Israel Keeps Security Alert High as Iran Strike Fears Mount

Israel is holding its high security alert in place, with sources telling Israeli outlet i24News on Wednesday that the country is bracing for the possibility Iran launches a preemptive strike. The alarm hasn't been switched off. According to the report, officials are watching Tehran closely for the first sign of movement.

A senior Israeli security official, speaking anonymously to i24News, described Iran as being in a 'difficult position' as it waits to see whether Washington continues its military action against the country. But the official stressed Tehran is determined not to be caught off guard for a third time. Meanwhile, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it intercepted a US MQ-1 drone over Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz.

The economic squeeze on Iran is tightening too. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday that the Trump administration will keep going after entities and individuals backing the Iranian regime, invoking 'Operation Economic Outcast.' 'You are either with us or against us,' he wrote on X, adding that Washington will sanction supporters 'whether by land, sea, or air.' The Treasury also hit India-based Suniel Kumar Sharma and his spouse, Jaspreet Preeti Shahid, accusing them of aiding Iran.

Back in Washington, President Donald Trump said Wednesday it is 'largely true' the war in Iran cost Republicans the midterms. He pinned the loss on prices rather than the conflict itself, saying the war 'drove the gasoline up a little bit, short-term' — but insisted he'd do it all again. 'You can't let Iran have a nuclear weapon,' he told reporters in his first appearance after the election.

Democrats aren't letting it slide. Incoming House Speaker Hakeem Jeffries said at a press conference that Trump's tariffs and the Iran war 'must be stopped,' promising to 'fight for an affordable America.' Iran's National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei piled on, celebrating the Republican defeat and claiming the 'Iranian nation handed Trump a strategic defeat on the battlefield and in the Hormuz.' US Vice President JD Vance reportedly admitted the Iran war was the main reason behind the GOP's midterm losses.