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In this week’s MBN Agenda: Donald Trump’s endorsement of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came with a warning to Tehran that the U.S. and Israel could soon “finish the job.” As the Nov. 3 U.S. midterms set the stage for 2028, the unfinished Iran war could become a defining issue in the emerging contest about who becomes America’s next president.
Also this week: how Israelis are reacting to Trump’s endorsement, Washington condemns an attack by Israeli settlers on an American journalist in the West Bank, Saudi Arabia’s new military alliance faces its first test as the Houthis try to squeeze Riyadh, and ISIS shows signs of regrouping in Iraq following the U.S. withdrawal.
Yehia Qasim, Ghassan Taqi and Mustafa Saadoon contributed to this week’s Agenda.
Washington Signals
The Iran War After November
Donald Trump endorsed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for reelection on Sunday. But the message may have been aimed as much at Tehran as at Israeli voters.
In a lengthy endorsement nine days before Israel’s Oct. 27 election, the U.S. president called Israel’s longest-serving prime minister a “Great Warrior Prime Minister” and a partner in confronting Iran. He also issued a warning: Unless Tehran changes course, America and Israel will “soon finish the job.”
Trump was clear why he wants Netanyahu to remain in office, too.
Without Netanyahu, he argued, “America will have to do this work ourselves,” adding he may not be “inclined” to do so. It was a warning with two audiences: Tehran, where Trump was threatening further action, and Israeli voters, to whom he was saying Netanyahu’s defeat could complicate America’s war with Iran.
Trump has waded into foreign elections before, backing Poland’s Karol Nawrocki, who won last year, and Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, who lost in April. But his statement marked an unusually direct intervention into Israeli domestic politics, being the first explicit endorsement of a candidate in an Israeli election by a sitting U.S. president.
The endorsement came after months of tension between the two leaders, who have publicly differed on how to wage the war in Iran and manage Gaza. Yet according to Axios, the two discussed launching another major operation against Iran just two weeks ago, with Trump reportedly deciding to wait until after the Israeli and U.S. elections.
That context gives the endorsement a significance beyond Netanyahu’s survival. With U.S.-Iran talks stalled and Washington still squeezing Iran’s economy, Trump has posted another reminder that renewed military escalation remains possible.
Trump’s positions on the Iran war and the Israeli premier could soon become part of another political contest, this one much closer to home. Just a day before Trump’s endorsement, Vice President JD Vance batted away questions about Iran – and his own future – at a CBS town hall in Michigan.
Asked why the U.S. military has still had not decisively won its nearly eight-month campaign, Vance argued that “in some ways, we have won decisively,” while acknowledging that “the enemy” in Iran also “gets a vote here.” Pressing the Trump administration’s line, Vance said the United States still needs a firm commitment from Iran’s government that it will not rebuild its nuclear program.
The vice president entered office as one of the Trump administration’s most outspoken skeptics of prolonged foreign wars. Vance helped negotiate the now-collapsed June 17 Iran ceasefire framework, arguing for a diplomatic settlement that would reopen Hormuz and end the fighting. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, meanwhile, was more skeptical of the agreement and whether it would produce lasting nuclear concessions.
The two have repeatedly denied any difference on foreign policy, of course. But their differing instincts on Iran and Israel have been apparent throughout the war, even as both have defended Trump’s broader approach to foreign policy.
Vance has in particular been willing to question Washington’s relationship with Netanyahu. At the All-In Conference last month, he argued that America’s Middle East policy could not be “subservient” to Israel and praised Trump’s willingness to publicly disagree with the Israeli premier when their interests diverged.
Now Trump is explicitly granting Netanyahu an emphatic endorsement and suggesting that the Israeli leader remains personally central to the future of the U.S. war with Iran. While none of that puts Vance at odds with Trump, it does raise questions about where the Republican Party goes after the midterms.
During the CBS town hall, Vance was asked about a 2028 presidential run. He said there was “of course” a chance he would not run, having previously indicated he and his wife Usha would discuss the decision after the midterms. Rubio, with his more hawkish foreign policy outlook, is the other biggest potential contender, with the pair dominating betting markets for the nomination.
For now, the two men serve the same president and are on the same page, and neither has announced a campaign. And the Trump administration, for its part, is still trying to end a war, not settle an argument over its successor.
But after Oct. 27 and Nov. 3, the political calendar begins pointing toward the 2028 presidential election. And if the Iran war remains unresolved, the debate over whether Washington has fought too much, conceded too much or stayed involved too long could become harder for Republicans to avoid.
Quote of the day
Attacking a female photographer is [a] despicable act of terror carried out by masked cowards. Dishonorable act of senseless violence.
– U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, in a post to X commenting on the attack by Israeli settlers on Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine.
Israel Watch
Trump’s Endorsement Puts Netanyahu’s Rivals in a Bind
U.S. 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, U.S., December 29, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo
Netanyahu welcomed Trump’s endorsement ahead of the Oct. 27 election, calling the U.S. president one of Israel’s greatest friends and emphasizing their shared commitment to confronting Iran. The endorsement has also put Netanyahu’s rivals in a bit of a bind: how to object to American involvement in an Israeli election without damaging future ties with Washington.
Opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot, a former military chief and Netanyahu’s main rival in next week’s ballot, rejected what he called “intervention” in choosing Israel’s leadership, insisting that Israeli voters alone should decide who governs. Israeli broadcaster Kan reported that other opposition figures were caught off guard, with some debating whether to ignore Trump’s intervention or question whether Netanyahu offered concessions in return, potentially over Gaza.
Israeli political analyst Eli Nissan told MBN that Trump likely prefers a Netanyahu victory because he knows his positions and feels he can influence him. “Trump also knows Netanyahu’s weaknesses and can exert pressure on him,” he said.
Palestine Watch
U.S. Condemns Attack on American Journalist
Heidi Levine, a photojournalist with the Washington Post, speaks to journalists at the hospital after sustaining multiple injuries during an attack by Israeli militant settlers on Palestinians harvesting olives, in Ramallah West Bank, October 16, 2026. REUTERS/Ali Sawafta
The U.S. State Department condemned violence in the West Bank after Israeli settlers attacked Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine while she was covering the Palestinian olive harvest near Ramallah on Friday. Video footage showed Levine lying on the ground surrounded by assailants, and she reportedly suffered a broken rib and a serious hand injury requiring immediate surgery.
“We condemn criminal violence by any party in the West Bank,” a State Department spokesperson told MBN, calling for an investigation and legal accountability. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned violence against journalists but said questions remained about the circumstances of the specific incident.
The attack comes amid a surge in settler violence during the annual olive harvest, an important source of income for Palestinian families. Israeli human rights group Yesh Din says it has documented at least 170 settler attacks since Sept. 27, while press freedom advocates warn that journalists covering the unrest are increasingly becoming targets themselves.
Saudi Arabia Watch
Riyadh’s New Alliance Faces Its First Test
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, accompanied by their ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defence, pose after signing a joint defence agreement in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, August 7, 2026. Saudi Press Agency/Handout via REUTERS.
Saudi Arabia’s new defense alliance with Turkey and Pakistan is getting an early test in Yemen. Riyadh invoked the Mecca defense pact this month as Houthi attacks escalated, just days before a deadly strike on its main airport and with the Trump administration declining requests for direct strikes on the Houthis.
But Turkey and Pakistan have drawn limits on their involvement. Turkey says its role would be defensive and still requires parliamentary approval, while Pakistan insists its troops will never enter Yemen. They pledged to protect Saudi territory, though, even if neither can readily replace U.S. long-range airpower.
In the end, even American intervention might not prove decisive in the Saudi-Houthi conflict. Analysts told MBN that airstrikes alone – the expected U.S. approach if it were to intervene at all – are unlikely to defeat the Houthis, leaving questions about what Riyadh can realistically achieve.
Yemen Watch
What the Houthis Want From Riyadh
This screen grab taken from CCTV footage played on a screen during a press conference by the Saudi-led coalition in Riyadh on October 15, 2026, and made available via AFPTV, shows what the coalition says was a Houthi attack on Abha International Airport on October 7, 2026.
Analysts told MBN that the Houthis’ attacks on Saudi airports and oil facilities are part of a campaign to force Riyadh to end its support for Yemen’s government and accept the group’s control over much of the country. The Houthi attacks also follow what the group describes as an “airport for airport” strategy of retaliation against Saudi restrictions and strikes on their positions in Yemen.
The economic disruption in Riyadh is already being felt hard. Airlines have canceled flights, an E.U.-Gulf summit has been postponed and Saudi Arabia is now planning a hybrid format for its flagship in-country investment conference. The Houthis are targeting not only infrastructure but also Riyadh’s efforts to present itself as a safe destination for international business.
The group also wants leverage in any eventual peace settlement, including potentially a broader U.S.-Iran agreement. April Longley Alley of the Washington Institute said the Houthis are betting they can withstand the economic pain longer than Riyadh. “They know the Saudis have more to lose,” she said.
Iraq Watch
ISIS Tests Iraq’s Defenses After U.S. Withdrawal
A member of the Iraqi security forces walks past a display of an Iraqi flag as they celebrate the withdrawal of US-led coalition forces from Iraq, ending a military presence that began after the 2003 US-led invasion, in Baghdad, Iraq, September 30, 2026. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad
Just weeks after American troops completed their withdrawal from Iraq, small ISIS cells are moving toward Baghdad’s outskirts, Iraqi intelligence sources told MBN. Groups of three to five militants are using unmonitored rural roads to acquire weapons, recruit members and reconnect with former fighters.
The movements are difficult to track. One intelligence source told MBN that authorities had identified only three units, with other members still unknown. “There are no reliable sources monitoring them,” they said. ISIS also claimed responsibility for an Oct. 5 attack near Kirkuk that killed an Iraqi police officer.
Iraqi officials insist the group remains too weak to regain control of territory. Lt. Gen. Saad Maan, head of Iraq’s Security Media Cell, called such a comeback “impossible.” But the reported movements are an early test of whether Iraqi forces can contain ISIS remnants without the U.S.-led coalition’s presence.
