US House Passes Stop Iranian Drones Act

A drone at the Iranian army's annual parade last week (Iranian Presidency)
A drone at the Iranian army's annual parade last week (Iranian Presidency)
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US House Passes Stop Iranian Drones Act

A drone at the Iranian army's annual parade last week (Iranian Presidency)
A drone at the Iranian army's annual parade last week (Iranian Presidency)

The US House of Representatives unanimously passed the Stop Iranian Drones Act (SIDA) to end its drone program and impose sanctions on its supporters.

The bill was approved by 424 votes against two and required approval from the Senate and a presidential signature to become law.

Republicans Tom Massie and Marjorie Greene were against the bill.

The bill promises to punish those who deal with the Iranian regime in the drones' program under the US Sanctions on conventional weapons.

Democratic Representative Ted Deutsch tweeted: "time, and again, Iran has used UAVs to threaten global stability and US interests. Congress countered this destabilizing behavior today and passed the Stop Iranian Drones Act."

Congresswoman Elise Stefanik said the Act would stop Iran or Iranian allies from acquiring combat drones that could be used against US troops or US allies.

Alleging that Iran is "the world's leading exporter of terrorism," Stefanik said the world should know Washington will "use every tool at its disposal to cut off Iran's access to deadly weapons."

The legislators spoke of the importance of approving such a draft as Iran uses the drones to spread panic in the Middle East and attack US forces, Israel, and allies in the region.

They urged the Senate to pass the exact version of the bill quickly ahead of sending it for signing at the White House.

Last December, the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Mike McCaul, warned of the danger of drones against the US and its allies in the Middle East.

McCaul said that "these attacks are intolerable" whether Iran launches the attack, the Houthis, Iran-backed militia groups, or other Iran-sponsored entities.

"The people of the Middle East, including Americans living there, cannot live in freedom, stability, or prosperity under assault by Iran's drones," said McCaul.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Gregory Meeks pointed out that the "deadly drones in the hands of the world's greatest exporter of terrorism, Iran, jeopardizes the security of the United States and regional peace."

He asserted that the recent Iranian drone attacks on US troops, commercial shipping vessels, regional partners, and the export of drone technology to conflict zones pose a dire threat.

The Democratic representative stressed that the bill sends a strong signal to the international community that it supports the Iranian drone program and will not be tolerated by the US government.

The senators pledged to expedite the bill's approval, which was put forward by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman, Bob Menendez, and its top Republican, Jim Risch, in December.

The lawmakers behind the proposed legislation say it clarifies that US sanctions on Iran's conventional weapons program under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) include the supply, sale, or transfer to or from Iran of drones, which can be used in attacks against the US or its allies.

"Iran's increasing reliance on unmanned aerial vehicles to attack US personnel and assets across the Middle East and shipping vessels, commercial facilities, and regional partners is a serious and growing menace to regional stability," said Menendez.

He warned that Iran's reckless export of this technology to proxies across the region represents a significant threat to human lives.

"We must do more to hold Iran accountable for its destabilizing behavior as we continue to confront the threat of its nuclear program."

Risch said the US must do more to halt "Iran's regional terrorism," as "we saw with recent Iranian-sponsored drone attacks on American troops and the Iraqi Prime Minister, as well as the constant attacks on Saudi Arabia."



China’s Xi Opens Communist Party Plenum, Aims for Firm Governance Measures

A police car is parked at Tiananmen Square during the plenary session of the Communist Party's Central Committee in Beijing on October 26, 2026. (AFP)
A police car is parked at Tiananmen Square during the plenary session of the Communist Party's Central Committee in Beijing on October 26, 2026. (AFP)
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China’s Xi Opens Communist Party Plenum, Aims for Firm Governance Measures

A police car is parked at Tiananmen Square during the plenary session of the Communist Party's Central Committee in Beijing on October 26, 2026. (AFP)
A police car is parked at Tiananmen Square during the plenary session of the Communist Party's Central Committee in Beijing on October 26, 2026. (AFP)

China's Communist Party began a four-day meeting of its highest-ranking members on Monday targeting concrete measures for "full and rigorous party self-governance", as President Xi Jinping seeks to reinforce his authority and enforce ideological uniformity.

Xi briefed the party's Central Committee on a draft document that state news agency Xinhua said addressed the challenges the party faced, including growing its governing capacity, as well as guarding against complacency and combating corruption, the president's signature campaign.

The ‌implementation of major ‌decisions and plans of the Central Committee, the largest ‌of ⁠its top decision-making bodies, ⁠must not be empty rhetoric, the commentary wrote.

"It is essential to both refine institutional rules and regulations to close loopholes and strengthen safeguards, and ensure their effective implementation," it said.

The Central Committee will convene in the closed-door meeting from Monday to Thursday - the fifth since the current cohort was formed in 2022 and therefore known as the fifth plenum.

Analysts say this could be the last major party ⁠gathering before its 2027 leadership reshuffle, when Xi is expected ‌to hold on to the top job ‌for a fourth term.

"The plenum will present Xi as in control, and able to continue ‌his command," said Kerry Brown, director of King's College London's Lau China ‌Institute. "It is likely everything will be centered on him, to dispel any rumors or doubts about his physical fitness and ability to continue in his role."

With substantive policy issues already largely set in previous gatherings, "this will be a plenum where appearances will matter as ‌much, if not more, than substance," Brown added.

