US Treasury Secretary Bessent stated that the Strait of Hormuz will be bypassed within two years and will become “useless.” He also stated: “The United States is not seeking regime change in Iran.”
Senior advisers to President Trump are trying to prevent an escalation of the conflict with Iran before the November midterm elections in an effort to mitigate the expected losses for Republicans. Sources said the White House may consider increasing pressure on Iran after the November 3 elections, but this is “far from a final decision.” At this stage, they said, the administration is focusing on increasing economic pressure on Iran to secure concessions in future negotiations. “We continue to put pressure on Iran,” a senior White House official stated, “but November is a priority.”
Meanwhile, Iran responded to the US attacks on September 1st on the night of September 1st.
Donald Trump went even harder than Secretary of State Besset: “The Iran deal isn’t worth the paper it was signed on.” In an interview with Fox News, he added that Washington has given Tehran numerous opportunities to strike a deal. “The Iran deal isn’t worth a dime.” Trump also threatened that “there will be no more Iran” if the Islamic Republic continues to respond to US attacks.
Britain introduces new measures against Israeli settlements in the West Bank. British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced the introduction of new measures against Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Miliband said that Israel’s E1 settlement plan “crosses a red line.” The details of the measures the UK will adopt and the timeline for their implementation have not yet been announced.
The French Foreign Minister has escalated his rhetoric toward Israel: “France is seeking an agreement in the European Union to halt trade with illegal settlements in the West Bank. The situation in the West Bank is deeply worrying, if not shocking. France is calling for new sanctions against those responsible for ‘colonization and violence’ in the West Bank.” Since 2023, Israel has seized approximately 110,000 dunams in the West Bank.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement: “We have plans ready to remove Israeli Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, but we are waiting for an American decision.” In the central Gaza Strip, on September 2, Israeli aircraft launched new threats over the al-Maghazi camp, demanding that residents leave their homes.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traveled to Gaza, where he declared: “We control 60% of this area.” Netanyahu was in the Gaza Strip to meet with General Security Service (Shin Bet) fighters who led the operation across the Yellow Line to arrest Hamas’s intelligence chief. He also said: “We control the territory and will remain on this line. We are doing everything we can to achieve our goal, which is to disarm Hamas and demilitarize Gaza. We will not withdraw from the Gaza Strip.” He also said: “On September 1st, we arrested Hamas’s intelligence chief.”
Haaretz explained the arrest operation: “There were no IDF soldiers at the site of the kidnapping operation in Gaza, and Israel reduced the deployment of special forces in Mista’arvim operations inside the Strip following the display of military force during an operation in Khan Younis in November 2018, after a Hamas force detained members of an Israeli unit. Severe overcrowding in the Hamas-controlled area appears to be making it difficult for covert Israeli fighters to infiltrate.”
The fuel crisis in the West Bank continues. Long lines have reportedly formed at gas stations in the West Bank due to reduced fuel supplies. It is estimated that, despite a daily demand of around 4 million liters, supplies have dropped to 2.5-3 million liters. The fuel shortage has reportedly led to an increase in the use of illegal and low-quality fuel. It is also reported that the Palestinian Authority’s financial problems are exacerbating the fuel supply situation.
On the night of September 1, as Tehran’s air defense systems were activated, President Masoud Pezeshkian’s plane was forced to land in the city of Rasht on his return from an official visit to Kyrgyzstan. Iranian leader Mohammad Khamenei’s official Twitter account posted a message—during the US attacks—reading: “Dear Iranian people and resistance forces, the American enemy has learned a lesson it will never forget.”
By order of General Ahmad Vahidi, Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Mahdavi has been appointed as the new commander of the Imam Reza Corps (AS). Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Mahdavi previously commanded the Ansar al-Reza (AS) Corps of South Khorasan. Until now, the Imam Reza Corps Command of Khorasan Razavi was headed by Revolutionary Guards Brigadier General Seyyed Hashem Ghiasi. At 76, he held the title of the longest-serving military commander.
And now a look at the military landscape in the Middle East and Western anxiety, updated at 4:30 PM ET on September 2. US Central Command: 2 At 12:00 PM ET on September 1, US forces began attacks on Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targets in Iran. These attacks were a response to recent IRGC attempts to attack merchant ships in the Strait of Hormuz and US military personnel stationed in the region.
Beginning at 9:30 p.m. Italian time, Iran launched a missile attack against Jordan. Two missiles were aimed at the US base at Muwaffaq Salti in Jordan. Warnings were issued to residents, urging them to seek shelter due to an expected Iranian ballistic missile attack. Iran’s target: the Titin camp in Jordan.
