Likely next House speaker reiterates call for ‘dramatic change’ needed on Israel

Likely next House speaker reiterates call for ‘dramatic change’ needed on Israel

REUTERS and TOI STAFF

US House of Representatives Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries calls for “dramatic change” in the Middle East and reiterates his support for a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians.

Jeffries, a New York Democrat, is expected to be the next House speaker.

“The status quo is unacceptable, and we need dramatic change. And that looks like, as far as I’m concerned, making sure you have a safe and secure Israel, living side by side as a Jewish and democratic state with an independent Palestinian state that provides dignity and self-determination for the Palestinians,” he says at a weekly press conference.

The comments echo remarks previously made by Jeffries, who has long been a moderate voice on Israel within the party. During the campaign he called for “a meaningful change in direction” in a letter to Democrats.

Censorship Bill Would Let Australia Spy On Americans And Europeans And Report Lawful Speech And Private Info To Five Eyes, Including FBI

EXCLUSIVE: Censorship Bill Would Let Australia Spy On Americans And Europeans And Report Lawful Speech And Private Info To Five Eyes, Including FBI

MICHAEL NAYNA, ANDREW LOWENTHAL, AND MICHAEL SHELLENBERGER

In September 2025, top government censorship officials from Europe, the UK, Brazil, California, and Australia met at Stanford to discuss ways to coordinate censorship at an international level. The meeting was titled “Compliance and Enforcement in a Rapidly Evolving Landscape.” Australia’s top censor, eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant, gave the keynote.

Though Grant did not provide her remarks to Public, previously she had told the World Economic Forum (WEF) that she was organizing censorship officials around the world because “we know we’re going to go much further when we work together with other like-minded independent statutory authorities around the globe.”

Inman Grant’s efforts appear to be coming to fruition in Australia, where the lower house has passed sweeping censorship and surveillance legislation that the Senate is now considering. The legislation would allow the Commissioner to monitor “lawful but harmful” speech.

Inman Grant, an American who once volunteered to a journalist that she turned down a job with the CIA, can already order a platform to reveal who is behind an anonymous account from anywhere in the world.

But the DDoC bill now before the Australian Senate would also let her use fake accounts that deceive users into thinking they are citizens and not government spies, record their legal speech, and give what she learns directly to Australia’s spy agencies. Those agencies could then share that intelligence with the FBI and other “Five Eyes” intelligence-sharing partners in the US, UK, Canada, and New Zealand.

The bill enables this by granting eSafety the ability to create an unlimited number of AI-generated “sock puppet” identities (effectively bots) under policies set “in consultation with the Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police.”

The private information that the Australian government could share with foreign intelligence agencies could include a user’s name, address, phone number, email, along with what the Privacy Act calls “sensitive information,” which includes political opinions, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, and health records.

The Institute for Public Affairs (IPA) first reported on the Privacy Act changes on Monday, and Network Affects noted last month that the new censorship legislation designates eSafety an “enforcement body” under the Privacy Act, expanding its ability to access personal information.

In 2013, documents released by whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed that British intelligence officials had allowed, as part of a secret deal with the U.S. government’s National Security Agency (NSA), for it to gather information on UK citizens who were not under suspicion of any wrongdoing.

The eSafety Commissioner could thus unmask anonymous accounts in the United States, France, or Germany, for example, that complain about controversial issues like mass migration, and report them and all of their private information to the FBI and European spy agencies.

“We have power to share with the AFP [Australian Federal Police]; we don’t have power to share with intelligence agencies at this time,” testified Heidi Snell, eSafety’s General Manager of Regulatory Operations, in October this year. “But the amendments would see us being able to share directly with those other government agencies,” she added.

Those agencies include the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS), Australia’s equivalent of the CIA; the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), which performs a role similar to the FBI’s domestic intelligence division; the Australian Signals Directorate (Australia’s NSA); the Office of National Intelligence (ODNI); the Department of Home Affairs (DHS); the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (State Department); the Department of Defence; and any other “Commonwealth entity.”

The DDoC Bill contains a provision that would put eSafety in the same legal category as the Australian Federal Police under the Privacy Act for “surveillance activities, intelligence gathering activities or monitoring activities.”

eSafety told Public in an email that information it sends to the police may include “the account names or the identity of the users who posted the material.” A Federal Police witness testified on Oct 21 that police can pass eSafety’s information to “our ASIO partners.”

The censorship bill would change Australia’s Privacy Act so eSafety could collect sensitive personal information, including political opinions, without users’ consent,a warrant or judicial oversight. To invoke this Privacy Act exception, it would only need to “reasonably believe” that the collection is necessary for its functions.

Iran-Turkey Relations Strengthen: Iran's President Lands In Turkey

“A DISGRACE”: Iran’s President Fumes Over U.S. “Mother Of All Bombs” Threat As He Lands In Turkey

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian flew to Turkey on Wednesday for the UN climate summit in Antalya, firing off an angry message on the way that accused the United States of trying to “pursue diplomacy through threats” by invoking the massive “Mother of All Bombs.”

“They waged war, claiming to stop Iran acquiring nuclear weapons. Then they used the PrSM missile in Lamerd for the first time. Now they invoke the ‘Mother of All Bombs’ to pursue diplomacy through threats. No contradiction, but a disgrace. Who threatens global peace and security?” Pezeshkian wrote on X.

The Lamerd reference is to a strike on the southern Iranian city at the start of the war on February 28, which Tehran blames on an American Precision Strike Missile. The “Mother of All Bombs” is the U.S. military’s 21,600-pound GBU-43 air-burst bomb. In October, it was reported that the White House had prepared options to use it against Iranian targets, and this week Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the U.S. is closely monitoring Iran’s nuclear sites and is ready to strike again if Tehran resumes threatening activity.

