Trump’s “insane” Iran war plan; Ukraine strikes Russian refinery in defiance of Trump; Dockworkers stage global antiwar strike

Dockworkers unveil a banner reading "Workers do not work for war" at the port of Piraeus on October 30, 2026, during a 24-hour strike against the transport of weapons and military equipment. Photo by Aris Messinis / AFP via Getty Images. Friday, October 30, 2026 – Iran : Top U.S. commander briefs President Donald Trump on Iran attack plans. Senator Chris Murphy calls Trump’s Iran war plan “insane.” Qatari mediators return to Tehran for U.S.-Iran negotiations.

NYT: U.S. oil companies take $130+ billion in profits during Iran war, Americans pay $147 billion for fuel. Vice President JD Vance insists Trump will not let Iran conflict become a “forever war.” U.S. demands Iran cooperate with International Atomic Energy Agency despite military attacks that halted inspections. Small boat attaches explosives to tanker in Strait of Hormuz, sparking engine-room fire. Palestine : Israeli forces displace nearly 5,000 Palestinians in Hebron, settlers attack olive harvesters across occupied West Bank.

Dockworkers at 110 ports across 22 countries strike against wars on Gaza and Iran. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu loses majority in Israeli election, rules out coalition with Arab-led parties. Yemen : Ansarallah claims six strikes on Saudi oil facilities and airports; denies accusation of attack over holy city. Saudi strikes kill 27 in Yemen. U.S. : Binance halts withdrawals after hackers steal $6+ billion in crypto. Axios: Fired Pentagon planner admits to leaking classified information on Iran, Ukraine to media, internal report says.

Reuters: Pentagon suspects cyberattacks targeted refrigerators at military bases. Judge rejects Trump administration’s Medicaid requirement for “medically frail” people. New Mexico megachurch endorses two Republican candidates, testing federal ban on church electioneering. DOJ issues new grand jury subpoenas in Alaska “spoiler candidate” probe. WIRED: Defense contractor connected personal AI agent to Pentagon network, exposing government data to third party.

DOJ says FBI and ICE personnel won’t serve as midterm poll monitors, but other federal agents will. International: Rapid Support Forces accused of attacks on civilian infrastructure. Ukraine strikes Russian refinery, violating promise to Trump. Finnish police launch criminal probe into Google data center. Christine Lagarde to step down as European Central Bank president. Albanian opposition storms parliament, disrupts session with smoke bombs and flares.

Suspect in France shooting that killed one admits targeting people who “appeared to be Muslim, African, or North African.” Icon of Mexican left Cuauhtemoc Cardenas dies at 92. Trump calls Brazil’s election a “disgrace,” declines to say if he accepts the result. Former El Salvador President Tony Saca released following corruption prison sentence. This is Drop Site Daily, our free news recap We send it Monday – Friday Subscribe Iran Top U.S. commander briefs Trump on Iran attack plans: Brad Cooper, the top U.S. commander in the Middle East, briefed President Donald Trump on military options against Iran at the White House on Thursday, alongside War Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine, according to the Wall Street Journal.

U.S. officials have warned Gulf states to prepare for a short, intense military campaign after the November midterm elections, while the Pentagon has moved additional air defenses, munitions, and supplies into the region, and relocated troops from vulnerable bases. The U.S. Army is deploying another Patriot missile battery to Israel amid concerns over interceptor shortages. Senator Murphy calls Trump’s Iran war plan “insane”: Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Appropriations committees, said the Trump administration’s plan to restart the war on Iran was ”insane.”

Murphy posted a video of his remarks on X with the comment: “Some of us have been briefed on the war plan. And while I cannot disclose any details, I can say this: the plan is insane. It will not achieve objectives and will set off a new cycle of escalation.” At an event this week organized by the Middle East Institute, Murphy said that the plan would “lead to devastating escalation and the likely destruction of our commitment to the rule of law.”

Qatari mediators return to Tehran for U.S.-Iran negotiations: Qatari mediators returned to Tehran for talks aimed at reaching a U.S.-Iran agreement, Reuters reported Friday. Qatar presented a U.S-approved draft plan to Iran on Sunday, but a senior Iranian official rejected the proposals as unacceptable. Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf wrote on X that Tehran’s conditions had been “repeatedly and clearly stated to the mediators,” adding that “the carrot-and-stick approach has no effect on Iran,” and that progress was possible only once Iran’s proposals were accepted.

Washington reportedly wants nuclear issues addressed from the outset of negotiations, while Tehran is demanding that the U.S. first end its blockade of Iranian ports and lift sanctions on oil exports. NYT: U.S. oil companies take $130+ billion in recent profits during Iran war, Americans pay $147 billion for fuel: More than 50 major U.S. oil and gas companies earned over $130 billion in profits between April and September during the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, according to a New York Times analysis.

Over the same period last year, the companies took less than $47 billion in profits. Comparing the same periods this year and last year, Exxon Mobil’s third-quarter profits in 2026 more than doubled to $15.41 billion, while Chevron’s nearly tripled to $9.92 billion, as soaring oil prices and disruptions to Middle Eastern refining capacity boosted earnings. Meanwhile, Americans have paid $147 billion for gasoline and diesel since the war began on February 28, equivalent to more than $1,100 per household, according to Brown University’s Climate Solutions Lab.

Despite the windfall, many companies are paying down debt and accumulating cash rather than expanding production or refining capacity. One oil executive, Valero Energy’s chief financial officer, said that much of the surplus would ultimately go to shareholders. Vance insists Trump will not let Iran conflict become a “forever war”: U.S. Vice President JD Vance defended the Trump administration’s military campaign against Iran during a Fox News town hall in Fort Worth, Texas, after a Republican voter questioned whether the administration had fulfilled its promise to end costly foreign wars.

