Senior U.S. military officials have informed the leadership of a key U.S. ally in the Middle East that President Donald Trump could authorize a U.S. attack on Iran this weekend, multiple sources have confirmed to Drop Site News. Strikes could commence as early as Sunday, the ally was informed, if the U.S. decides to move forward.
“This isn’t about the nukes or the missile program. This is about regime change,” said a former senior U.S. intelligence official who consults for Arab governments and is an informal advisor to the Trump administration on Middle East policy. He told Drop Site that U.S. war planners envision attacks that target nuclear, ballistic, and other military sites around Iran, but will also aim to decapitate the Iranian government, and in particular the leadership and capabilities of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The IRGC is a branch of the Iranian armed forces created after the country’s 1979 revolution whose leadership now plays a major role in the country’s politics and economy.
The thinking in the Trump administration, according to the source, is that a successful strike on Iranian leadership would be followed by Iranians returning to the streets to protest, leading to the overthrow of the government. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “is hoping for an attack,” the former senior intelligence official said, “and assuring Trump that Israel can help put in place a new government that is friendly with the West.”
Dropsite News: U.S. Military Tells Key Middle East Ally to Prepare for Attack on Iran
Israel reopening Gaza’s border crossing with Egypt on Sunday after long closure
Israel said Friday that it will reopen the pedestrian border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt over the weekend, marking an important step forward for U.S. President Donald Trump’s Gaza ceasefire plan.
COGAT, the Israeli military body in charge of coordinating aid to Gaza, said in a statement that starting on Sunday a “limited movement of people only” would be allowed through the Rafah crossing, Gaza’s main gateway to the outside world.
The announcement followed statements from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ali Shaath, newly appointed to head the Palestinian administrative committee governing Gaza’s daily affairs, that it would likely open soon.
While COGAT said the passage will open in both directions on Sunday, Shaath said the first day will be a trial for operations and that travel both ways will start Monday.
Russian Missile Hits US Business in Kharkiv, Zelensky Warns of Shift to Logistics Strikes
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia did not strike energy facilities overnight but that Ukraine is seeing a shift toward attacks on logistics infrastructure.
Zelensky reported he held a special coordination meeting on the situation and restoration efforts.
“Last night, there were no strikes on energy facilities, but yesterday afternoon, there were strikes on energy infrastructure in several regions. We are now recording the reorientation of the Russian army to strikes on logistics,” he said on Telegram.
He added that Russian drone strikes on residential buildings in cities continue.
“A ballistic missile was also used against the Kharkiv region – warehouses of ordinary civilian production were damaged, and this is an American company,” Zelensky said.
U.S. ultimatum to vaccine group: No more funds unless you stop using thimerosal
The U.S. government has given an ultimatum to the international group that helps provide vaccines to children in the world's poorest countries.
In a statement sent to NPR, The Department of Health and Human Services said that Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance must remove the ingredient thimerosal from its vaccines — or else the U.S. will "withhold future new funding." The news was first reported by Reuters on Wednesday.
At the heart of the U.S. demand is an unsubstantiated theory that the mercury in thimerosal could be linked to autism. Thimerosal is a chemical compound that is added to vaccines as a preservative.
This is the latest development in the changing relationship between Gavi — which says it has provided vaccines for 1.1 billion children in lower-resource countries and prevented 18 million deaths — and the United States, once a major funder of the vaccine group.
Judge rules Luigi Mangione should not face death penalty
On Friday a federal judge dropped two of the four charges against Luigi Mangione — the man accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson — making his case no longer eligible for the death penalty.
Mangione is accused of killing Thompson on Dec. 4, 2024 on a street in midtown Manhattan as he was walking to his hotel for UnitedHealth Group's annual investor conference. Police say the words "delay," "deny" and "depose" were written on the ammunition used, referencing a phrase used to describe how insurers avoid paying claims.
The charges of murder through use of a firearm (which made the case capital eligible) and a firearms offense were dropped, while two interstate stalking charges remain.
If found guilty, the maximum sentence he now faces is life without the possibility of parole.
The federal government has called the killing a "premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America."
Texas A&M University cancels programs in women's and gender studies
Texas A&M University on Friday announced it is ending its programs in women's and gender studies as part of a broader effort to eliminate teaching related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
The university said it had also modified hundreds of courses and canceled six to comply with a policy adopted last November that prohibits, without approval from the campus president, teaching that "will advocate race or gender ideology, or topics related to sexual orientation or gender identity."
The latest changes are designed to "protect academic integrity and restore public trust," Tommy Williams, the university's interim president, said in a statement. "That has been our focus through this process and will remain our focus as we move forward."
The university said the decision to eliminate women's and gender studies stemmed both from the new policy and "limited student interest in the program based on enrollment over the past several years."
Human rights group warns New York officials against investing public funds in Israeli bonds
A human rights group has warned New York state and local officials that investment of public funds in bonds issued by Israel violates both international law and fiduciary duties and may expose officials and beneficiaries alike to “substantial legal, ethical and financial risks”.
The warning, from the human rights group Dawn, was sent on Friday along with a 26-page memo to the New York governor, Kathy Hochul; the state’s attorney general, Letitia James; New York City’s mayor, Zohran Mamdani; and the state and city comptrollers, Tom DiNapoli and Mark Levine, respectively. It calls on them to immediately cease new purchases and divest any current holdings in Israeli bonds, arguing the investments violate “legal obligations not to aid and abet Israeli crimes and their fiduciary duties to taxpayers”, Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of Dawn, said in a statement.
The letter, which threatens litigation, comes as calls for divestment from Israel have grown in the US following the war in Gaza, and as some elected officials have moved away from once-reflexive support of Israel.
Thousands march in anti-ICE protest in New York City: ‘If it’s them today, it’s us tomorrow’
Thousands chanted and marched in New York City on Friday to protest the Trump administration’s escalating mass deportation campaign.
Among the protesters were young and old people, all braving plunging cold temperatures in thick coats, hats and gloves.
As the sun began setting, demonstrators chanted against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), referring to that agency, the Ku Klux Klan, and fascism in the same breath.
Thousands chanted and marched in New York City on Friday to protest the Trump administration’s escalating mass deportation campaign.
Among the protesters were young and old people, all braving plunging cold temperatures in thick coats, hats and gloves.
As the sun began setting, demonstrators chanted against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), referring to that agency, the Ku Klux Klan, and fascism in the same breath.
“Abolish ICE!” and “No ICE, no KKK, no fascist USA!” the crowds chanted. They also chanted, “Chinga la migra” – which is a colloquial way to say “fuck immigration enforcement” in Spanish.
Weight-loss drugs draw thousands of lawsuits alleging serious harm
A Maryland truck driver suffered an “eye stroke” that left him blind, first in one eye and then the other.
A Louisiana woman vomited for weeks before being diagnosed with a brain dysfunction typically caused by a vitamin deficiency.
An Oklahoma real estate agent heard her colon pop as it ruptured while she drove her granddaughter home from a softball game. “My colon blew up. Literally blew up,” she said.
All three have filed lawsuits that blame the popular class of weight-loss drugs known as GLP-1 receptor agonists, which include Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro, and they’re part of a growing number of lawsuits alleging the drugs’ makers failed to sufficiently warn of the risk of certain severe injuries.
The suits come as the use of the blockbuster drugs has skyrocketed, embraced by millions of Americans to manage diabetes, lower the risk of heart disease and lose weight. The drugs, which mimic a hormone that slows digestion, triggers insulin and helps people feel full longer, cut America’s stubbornly high obesity rates – for the first time in more than a decade – and show promise in aiding a range of conditions from kidney disease to drug addiction.
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