From Gaza, Israel’s Channel 12 learned: “Contrary to previous reports, no militia participated in the arrest of Aarabid. The operation was conducted with extreme secrecy, and the Shin Bet intended to conceal many other details, but after some leaks and recordings began to circulate in the media, it was forced to reveal the details of the event.” On September 1, 2026, Israeli Shin Bet special forces arrested Moein al-Arabid (also known as Mu’in Al-Arabid), the head of Hamas’s internal security apparatus in the Gaza Strip.
One person was killed and five wounded in an Israeli airstrike on a tent inside Asdaa City in Mawasi Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip.
Israeli incursions into Lebanon continue: the city of Mays al-Jabal was hit, along with the areas of al-Shindiba and Wadi al-Jamal, reaching the western outskirts of the city, near Doubay Castle, coincided with artillery and machine gun fire. The city of Beit Leif was bombed. Artillery fire targeted the city of Mansouri. The IDF again carried out an explosion in the city of Kafr Tibnit, in the Nabatieh district. The city of Markaba was bombed.
Iran struck Erbil overnight. Iranian drone strikes targeted the US base in Harir and the Soran region in Erbil province, Iraq. Following Iranian retaliatory strikes against US targets, plumes of smoke and flames rose from Erbil airport. Erbil airport has been closed until further notice. Iranian Target: A US spy balloon in Erbil also hit a repair shop, technical equipment, and the guidance system of a surveillance balloon. Local sources in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region confirmed the destruction of the balloon and its control systems. Erbil as a whole was hit twice, the second time targeting the US consulate.
Iranian military forces carried out drone strikes against US-backed separatist groups in Sulaymaniyah, Iraq.
Late in the afternoon of September 2, explosions were reported in Kuwait. Iranian missile attacks against US positions in Kuwait.
Iranian missile and drone attacks against US positions in Bahrain in two waves within a short time. The Iranian military carried out drone strikes against radar installations and US troop assembly centers at a US base in Bahrain. An analysis of US Fifth Fleet satellite imagery in Bahrain shows that a warehouse was hit by Iranian drones. Bahrain claimed to have intercepted the drones.
Over the past week, fighting in the strait has been quite intense. Overall, the Americans managed to repel attacks by Iranian light forces, although the Islamic Republic did not suffer significant losses in these clashes. At the same time, Tehran responded by mining the western passage of the strait. Initially, boats were used for this purpose, but US helicopters, drones, and Navy SEALs repelled them. Therefore, the Iranian side deployed unmanned boats, which completed the task. And now, at least two ships from the “shadow” fleet have been blown up. Two oil tankers attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz without Iranian authorization on September 2nd struck mines, starting a fire on board, according to the Revolutionary Guards.
Explosions were recorded in Bandar Abbas starting at 7:30 PM Italian time on September 1st. The IRGC announced the downing of the 50th US MQ-9 drone using a new air defense system in Khomein. A telecommunications tower in Kohestak, Iran, located in a residential area, was destroyed after being hit by a bombing.
Officials from Hormogan province: “The US airstrike in Sirik killed two people and wounded 50.” “The attack hit a site near a wedding ceremony in Kohestak, a district of Sirik, with shrapnel.” The airport in the city of Jiroft, southern Iran, was also hit. Several explosions were heard on the Iranian island of Qeshm and in the Strait of Hormuz, Press TV reports.
The press office of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) stated that it “struck the US Marine barracks in southern Jordan, known as Camp Titin, on the shores of the Gulf of Aqaba, using heavy ballistic missiles. The attack resulted in numerous American casualties, in addition to the destruction of several critical installations and several enemy attack helicopters. Following the confirmation of the Iranian missile strike on Camp Titin, evacuation helicopters were reportedly spotted flying over Jordan.”
The IRGC also stated: “We conducted three consecutive waves of punitive attacks against the US military, launching massive salvos of precision-guided ballistic missiles and autonomously guided munitions. The second wave: Kheibar Shekan solid-fuel ballistic missiles were launched against Camp Titin, a US Marine barracks located in southern Jordan. Third wave: Kheibar Shekan solid-fuel and Emad liquid-fuel ballistic missiles struck technical facilities and drone hangars housing RQ-4 and MQ-9 aircraft at Prince Hassan Air Base in Jordan.
Finally, border guards in Abadan seized a foreign tugboat carrying 382,000 liters of contraband diesel fuel in the northern waters of the Persian Gulf and arrested 11 foreign suspects.
Antonio Albanese e Graziella Giangiulio
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