Before leaving Tehran, Pezeshkian said that during the trip “information will be presented on the damage inflicted on Iran’s environment by the United States and Israel.” He said he is scheduled to meet more than ten heads of state and senior officials on the sidelines of the summit, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and described relations between Iran and Turkey as being “at a very good level.”

The Iranian regime has been building a legal campaign around the same theme. On Tuesday, Iranian Vice President Shina Ansari, who heads the country’s environment department, said Tehran had finished documenting environmental damage from the 12-day war and is now documenting damage from the current war, with plans to pursue the cases in international forums. She branded the bombing of fuel depots in Tehran and Karaj as “ecocide.”

Pezeshkian was seen off at the airport by First Vice President Mohammadreza Aref and several cabinet ministers for the two-day visit. The COP31 conference runs in Antalya from November 9 to 20, with 71 countries represented at the level of presidents or prime ministers.

4.5-magnitude earthquake rattles Eilat

4.5-magnitude earthquake rattles Eilat

David Israel

A 4.5-magnitude earthquake near Israel’s southern border with Egypt disrupted air travel to Eilat on Wednesday, forcing the evacuation of Ramon Airport and leaving incoming aircraft temporarily unable to land.

Flights have since resumed after a temporary shutdown and safety inspections.

The tremor was centered in the Taba area of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, about 30 kilometers south of Eilat, at an estimated depth of eight kilometers, according to the Geological Survey of Israel.

The quake was felt across Eilat and surrounding communities, triggering earthquake warnings in Eilot, Be’er Ora, Elifaz, the Timna Mines and the Shahoret Industrial Zone.

The Home Front Command instructed residents to move away from buildings.

The Israel Airports Authority halted all aviation activity at Ramon Airport while engineers and safety officials examined its facilities and infrastructure.

Passengers and airport employees were evacuated in accordance with Home Front Command instructions.

An Arkia flight from Ben Gurion Airport was seen circling near Ramon after the suspension prevented it from landing.

The Israel Defense Forces urged the public to follow safety instructions through the Home Front Command website and app, adding that the circumstances were still being examined.

The Israel Airports Authority said the airport reopened after authorities completed inspections of its facilities and infrastructure.

Is Iran threatening to attack Europe? – Analysis

Is Iran threatening to attack Europe? – Analysis

Shay Khatiri, Middle East Forum

On October 31, 2026, Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei reportedly met with senior commanders of the armed forces and instructed them to strike at Europe.

Khamenei told his commanders to employ “maximalist deterrence” and ordered them that they should meet any threat with “a quick response and without geographical limits.” Immediately, regime media pivoted to the talking points.

Keyhan, whose editor the supreme leader appoints, wrote that Iran’s possible targets go beyond the Middle East and include “the heart of Europe.” It added that Iran’s missiles could reach NATO bases up 3,000 miles away.

The mass-circulation Hamshahri echoed the argument and suggested that Iran’s deep strikes would disrupt the U.S. military’s supply lines.

With the possibility of a new conflict increasing after the U.S. midterm elections, officials are becoming even more vocal about these threats.

Mohammad-Javad Larijani, the brother of Ali, who served as the secretary of Supreme National Security Council until a U.S. strike killed him, and Sadeq Larijani, who chairs the Expediency Council, said, “If it happens that Iran is attacked from American bases in Germany, Albania, or England, these bases will be our legitimate targets.”

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said during an interview that Iran would not hesitate to attack U.S. bases to defend itself, without specifying any region.

He also mentioned that he discussed the matter with his Cypriot counterpart Constantinos Kombos, who assured him that he had told the British government not to use their base in Cyprus for attacks against Iran.

The article mentioned that Araghchi warned the United Kingdom and Bulgaria in July 2026 that they would face retaliation if the United States used their bases.

Other officials, such as members of parliament and former foreign minister-turned-parliamentarian Manuchehr Mottaki, issued the same warning.

Iran uses this trick to turn U.S. allies and partners into lobbyists against renewed conflict.

The reported damages to U.S. bases in the Middle East and low stocks of interceptors also encourage Iran to believe that it could seriously harm U.S. war efforts.

During Operation Epic Fury, Iran demonstrated its capability to reach the Diego Garcia base, which is about 2,500 miles away, likely using a Simorgh space-launched vehicle, which is typically much more expensive than ballistic missiles.

Scarcity might prove a problem. Iran’s tactic for missile attacks is swarming the target, and it is not publicly known whether Iran’s stockpile of its medium-range ballistic missiles is high enough to overwhelm U.S. interceptors.

Since the ceasefire in April 2026, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officials have boasted that Iran will unveil new weapons in future conflicts.

One such weapon could be a modified version of Khorramshahr-4, a solid fuel medium-range ballistic missile that could reach Europe, which would be much cheaper. Initially, observers believed that this was the weapon Iran had used against Diego Garcia.

Iran’s gamble might also prove catastrophic. European elites and publics have been against the Iran War, but not at the cost of forfeiting their own security.

Unlike in the Middle East, where Iran is the only threat to its neighbors, Russia poses the most prominent threat to Europe.

As such, European governments cannot afford U.S. withdrawal. If attacked on their soils and faced with either turning on the United States or Iran as a measure, they might opt for retaliating against Iran, which is also an arms supplier to Russia.

Iran’s hubris might be a result of a false assessment that European governments will act the same way as Arab governments and seek to placate all sides.