September 25th, 2026 | Weekly Issue
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Senate Narrowly Defeats Iran War Powers Resolution
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The vote doesn't negate a concurrent War Powers Resolution that was previously passed by both chambers and directed President Trump to end the war
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The Senate narrowly defeated a War Powers Resolution on Thursday that would have directed President Trump to end the war with Iran, though the vote doesn't negate the Iran War Powers Resolution that was passed by both the Senate and the House several months ago.
The resolution failed Thursday in a 49-50 vote, with four Republicans - Senators Rand Paul (R-KY), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Thom Tillis (R-NC) - supporting the measure. It marked the first time Tillis, who is not running for re-election, voted to end the war.
Just one Democrat, Senator Jon Fetterman (D-PA), voted against the bill, something he's consistently done, and Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD) wasn't present for the vote. If Alsobrooks did vote in favor of the resolution, Vice President JD Vance could have cast a tie-breaking vote to kill the bill, as he did with a Venezuela War Powers Resolution earlier this year.
The resolution previously passed through the House, where seven Republicans voted in favor, the most support from the GOP that a bill to end the Iran war has received.
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Yemen's Ansar Allah Announces Another Wave of Attacks on Saudi Arabia Targeting Riyadh and Yanbu
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Ansar Allah also said that Saudi Arabia has launched over 1,000 airstrikes in Yemen since the escalation began
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Ansar Allah announced on Thursday that its forces launched another wave of missile and drone attacks targeting the Saudi capital of Riyadh and oil infrastructure in Yanbu on Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast as the war continues to escalate.
Ansar Allah military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a statement that Yemeni forces carried out "successful operations" targeting Riyadh and Yanbu. At this point, the extent of the damage is unclear, and Saudi Arabia has only said that its forces shot down six ballistic missiles fired from Yemen, including some that were fired at Yanbu.
Saree said that the attacks were launched in response to Saudi strikes on Yemeni territory, which have been killing an increasing number of civilians.
Saree wrote on Telegram that since the recent escalations in Yemen, there have been "1018 airstrikes and missile attacks using F-15 and Typhoon aircraft that took off from the Khamis Mushait and Taif airbases, and missile attacks from Najran and Jizan targeting the governorates of Ma'rib and Sa'dah, Taiz, Al-Jawf, and Al-Bayda, leaving martyrs and wounded, including women and children, and causing damage to civilian infrastructure."
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Bessent Says He's Not Sure How Iranian Officials Will Get Home From UN Due to US Airline Sanctions
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Several countries have shut down flights to and from Iran due to the threat of US sanctions
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US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said that he isn't sure how the Iranian delegation attending the UN General Assembly in New York City will get home due to US sanctions targeting Iran's airlines and threats to sanction countries conducting flights to and from Iran.
In an interview with Fox News on Wednesday, Bessent claimed that due to the US economic campaign against Iran, which he dubbed "Operation Economic Outcast," 80% to 90% of Iran's "external flights" have been shut down.
"I'm not sure how the Iranian representatives at the UN are gonna get home. We have made it very clear around the world, whether it's the financiers, the people who are doing business, the people who are supplying the Iranians ... we are going to prosecute and execute your companies and your bank accounts every day and every week," Bessent said.
The UAE's aviation authority has announced that it is suspending all flights by Iranian airlines to comply with the US sanctions, and Iranian media has reported that flights have also been shut down to Oman, Georgia, and Azerbaijan. Flights to Baghdad have also been shut down, though Iran's Tasnim news agency reported that, as of Thursday, flights to and from Najaf, Iraq, a holy city for Shia Muslims, have continued.
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In UN Speech, Trump Threatens Iran With 'Annihilation' and 'Hell' But Says Deal Likely After Midterms
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Later in the day, Trump said Witkoff and Kushner met with Iranian officials, though Witkoff said talks were held through mediators
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In his address to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, President Trump threatened Iran with "annihilation" and "hell," but said he believes there would be a deal after the midterm elections, and said later in the day that his envoys held talks with Iranian officials.
Trump told the General Assembly that he has a "big decision to make" regarding Iran, repeating a talking point he's used in recent media interviews.
"Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before, maybe one of the greatest in the Middle East or even the world? Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again? Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness or generations?" the president said.
"But I believe we'll make a deal right after the election because it doesn't make sense for them not to. They're waiting to see how I do in the midterm election. What they don't realize is that I'm not running. I did that already and won in a landslide. We won in a giant landslide, and I'll be here for two and a half years. The Republican Party is running, and I'll be helping them. But I am not running. I gave absolutely no credence and will not give credence to the election when it comes to Iran," he added.
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Poll: Majority of US Voters Support Impeaching Hegseth Over Iran War
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A new poll from The Economist/YouGov found that a majority of registered US voters support impeaching US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, after Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) of Kentucky introduced a resolution to remove him.
The poll, conducted from September 18 to September 21, found that 51% of registered voters surveyed support impeaching Hegseth for starting the war with Iran without congressional authorization, while 34% oppose it. Support for impeachment rises among likely voters to 54%, and opposition rises to 35%.
"This is why [House Speaker Mike Johnson] adjourned Congress to avoid the vote and why the President isn't defending [Hegseth]," Massie wrote on X in response to the results.
Massie introduced the articles of impeachment on September 15, and because it was a privileged resolution, a vote had to happen within two days. But Johnson canceled the House's voting session for September 17, sending lawmakers home early for a long recess that pushes the impeachment vote until after midterm elections.
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Trump: Would 40,000 be enough?
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As we approach the three-year mark of the start of Israel's genocide in Gaza, Israel has signaled that it has every intention of continuing its massive bombing campaigns against Gaza, Lebanon, Iran, and possibly other countries. And Donald Trump has signaled that he is ready to help. On September 15, the Washington Post reported a decision by the Trump administration to provide Israel with some 40,000 of the US Air Force's massive 2,000-pound bombs, the largest such transfer to any country in many years.
Specifically, the administration announced that it was prepared to "sell" to Israel a $2.8 billion package of US Air Force 2000-pound bombs, consisting of 20,000 MK-84 bombs and another 20,000 BLU-117 bombs. The two versions are similar in size, weight, and functionality. Although both models are considered "general purpose" and "dumb" bombs, they can be configured with various guidance kits into precision guided munitions, aka "smart bombs." Presumably, Israel will use its own guidance kits which it produces domestically. The administration's package for Israel also includes 20,000 of the USAF's I-2000 penetrator warheads, which function as a heavy-duty bomb body for the MK-84 or the BLU-117, effectively converting the munition into a hard target penetrator or "bunker buster."
Israel's profligate use of massive munitions on civilian populations has drawn international criticism since the opening weeks of the Gaza conflict. According to CNN, "In the first month of its war in Gaza, Israel dropped hundreds of massive bombs, many of them capable of killing or wounding people more than 1,000 feet away.... Satellite imagery from those early days of the war reveals more than 500 impact craters over 12 meters (40 feet) in diameter, consistent with those left behind by 2,000-pound bombs. Those are four times heavier than the largest bombs the United States dropped on ISIS in Mosul, Iraq, during the war against the extremist group there. Weapons and warfare experts blame the extensive use of heavy munitions such as the 2,000-pound bomb for the soaring death toll. The population of Gaza is packed together much more tightly than almost anywhere else on earth, so the use of such heavy munitions has a profound effect."
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