BlackMask Breaking News

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati told Al-Jadeed TV on Wednesday that he “hopes” a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon will be reached “in the coming hours or days.” He remarked that he was “cautiously optimistic” after receiving a call from United States Special Envoy Amos Hochstein, who told him he was on a plane to Tel Aviv. “The Lebanese army needs equipment to carry out its role, and there should be no weapons in the South Litani region except in the hands of the Lebanese legitimacy, and all infrastructure in that sector should be dismantled,” Mikati went on to say. Meanwhile, Israel’s KAN news agency leaked the Lebanon-Israel 60-day armistice proposal. In it, the two are called to adopt UN Resolutions 1701 and 1559, while the Lebanese armed forces are expected to monitor and enforce the resolution. Furthermore, within 7 days of the ceasefire, Israel is expected to withdraw its forces.

Israel says ‘prominent’ Hamas member killed in West Bank

Israel’s special forces eliminated a “prominent” Hamas member Hussam Al Malah in an operation in Tulkarem in the West Bank, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Shin Bet said in a joint statement. Al Malah was said to have planned terrorist attacks against Israel in the West Bank along with two other Hamas members Islam Odeh and Zahi Oufi who were also killed by Israeli security forces before the operation on Wednesday. The operation was carried out by the agents of the special police counter-terrorist units and Shin Bet agents, the statement read.

NN: Of course the terrorists want peace because they are getting their asses kicked. \\\\\\\\Stupid///// That will  give them time to regroup and rearm and attack again. Its time to kill the beast

Hezbollah’s newly-elected Secretary-General Naim Qassem commented on Wednesday on the recent drone attack on Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private residence, saying that the group’s contacts confirmed that the prime minister is “very afraid because we are targeting him.” “The enemy must know that its bombing of our villages and cities will not make us retreat, and the resistance is strong and was able to deliver a drone to Netanyahu’s room,” Qassem said, adding that even though the strike didn’t kill the Israeli prime minister, “perhaps an Israeli will kill him, perhaps during one of his speeches.” Hezbollah’s new leader also confirmed that the military group has recovered its capabilities and acquired new fighters to replace the ones injured in the pager attacks in the previous month, urging the group’s supporters to “have a little more patience.” Qassem also claimed that Nasrallah’s death won’t stop the group but increase its determination.

The oil market has “relaxed too quickly” over risks in the Middle East, and renewed hostilities between Israel and Iran after the US election could boost prices, according to Standard Chartered Plc.

“We see the risk of an escalating series of attacks over an extended period, with no immediate prospect of either military or diplomatic resolution,” analysts including Emily Ashford and Paul Horsnell said in an Oct. 29 report. The two-month period leading up to the presidential inauguration on Jan. 20 represents a potential “window for an intensification,” they said.

Crude prices slumped by the most in more than two years on Monday after Israel’s latest retaliatory strike against Iran avoided the OPEC producer’s energy infrastructure. That choice of targets both reduced concerns about immediate risks to crude flows, and flipped investors’ attention back toward expectations for deteriorating global oil balances in 2025. “There has been a trend over the past year for the market to act as if every escalation in Middle East geopolitical risk is a de-escalation,” the analysts wrote.

At present, Israel does not appear to have completed many of its objectives in Iran, and the scope for further action “is likely to widen significantly as soon as voting has concluded in the US election,” they said.

Global benchmark Brent was forecast at $89 a barrel in the first quarter of 2025, with West Texas Intermediate seen at $86, according to Standard Chartered. Brent last traded above $71, down by more than 7% this year.

Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant commented on Tuesday on the election of Naim Qassem as the new Hezbollah Secretary-General, stressing that it is a “temporary” move. “Temporary appointment. Not for long,” the minister said in a post on X. He added that “the countdown has begun,” hinting that Qassem could end up like his predecessor Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in Beirut by Israeli forces. Earlier in the day, Hezbollah announced that its Shura Council decided to appoint Qassem as the next group’s chief due to his “adherence to the principles and goals of Hezbollah.” NN: Think AAA

Gallant: Hezbollah’s rocket capacity around 20%

Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Tuesday that he estimates that Hezbollah retains only about 20% of its rocket and missile capacity compared to the period before the war. “There is a deep connection between our strike in Iran and what is happening to Hezbollah. Iran understands that Hezbollah does not have the ability to respond, and Hezbollah understands that it cannot rely on Iran,” Gallant said while visiting the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) Northern Command base in Safed. He stated that Hezbollah is “not organized in the way that it used to be organized.” Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will reportedly have a meeting today to find a diplomatic resolution to the conflict with Hezbollah. Earlier today, Hezbollah appointed a new secretary-general, Naim Qassem, who will succeed the previous leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli strike. Gallant called this new appointment “temporary.”

