Trump Endorses Netanyahu in Israel’s Upcoming Election

US President Donald Trump points his finger towards Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as they shake hands during a press conference after meeting at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, US, December 29, 2025. (Reuters)
US President Donald Trump points his finger towards Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as they shake hands during a press conference after meeting at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, US, December 29, 2025. (Reuters)
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Trump Endorses Netanyahu in Israel’s Upcoming Election

US President Donald Trump points his finger towards Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as they shake hands during a press conference after meeting at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, US, December 29, 2025. (Reuters)
US President Donald Trump points his finger towards Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as they shake hands during a press conference after meeting at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, US, December 29, 2025. (Reuters)

US President Donald Trump on Sunday offered his "complete and total" endorsement of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the country's October 27 elections.

"Please let this Letter serve to represent my Complete and Total Endorsement of Bibi Netanyahu in his upcoming Race for Re-Election as Prime Minister of Israel. BIBI NETANYAHU WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister who is in a tight race to win a new mandate, quickly acknowledged Trump's gesture.

"Thank you, President Trump, for your tremendous support and for our work together. Together we will complete the mission!" Netanyahu wrote on X.

In his post, Trump described Netanyahu as "a Great Warrior Prime Minister" and ally in the war against Iran that began in late February with a massive bombing campaign but has dragged on as Tehran has retaliated by blocking global energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump asserted that without Netanyahu as Israel's leader, the United States would be alone in combating the threat from the Tehran regime, "with its 51-year-old chant, 'Death to Israel, Death to America! We will destroy the Little Satan and the Big Satan.'"

"If Israel has the wrong Leader, which would be anyone other than Bibi, America will have to do this work ourselves, and I am not inclined to do so," the US president said.

"This is the kind of Partner that the United States of America is demanding of Israel, a Country for which it has done so much," he added.



Israel Defense Minister Says ‘Mission Not Complete’ on Iran

Then Israeli transportation minister Israel Katz attends the cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem February 17, 2019. (Reuters)
Then Israeli transportation minister Israel Katz attends the cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem February 17, 2019. (Reuters)
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Israel Defense Minister Says ‘Mission Not Complete’ on Iran

Then Israeli transportation minister Israel Katz attends the cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem February 17, 2019. (Reuters)
Then Israeli transportation minister Israel Katz attends the cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem February 17, 2019. (Reuters)

Israel is not finished with Iran, its defense minister said Sunday, as he renewed charges that Tehran is pursuing nuclear weapons, which the country has long denied.

"With regard to Iran, the mission is still not complete. Iran is trying to renew its efforts to obtain nuclear weapons -- alongside other grave efforts that place the State of Israel in real danger," Defense Minister Israel Katz said at a ceremony.


US Launches Task Force to Disrupt Land Transit Routes into Iran

A banner depicting US President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US Vice President JD Vance and US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is displayed on a street in Tehran, Iran, November 4, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
A banner depicting US President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US Vice President JD Vance and US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is displayed on a street in Tehran, Iran, November 4, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
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US Launches Task Force to Disrupt Land Transit Routes into Iran

A banner depicting US President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US Vice President JD Vance and US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is displayed on a street in Tehran, Iran, November 4, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
A banner depicting US President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US Vice President JD Vance and US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is displayed on a street in Tehran, Iran, November 4, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

The US military has announced it will create a 20-member task force to find ways to disrupt land routes into Iran that it says are used for shipments of weapons and illicit materials.

The restrictions would expand on a US naval blockade of Iranian ports during the two countries' eight-month war, in which Tehran has also restricted passage through the critical Strait of Hormuz trade route, choking global energy supplies, AFP said.

The task force's work "will further constrain Iran's ability to finance terrorism, rebuild weapons factories, and replenish their military," US Central Command chief Brad Cooper said in a statement posted on X on Saturday.

The team of both civilian and military personnel based in Florida would coordinate with US government agencies on "preventing the movement of advanced weapons systems, dual-use technologies, sanctioned materials, and illegal revenue streams across Iran's land borders and the Caspian Sea," the statement added.

The United States imposed a blockade on Iranian ports early in the war in response to Tehran seeking to limit traffic through the strategic Strait of Hormuz, where around a fifth of global oil trade normally passes.

That blockade has halted around $25 billion in crude oil exports from Iran, according to the US Central Command.


Thick Smoke at Tehran Refinery Caused by Safety Flaring, No Fire Reported

A man uses umbrella while walking under a rain around traditional main bazaar of Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026. (AP)
A man uses umbrella while walking under a rain around traditional main bazaar of Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026. (AP)
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Thick Smoke at Tehran Refinery Caused by Safety Flaring, No Fire Reported

A man uses umbrella while walking under a rain around traditional main bazaar of Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026. (AP)
A man uses umbrella while walking under a rain around traditional main bazaar of Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026. (AP)

Thick smoke and flames seen rising from Tehran's oil refinery on Sunday were caused by activation of its flare systems ‌after electrical ‌and technical problems, ‌the ⁠refinery's public relations ⁠office was reported as saying by the oil ministry's news outlet, Shana.

The ⁠refinery said the ‌systems ‌had been activated ‌to release excess ‌gases in accordance with industrial safety procedures.

It said no ‌fire had broken out in its ⁠processing ⁠units, the situation was under control and teams were working to restore normal operations.

Fuel production and supply continued without interruption, it added.