arabia have agreed to “the broad contours of a deal for Saudi Arabia to recognize Israel.” As I’ve reported several times in the past, included in the agreement would be a US guarantee of Saudi Arabia’s safety, assistance by Washington in civilian nuclear development, and some significant concessions by Israel regarding the Palestinians.

The news media went wild, and many people couldn’t contain their excitement. Where you didn’t find excitement was in Israel’s leadership who are not at all ready to budge on Palestinian issues, a position that hadn’t been a block in Saudi/Israeli relations until the US made it one.

But before the media had an opportunity to joyfully denounce Israel, the US National Security Council Spokesman John Kirby threw cold water on the WSJ report saying, “Just to be blunt here, the reporting has left some people with the impression that the discussions are further along and closer to a sense of certainty than they are.” So, who do you believe? When it comes to Middle East politics, the answer is usually “no one”.

Terror Attack in Tel Aviv

Last Saturday in Tel Aviv, two municipal security officers noticed a man acting suspiciously. As they approached him, the man pulled out a gun and opened fire. One officer was struck, while the second returned fire hitting the gunman. Both the 42-year-old security man and the 22-year-old member of the terrorist group Palestinian Islamic Jihad eventually died of their injuries. The officer, Chen Amir, left behind a wife and three daughters.

Israeli Air Force Hits Syria

Israel hit Syria early Monday morning with a missile attack. Four Syrian soldiers died in the strike, and four more were wounded. Per usual, Israel declined to comment.

Lebanon is on the Brink of War

The economy has collapsed. The government is run by an Iranian-backed terrorist group. Soldiers are firing on civilians. Thousands of citizens are fleeing the country, while other nations are pulling out all their embassy staff. And the Hezbollah leadership is consistently speaking words of war toward Israel. It truly breaks my heart to see this. I love the Lebanese people, but they are being held hostage by Hezbollah.

On Tuesday, head of Iran’s Quds Force, Esmail Qaani, landed in Lebanon. He was there to coordinate the final details for an attack on US forces in Syria and on Israel from Lebanon. What’s the motivation behind the escalations? Iran wants Hezbollah to go to war with Israel, so that the attention is diverted away from their nuclear program.

Hezbollah, on the other hand, needs a war to divert attention away from how they have trashed the country. Unfortunately, war will not go well for the Lebanese people. On Tuesday, Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant looked out over Lebanon from his vantage point on Mount Dov and warned Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, to not make a mistake and attack.

He said that if “an escalation or conflict develops here, we will return Lebanon to the Stone Age. We will not hesitate to use all our power and erode every inch of Hezbollah and Lebanon if we have to.” Let’s pray it doesn’t come to that.

US Readies for Action in Syria

In the skies above Syria a couple weeks ago, a Russian Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jet dropped flares in front of a US MQ-9 Reaper drone during an extremely close fly by. This action severely damaged the drone’s propellor, forcing it back to base. Down on the ground, Iran’s proxy militias are preparing for a major strike on US bases east of the Euphrates River.

This is all part of Iran’s ultimate goals of destroying Israel and getting the US out of the Middle East. That goal of the US’s departure is shared by Iran and Russia. Neither will likely use their own forces to accomplish it, but they have thousands of Islamist terrorists who are more than happy to do their bidding.

3000 US Personnel Arrive in Persian Gulf

As Iran continues to stir up tensions in Gulf waters, Washington has moved more than 3000 personnel to the Red Sea aboard two warships. In the past two years, Iran has seized or attempted to seize more than 20 ships.

The USS Bataan and USS Carter Hall have been sent to deter this activity, bringing sailors and marines to the Fifth Fleet “to deter destabilizing activity and de-escalate regional tensions caused by Iran’s harassment, said Fifth Fleet spokesman Commander Tim Hawkins.

And the Battle Drags On….

The war still rages between Russia and Ukraine. Kyiv scored a victory by damaging a Russian battleship with an unmanned suicide vessel. Russia pounded Ukraine with fresh air attacks. Tens of thousands of soldiers are dying each month in this brutal conflict.

In order to replenish their ranks, the Kremlin has notified the UN of its intent to order martial law in Russia. This is often a prelude to widespread mobilization. Meanwhile, a Ukrainian woman was arrested last week, accused of providing information to Moscow for an assassination attempt on President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Nations Shoring Up Borders with Belarus

What was with the whole Wagner Group coup attempt against Vladimir Putin? Were they really marching on Moscow to take him down, or was there another reason for their actions? If you’ll remember, I always thought there was more going on than met the eye, and now it seems we can see their strategy.

While some of the Wagner Group troops have shown up in Niger (see below), many others have found their way to Belarus. Poland has grown very concerned that they are the reason this mercenary force has appeared on the other side of their border, particularly when Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has been claiming that he is having to restrain Wagner forces from attacking them. Already they have begun to shore up their border force and they are now sending 2000 more troops. Lithuania and Latvia are also transporting troops to their borders with Belarus.

Russia Deepens Influence in Africa

As Russia struggles in Ukraine, their plans appear to be going very well in Africa. Not only do they now have a very pro-Russian leader in Niger after the coup, but Moscow plans to reopen its embassy in Burkina Faso after 31 years. Mali and Guinea also fall into the pro-Niger coup, “friends of Russia” category.

The tension is just going to grow in Western Africa between pro-Western and pro-Russian nations. A number of countries were prepared to liberate Niger from the coup, but Wagner Group forces arrived in Niamey before they could launch. This appears to have been enough to cow Nigeria, whose senate voted to authorize sanctions against their northern neighbor but declined to approve military force. Without Nigeria, the collective African force has been greatly handicapped.

Brazilian President Calls for Global Government

Radical leftist President Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva of Brazil is concerned about the deforestation of the rain forests. His solution? Create rules for preservation, then establish a “new global government” to enforce them. His plan is to restructure the United Nations into a stronger body with more enforcement capabilities. For years, I have been saying that climate change will be the basis for the coming one world religion. Lula sees it as the excuse for a one world government.