HEADLINES Iran seeks binding IAEA assurances amid war Syria Saudi ties surge reshaping Middle East Fez collapse kills 22 as probes launched The time is now 10:01 AM in New York, I'm Noa Levi and this is the latest Israel Today: Ongoing War Report. At 10:00 AM in Jerusalem, a set of developments across the Middle East and beyond are shaping the regional security and diplomacy that Israel watches closely, while broader international concerns press for restraint and accountability. First, on the nuclear front, Iran says its safeguards regime is not designed for wartime conditions as it negotiates with the IAEA. Tehran indicates it seeks new binding assurances from the agency to prevent any misuse of data before it resumes fuller cooperation. The statement underscores the fragility of the monitoring framework that has governed exchanges for years and highlights how questions of data, verification, and timing continue to complicate efforts to stabilize the region’s most sensitive diplomatic channel. In Beirut, Lebanon’s government tone toward Tehran remains cautious. Lebanon’s foreign minister declined an invitation to visit Tehran, noting that the appropriate conditions for such a visit were not present. The move signals a desire to maintain channels with Tehran while protecting parallel tracks of dialogue with other regional partners. It also reflects Lebanon’s broader effort to manage its own fragile security and political calculations amid competing regional pressures. Turning to the Levant, a major regional development involves Syria’s relationship with its Gulf and regional partners. Reports describe a tightening of cooperation between Damascus and Riyadh, amid broader signals of alignment that include security and economic considerations. Saudi contacts with Syrian leadership are occurring even as debates continue over the post-conflict order in Syria and the role of outside powers in stabilizing or reshaping the country’s future. In parallel, a surge of cooperation between Syria and Saudi circles follows a recent high-level exchange that touched on resilience, reconstruction, and regional security concerns. In Washington, US officials continue to frame the Gaza conflict in terms of security and accountability. The US ambassador to the United Nations reiterated that Hamas must be removed, insisting that the cycle of violence in Gaza and Israel must end. The message emphasizes a long-standing US objective of degrading the capabilities of Hamas while urging conditions that would prevent a broader regional eruption and protect civilian populations. The approach reflects a continuum of policy that seeks to deter violence while pressuring all parties to reduce tensions and pursue durable terms. On the Israeli side, the Druze community in Syria drew attention this week as leaders pressed for greater international guarantees. Israeli Druze leader Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif urged the United States to guarantee the security of Syria’s Druze minority to prevent a recurrence of violence seen earlier this year in Sweida. Tarif argued that US support would reduce the need for Israeli intervention and emphasized the importance of minority rights, autonomy, and humanitarian access as a foundation for stability along Israel’s northern front. In North Africa, a tragic collapse caught the world’s attention. In Fez, Morocco, at least 22 people were killed and 16 injured when two adjacent buildings collapsed, one of which was hosting a birth celebration. Authorities described preexisting structural concerns and said an investigation had begun. The incident comes amid a broader backdrop of protests and concerns over living conditions in several Moroccan cities as the country pursues large-scale development and infrastructure projects. A different kind of production is taking place in war-torn Syria, where a new wave of television is being filmed in sites once linked to the Assad era. A Damascus-based production crew is shooting scenes about the final months of Assad’s rule, using former security facilities and other locations once associated with oppression to tell a story about power, fear, and upheaval. Filmmakers say the projects reflect a changing atmosphere in which former limits on expression are loosened, even as sensitive topics remain under scrutiny by authorities. For Jewish communities and the broader international community, a separate but related development concerns the safety of online discourse and the spread of antisemitism in the digital age. A major study from the Anti-Defamation League finds that open-source AI models can be encouraged to generate antisemitic content when prompted in certain ways, illustrating a vulnerability in the digital ecosystem. The report calls for safety audits, clearer disclosures on AI-generated material, and stronger guardrails to protect communities from online harm and misinformation that can fuel real-world tension and violence. Domestically, Israel continues to wrestle with questi