ROOTING OUT CORRUPTION FOR MARKET PREDICTABILITY

Xi has overseen a vast ⁠anti-corruption campaign in ⁠recent years which has led to the purge of hundreds of senior officials and top generals, even the president's one-time allies.

While critics argue the purges - particularly those targeting the highest ranks of the armed forces - are destabilizing and undermine combat readiness, the party has portrayed the campaign as both necessary and regenerative, saying the military must undergo a phoenix-like rebirth and "bathe in flames and be forged anew."

The Xinhua commentary propped up the anti-corruption drive as a demonstration of "sustained and systemic" self-governance to "ensure officials dare not, cannot and do not want to commit corruption".

"For global investors and policymakers, this signals greater predictability," it said, arguing that China was also creating a more transparent environment for international cooperation as merit and the rule of law prevail over connections and bribery.


Israel Defense Minister Denies Report of PM-Army Rift on Eve of Election

 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz attend a graduation ceremony of new Israeli army officers at a base near Mitzpe Ramon, Israel, October 21, 2026. (Reuters)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz attend a graduation ceremony of new Israeli army officers at a base near Mitzpe Ramon, Israel, October 21, 2026. (Reuters)
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Israel Defense Minister Denies Report of PM-Army Rift on Eve of Election

 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz attend a graduation ceremony of new Israeli army officers at a base near Mitzpe Ramon, Israel, October 21, 2026. (Reuters)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz attend a graduation ceremony of new Israeli army officers at a base near Mitzpe Ramon, Israel, October 21, 2026. (Reuters)

Israel's defense minister denied on Monday reports of a rift between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the army over Iran, as the premier's rivals seized on the story as a line of attack a day before close elections.

Over the course of a neck-and-neck race, Netanyahu has campaigned heavily on his security credentials, insisting only he can "finish the job" in the US-Israeli war on Iran.

But his main rival, ex-army chief Gadi Eisenkot, has accused him of playing up the Iran threat when it suits him politically, and of failing to accomplish his war goals.

Israel's Channel 12 reported on Sunday, citing unnamed sources, that there had been a confrontation between Netanyahu and army chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir over an unspecified new directive on Iran.

The premier dismissed the report as "rubbish" during a TV appearance, and Katz characterized it as an effort to cast doubt on the Netanyahu bloc's judgement on the eve of the polls.

"The reports about gaps between the political echelon and the army on the Iran issue are entirely baseless and false," Katz said on X, insisting there was "complete" coordination between the two.

In its report, Channel 12 said Zamir had demanded a detailed discussion, as well as legal guarantees and the signatures of the political leadership before carrying out the directive he had received.

The outlet did not offer details of the directive, but cited sources saying there were concerns within the army that the war might be exploited for political gain.

Katz in his statement Monday said "unequivocally that there was no intention on Israel's part to initiate an attack on Iran before the elections".

- 'Restore responsibility' -

Opposition leader Yair Lapid referenced the report in a post on X, accusing Netanyahu of seeking to put off the vote.

"Tonight it was published that he wants to set off an escalation and a confrontation with Iran, just to postpone the elections," he said.

"This man has lost his grip. We absolutely must send him home."

Eisenkot, meanwhile, said Zamir had his complete trust, adding he would not stand for the military being "turned into a tool in Netanyahu's survival campaign".

"I warn Netanyahu: Do not dare place your political interests above the state's security," Eisenkot wrote on X Sunday night.

"In two days, the citizens of Israel will put an end to this reckless government and restore responsibility, decency and Israel's security."

On the campaign trail, Netanyahu has sought to portray Eisenkot as soft on Iran and beholden to Palestinian interests, playing to voters' opposition to the creation of a Palestinian state.

Netanyahu had warned on Sunday "that our enemies, Iran and its proxies, could challenge us with attacks in order to disrupt the elections", adding: "Don't test us."

But Iran's foreign ministry said it did not matter who prevailed in the vote.

"It makes no difference to us who, in these elections, takes the helm of a regime that has brought nothing but violence and massacres to our region," said ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei.


Iran Says Outcome of Israeli Elections ‘Makes No Difference’

A woman walks past a mural bearing the Iranian national flag in Tehran on October 26, 2026. (AFP)
A woman walks past a mural bearing the Iranian national flag in Tehran on October 26, 2026. (AFP)
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Iran Says Outcome of Israeli Elections ‘Makes No Difference’

A woman walks past a mural bearing the Iranian national flag in Tehran on October 26, 2026. (AFP)
A woman walks past a mural bearing the Iranian national flag in Tehran on October 26, 2026. (AFP)

Iran's foreign ministry said Monday that the outcome of the Israeli elections in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing a tight race will make "no difference".

"It makes no difference to us who, in these elections, takes the helm of a regime that has brought nothing but violence and massacres to our region," said ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei in a weekly press briefing.

Tuesday's legislative elections will take place amid mounting threats by Israel and the United States to renew attacks on Iran after they launched their war in late February.

Netanyahu has in recent days repeatedly said the only way to remove the threat posed by Iran is to topple its government.

On Sunday, he told Israel's Channel 14 that he had "instructed the Mossad and the Israeli army to overthrow the Iranian regime".

Baqaei dismissed Netanyahu's remarks as "empty threats" and a "sign of desperation".