CIA Director John Ratcliffe told skeptical U.S. lawmakers that American military strikes destroyed Iran’s lone metal conversion facility and in the process delivered a monumental setback to Tehran’s nuclear program that would take years to overcome, a U.S. official said Sunday. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive intelligence, said Ratcliffe laid out the importance of the strikes on the metal conversion facility during a classified hearing for U.S. lawmakers last week. Details about the private briefings surfaced as President Donald Trump and his administration keep pushing back on questions from Democratic lawmakers and others about how far Iran was set back by the strikes before last Tuesday’s ceasefire with Israel took hold.

The government of Venezuela, led by President Nicolas Maduro, presented the Simon Bolivar Prize to Iranian news presenter Sahar Emami, days after the Israeli Air Force struck the headquarters of Iran’s state broadcasting agency in Tehran.
The honor, which was received on Emami’s behalf by Iranian ambassador to Venezuela Ali Chegini, was meant to pay tribute to Emami and other staff who were on duty during the Israeli strike on the Islamic Republic of Iran News Network (IRINN), part of the country’s main broadcasting authority, IRIB.

Only 36% of Democrats say they’re “extremely” or “very” proud to be American, according to a new Gallup poll, reflecting a dramatic decline in national pride that’s also clear among young people. The findings are a stark illustration of how many — but not all — Americans have felt less of a sense of pride in their country over the past decade. The split between Democrats and Republicans, at 56 percentage points, is at its widest since 2001. That includes all four years of Republican President Donald Trump’s first term. Only about 4 in 10 U.S. adults who are part of Generation Z, which is defined as those born from 1997 to 2012, expressed a high level of pride in being American in Gallup surveys conducted in the past five years, on average.

Forest fires fanned by high winds and hot, dry weather damaged some holiday homes in Turkey as a lingering heat wave that has cooked much of Europe led authorities to raise warnings and tourists to find ways to beat the heat on Monday. A heat dome hovered over an arc from France, Portugal and Spain to Turkey, while data from European forecasters suggested other countries were set to broil further in coming days. New highs are expected on Wednesday before rain is forecast to bring respite to some areas later this week. “Extreme heat is no longer a rare event — it has become the new normal,” tweeted U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres from Seville, Spain, where temperatures were expected to hit 42 Celsius (nearly 108 Fahrenheit) on Monday afternoon.

The Knesset House Committee on Monday voted 14-2 to impeach MK Ayman Odeh, the chairman of the Arab Hadash Ta’al party, over comments he made supporting terrorism. All representatives of the coalition parties voted in support of his ouster, along with representatives from Yisrael Beytenu, Yesh Atid, and the National Unity Party. Another vote on the matter will be brought to the Knesset plenum within three weeks, where a majority of 90 MKs will be required to approve it. Likud MK Avichai Boaron’s proposal included a statement on X from January in which Odeh compared Israeli hostages to freed Palestinian terrorists, writing, “I am happy about the release of the hostages and prisoners. From here, both nations must be freed from the yoke of occupation.

Lebanese broadcaster LBCI reported Sunday that Syria has laid out a set of preconditions for any potential peace accord with Israel, according to sources familiar with the matter.
As outlined in the report, Syria is seeking formal recognition of President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s leadership by Israel, a pullback from territories captured since last December as well as from the demilitarized buffer zone in the Golan Heights, a complete end to Israeli air raids on Syrian soil, and the establishment of coordinated security protocols in southern Syria, especially along its borders with Israel and Jordan.
The most critical demand, per the report, is that the United States provide binding assurances for the deal and offer diplomatic and economic backing for the Syrian government.

US President Donald Trump announced on Monday that he is not speaking with Iran or offering them anything, in contradiction to earlier reports that the US will hold negotiations with Iran now that the war is over. Trump wrote his remarks on Truth Social in response to criticism from Democratic Sen. Chris Coons. “Tell phony Democrat Senator Chris Coons that I am not offering Iran ANYTHING,” Trump wrote. “Unlike Obama, who paid them $Billions under the stupid ‘road to a Nuclear Weapon JCPOA (which would now be expired!), nor am I even talking to them since we totally OBLITERATED their Nuclear Facilities.” (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

The Lebanese LBCI TV network reported on Sunday evening that the Syrian demands for peace with Israel include Israeli recognition of the regime of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, withdrawal from the territories occupied by Israel last December, and a halt to Israeli attacks in Syria. In addition, the Syrians demand security arrangements in southern Syria, an American guarantee for the agreements, and American support for the Syrian regime. In return, according to the report, Syria will permanently recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. It was reported on Sunday that a Syrian source familiar with the matter said that Damascus does not rule out a meeting between Netanyahu and al-Sharaa on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September.

About three and a half weeks ago, a 75-year-old Jewish woman arrived in a country outside of Yemen. Her husband, Yahya Dawoud, z’l, passed away a year ago, in June 2024, from cholera. Due to her poor health and being a lonely widow, she agreed to leave Yemen. Her husband was buried in a Jewish cemetery, with no less than the Houthis participating in the funeral, and they were also the ones who made sure he was buried in a Jewish levaya. They also allowed her to leave Yemen.

Ali Larijani, a senior figure in the Iranian regime, revealed in a televised interview on Iran’s state broadcaster that he received a direct threat during the war with Israel warning him to flee the country or face assassination.
“In the midst of the war, I got a call telling me I had 12 hours to leave the country or I would be killed,” Larijani said. “They told me they’d send me to join my martyred friends Akri and Salami. I knew who was calling, and I gave Mr. Netanyahu an appropriate response.”

In the time before widespread vaccination, death often came early. Devastating infectious diseases ran rampant in America, killing millions of children and leaving others with lifelong health problems. These illnesses were the main reason why nearly one in five children in 1900 never made it to their fifth birthday. Over the next century, vaccines virtually wiped out long-feared scourges like polio and measles and drastically reduced the toll of many others. Today, however, some preventable, contagious diseases are making a comeback as vaccine hesitancy pushes immunization rates down. And well-established vaccines are facing suspicion even from public officials, with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime anti-vaccine activist, running the federal health department.

Iran’s representative to the United Nations, Amir-Saeid Iravani, declared that Tehran has no intention of halting its nuclear enrichment activities, insisting the practice is a protected national right that the country will continue to uphold.
During an appearance on CBS News’s “Face the Nation,” host Margaret Brennan questioned Iravani directly about whether Iran aims to resume its uranium enrichment efforts domestically.
In response, Iravani referenced the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which grants nations that do not possess nuclear weapons access to peaceful nuclear technology, including the right to enrich uranium within regulated parameters.

6 dead after plane crashes into backyard of home in Howland Township, Ohio

In a powerful display of gratitude to the Ribono Shel Olam for the miracles witnessed during the recent conflict with Iran, hundreds gathered this past Shabbos at Beis Medrash Mimizrach Shemesh in Beit Shemesh for a communal recitation of Nishmas Kol Chai, expressing thanks to Hashem for His protection and mercy.

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