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant hailed on Monday the recent strikes on Iran as the most significant Air Force operation since the 1967 Six-Day War. “The response seems very precise, high-quality, and deadly for what we wanted to hit, and I think the IDF has not done an operation like this; the Air Force has not done an operation like this since Operation Focus,” Gallant emphasized while in talk with IAF officials and IDF chief of staff. Operation Focus was Israel’s initial air strike at the beginning of the Six-Day War in 1967.

How the Islamic Republic chooses to respond to the unusually public Israeli aerial assault on its homeland could determine whether the region spirals further toward all-out war or holds steady at an already devastating and destabilizing level of violence. In the coldly calculating realm of Middle East geopolitics, a strike of the magnitude that Israel delivered Saturday would typically be met with a forceful response. A likely option would be another round of the ballistic missile barrages that Iran has already launched twice this year. Retaliating militarily would allow Iran’s clerical leadership to show strength not only to its own citizens but also to Hamas in Gaza and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, the militant groups battling Israel that are the vanguard of Tehran’s so-called Axis of Resistance. It is too soon to say whether Iran’s leadership will follow that path. Tehran may decide against forcefully retaliating directly for now, not least because doing so might reveal its weaknesses and invite a more potent Israeli response, analysts say. “Iran will play down the impact of the strikes, which are in fact quite serious,” said Sanam Vakil, the director of the Middle East and North Africa program at the London-based think tank Chatham House. She said Iran is “boxed in” by military and economic constraints, and the uncertainty caused by the U.S. election and its impact on American policy in the region. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s ultimate decision-maker, was also measured in his first comments on the strike Sunday. He said the attack “should not be exaggerated nor downplayed,” and he stopped short of calling for an immediate military response. Saturday’s strikes targeted Iranian air defense missile batteries and missile production facilities, according to the Israeli military. “Israel has yet again shown its military precision and capabilities are far superior to that of Iran,” she said. For decades, leaders and strategists in the region have speculated about whether and how Israel might one day openly strike Iran, just as they wondered what direct attacks by Iran, rather than by its proxy militant groups, would look like. Today, it’s a reality. Yet the playbook on either side isn’t clear, and may still be being written.“ There appears to be a major mismatch both in terms of the sword each side wields and the shield it can deploy,” Vaez said. “While both sides have calibrated and calculated how quickly they climb the escalation ladder, they are in an entirely new territory now, where the new red lines are nebulous and the old ones have turned pink,” he said. NN: Iran is blinded by their hatred. They will attack again and soon.   

The prices of oil futures continued to decrease on Monday after Iran stated its oil production resumed operating as Israel’s retaliatory airstrikes did not target those facilities. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for December’s settlements plummeted by 6.03% at 5:34 am ET to sell for $67.41 per barrel. Meanwhile, Brent for the same month’s deliveries declined by 5.81% to go for $71.67 per barrel.

NN Algos at in again. BlackMask Pod Cast

PEACE MY ASS

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Commander-in-Chief Hossein Salami (pictured) warned Israel of “bitter consequences” after the recent attack on Iran, local media reported on Monday, citing a letter that Salami sent to Iranian Army Chief Commander Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi. Salami noted that Israel “failed to achieve its ominous goals,” adding that its Saturday’s attack on Iran was a sign of “miscalculation and helplessness.” He further said that “bitter consequences will be unimaginable” for Israel as it fights Iran-backed militant groups in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon. Salami’s comments come after Israel launched precise strikes on military sites in Iran’s capital Tehran and other cities in the country.

US fighter jets strike Iran-linked sites in Syria in retaliation for attacks on US troops

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei addressed Israel’s recent air strikes on Iran, condemning the attacks as “malignant.” Khamenei urged against underplaying the severity of the attacks, saying, “It would be wrong for us to say that it was nothing and it did not matter.” He emphasized Israel’s failure to understand Iran’s strength and determination. “The calculation error of the Zionist regime must be disrupted,” he added.

Austin tells Gallant Iran must not respond to Israeli strikes

United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant that Iran should not “make the mistake” and respond to Israel’s attacks, reiterating Washington’s commitment to Israel’s security. The two officials spoke on the phone in the aftermath of strikes on Iran early on Saturday to discuss the current security situation in the Middle East. Austin and Gallant also talked about the potential for reaching a diplomatic solution to the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon.

NN: It ain’t over till they get their versions or America goes up in nuclear smoke