— 🇵🇹/🇵🇸 NEW: Portugal is considering the recognition of a Palestinian state in September.

@Middle_East_Spectator

— 🇸🇮/🇸🇪/🇮🇱 NEW: Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob has announced Slovenia's decision to ban the import, export, and transit of weapons and military equipment to and from Israel. This is the first instance of a European Union country implementing such a ban

Additionally, Sweden has called on the European Union to suspend the trade 'association agreement' with Israel.

@Middle_East_Spectator

— 🇵🇸/🇮🇱/🇺🇸 NEW: All 21 activists aboard the 'Handala' ship have been released after being kidnapped by the Israeli navy in international waters and spending several days in Israeli detention

Officials from the U.S. Consulate and U.S. Embassy did not respond to requests for assistance for the activists who hold American citizenship.

@Middle_East_Spectator

— 🇺🇸/🇮🇷 NEW: The U.S. Treasury Department has announced sanctions on five entities and one individual based in Iran, China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, allegedly involved in drone development

Additionally, they announced sanctions yesterday on 15 shipping firms, 52 vessels, 12 individuals, and 53 entities claimed to be involved in the 'Iranian oil trade' across 17 countries, including Panama, Italy, and Hong Kong.

U.S. officials claim that these sanctions are the 'toughest since 2018.'

@Middle_East_Spectator

I have found a random mosque in a Chinese village in Inner Mongolia. Some may ask what I'm doing in a village in inner Mongolia, but that's a long story.

Anyways, it is old and quite beautiful. Some people were praying in it, and it seemed to be in regular use, at least superficially. They even had Quran playing, although at a soft volume. It was not heavily guarded.

Some 90 year old man, probably Uyghur or Mongolian, and slightly mentally handicapped considering he could not read when I showed him Mandarin, yelled at a Chinese woman who attemped to enter the men's prayer area (and without Hijab). Interesting stuff.

—❗️🇺🇸/🇷🇺 BREAKING: President Trump announces that the United States is deploying two nuclear submarines close to Russia

The move follows a Tweet by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, in which he stated that Trump must 'not forget' that Russia has a large nuclear arsenal.

Medvedev often posts his personal opinions and currently holds little political power inside Russia.

@Middle1_East_Spectator

—❗️🇺🇸 President Trump, when asked if he would pardon Diddy: 'Well, he was essentially sort of half innocent. Ehm, probably, uhh... I knew him well, was very friendly with him. I had a great relationship with Diddy. Seemed like a nice guy.'

@Middle_East_Spectator

—❗️🇺🇸 NEW: Epstein's wife and main accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, has been moved to a minimum security 'prison camp' in the open air, with very few guards and significant freedom of movement

The transfer to a minimum security facility could be in preparation for a possible Presidential pardon, or a reward for information provided to the DoJ.

@Middle_East_Spectator

— 🇮🇷/🇵🇰 NEW: Pezeshkian lands in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan

@Middle_East_Spectator

— 🇵🇸/🇮🇱 WATCH: Al-Qassam Brigades have released footage of detonating a minefield against Israeli armored vehicles in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, on July 28, as well as launching rockets and mortars in cooperation with Saraya Al-Quds.

@Middle_East_Spectator

— 🇮🇱/🇵🇸 WATCH: In a regular trend among Israeli leaders and on national television, Shimon Elkabetz calls for genocide on i24NEWS, says 'exterminate them, don't be discouraged by the starvation campaign.'

@Middle_East_Spectator

— 🇵🇸/🇮🇱 NEW: Rockets have been launched towards the 'Nirim' Israeli settlement from Gaza.

@Middle_East_Spectator

—❗️🇮🇷 BREAKING: Iran will establish a new government body, the 'Supreme Defense Council', which will be responsible for managing the country's affairs in war time

The council will reportedly consist of the following members:

– The heads of the three branches of government; the President (Masoud Pezeshkian), the Chief Justice (Mohsen Ejei), and the Parliament Speaker (Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf).

– Two personally appointed representatives of the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, to be determined.

– The Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Major General Abolrahim Mousavi.

– The Commander-in-Chief of the IRGC, Brigadier General Mohammad Pakpour.

– The Commander-in-Chief of Iran's Army, Major General Amir Hatami.

– The Minister of Intelligence, Ismael Khateeb.

– The Commander of the Khatam Al-Anbiyaa Joint Headquarters, currently unknown, possibly Brigadier General Ali Aliabadi.

@Middle_East_Spectator

This firmly places Iran's affairs during war time under the command of the military and the Supreme Leader.

Pezeshkian will be the chairman of the council though, so he will likely try to sabotage it as much as possible.

— 🇮🇱/🇵🇸 NEW: Hebrew media is reporting a 'security incident' in Gaza, with IDF casualties transported to 'Rabin' Medical Center.

@Middle_East_Spectator

— 🇺🇸/🇮🇱 WATCH: Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, visits the 'Wailing Wall' in Jerusalem and says he prays that America will always stand with Israel.

@Middle_East_Spectator

— 🇮🇱/🇮🇷 NEW: Israeli authorities have indicted 70-year-old settler Liliana Luyan for blocking entry to shelters during an Iranian missile attack on June 22

Israeli settlers have been recorded preventing each other from entering shelters on multiple occasions during the 12-day war.

@Middle_East_Spectator

— 🇮🇱/🇺🇸 NEW: Six hundred members of the 'Commanders for Israel's Security' (CIS), consisting of former senior officials from the IDF, Mossad, and Shin Bet, have written a letter to President Trump urging him to pressure Benjamin Netanyahu to stop the war in Gaza due to Israel's 'desperate situation' regarding 'global legitimacy' – Jerusalem Post

@Middle_East_Spectator