“I understand the frustration about foreign misadventures in the Middle East,” Vance said. “We’ve been involved in Iran in some form for seven months. The United States has been dealing with Iran for 47 years, and I promise you that Donald Trump is not going to let Iran become a forever war.” U.S. demands Iran cooperate with IAEA despite military attacks that halted inspections: U.S. Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz accused Iran of failing to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) at a UN Security Council meeting, telling Tehran’s delegation, “Your lies are no good here,” and insisting that the nuclear watchdog needed “answers, not speeches.”

During the meeting, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said that military attacks in June 2025 had forced the agency to suspend inspections and withdraw personnel from Iran for safety reasons. Grossi said that Tehran had previously agreed to allow inspectors into its Isfahan enrichment facility, however, “the commencement of the attacks prevented our inspector from going to the site.” He added that the agency had identified no repairs or reconstruction at nuclear facilities damaged in the 2025 and 2026 attacks.

Small boat attaches explosives to tanker in Strait of Hormuz, sparking engine-room fire: A tanker was attacked with explosive devices in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, approximately 25 nautical miles northeast of Khasab, Oman, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO). A small boat approached the tanker and attached two explosive devices to its hull above the waterline, triggering explosions and an engine-room fire that temporarily disabled the vessel.

UKMTO said that the crew extinguished the fire and resumed its journey, with no injuries or environmental damage reported. Separately, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy said it had stopped two oil tankers in the southern waters of the strait after they allegedly switched off their navigation systems and attempted to travel through unauthorized routes with U.S. military support. It remains unclear whether the incidents are connected.

Palestine Israeli forces displace nearly 5,000 Palestinians in Hebron, settlers attack olive harvesters across occupied West Bank: Hebron: Israeli forces continued their siege of the city for the eighth consecutive day on Friday, deploying military reinforcements, raiding homes, and forcibly displacing more families from Al-Jalda and Deir Baha. At least 4,969 Palestinians comprising 780 families have been displaced , including 336 infants, 441 elderly people, and 44 people with disabilities, Al Jazeera reported.

Nablus: Israeli soldiers fired stun grenades and forced more than 30 olive harvesters off their land in Al-Lubban Al-Sharqiya. In Burqa, settlers beat and injured a 36-year-old Palestinian, while others raided and vandalized a home in Al-Masoudiya, destroying its contents and cutting its electricity. Bethlehem: Israeli forces assaulted Palestinian olive harvesters and foreign solidarity activists in Abu Njeim, southeast of Bethlehem, forcing them off their land at gunpoint and arresting three harvesters.

Ramallah: Israeli settlers attacked olive harvesters and a solidarity activist in Kafr Malik and Al-Mughayyir, firing live ammunition toward Palestinian homes. Jenin: Israeli settlers raided Jaba, stealing equipment from an auto repair workshop, smashing the windows of three vehicles, slashing their tires, and stealing two sheep, according to the town’s mayor. Dockworkers at 110 ports across 22 countries strike against wars on Gaza and Iran: Dockworkers at more than 110 ports across 22 countries on five continents are striking on Friday, under the slogan “Dockworkers do not work for war,” demanding an end to Israel’s genocide in Gaza and U.S.-Israeli military attacks on Iran and expressing solidarity with Cuba, Venezuela, and Sudan.

More than 25 trade unions are participating, with 24-hour strikes called in Italy, France, Greece, Turkey, and India, alongside shorter walkouts elsewhere. The campaign group No Harbour for Genocide estimates that more than $2 billion worth of cargo could be left idle, with participating ports handling 13.5% of global shipping. The group said it tracked 315 shipments of components for Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems through 56 commercial ports between August 2025 and September 2026, all of which are expected to participate in Friday’s action.

The Palestinian labor movement endorsed the strike, urging unions to intensify boycott and divestment efforts against Israel. Netanyahu loses majority in Israeli election, rules out coalition with Arab-led parties: Israel’s Central Elections Committee published the final results of Tuesday’s election early Friday. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc lost its parliamentary majority, falling from 68 to 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset.

The main opposition bloc secured 48 seats, while the Arab-led Joint List and Ra’am won a record 19 seats combined. Neither major bloc reached the 61 seats needed to form a government. Netanyahu ruled out cooperation with Arab-led parties, writing on X that “it is forbidden to form a government with them,” while his Likud party accused them of “stealing” the election. The Central Elections Committee rejected claims of widespread voter fraud, calling the reports “entirely unfounded.”

The official results will be presented to President Isaac Herzog, ahead of consultations on forming a government, while the new Knesset is scheduled to be sworn in on November 10. Yemen Ansarallah claims six strikes on Saudi oil facilities and airports; denies accusation of attack over holy city: Yemen’s Ansarallah claimed six attacks on Saudi Arabia on Thursday, targeting major oil facilities, airports, and military positions. Ballistic missiles struck the Ras Tanura refinery, Saudi Aramco’s Abqaiq facility, King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, and the Rabigh oil refinery, while a drone attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam disrupted air traffic, military spokesperson Yahya Saree claimed.

A sixth operation targeted Saudi military forces in Najran. Saudi-led forces said they intercepted and destroyed a drone over the Islamic holy city of Mecca on Friday, according to Saudi-coalition spokesperson Turki Al-Maliki, attributing the drone to Ansarallah. Ansarallah denied launching any operation against Saudi Arabia on Friday, calling the Mecca claim a fabrication. Separately, debris from two Ansarallah ballistic missiles intercepted above Riyadh caused minor injuries to one person and damaged a house and a vehicle, Saudi Civil Defense said.

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