WP: Trump administration prepares for sale of 40,000 bombs worth $2.8 billion to genocidal Israel (machine-translated headline from a Turkish-language source)

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) introduced privileged articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, citing alleged unauthorized military actions and other charges. As a lame-duck member following his primary loss, Massie stated the House Rules require a vote on the resolution within two legislative days, though it is widely expected to be tabled by the Republican majority.

A Department of War Inspector General report estimates that Operation Epic Fury has cost $33.4 billion as of June 29, a figure that excludes the unquantified expense of repairing military infrastructure damaged by Iranian attacks on U.S. bases across eight Middle Eastern countries.

While the Pentagon attributes the damage to Iranian strikes, independent analysts suggest the total cost may be significantly higher, with one estimating potential expenditures of $112.3 billion by late July.

Saudi Arabia yesterday vowed to respond “firmly” to attacks by Yemen’s Houthis, after the Iran-backed fighters wounded 13 people in the kingdom in an assault using ballistic missiles and drones. The Houthis have been engaged in renewed fighting with Saudi-backed government forces since Yemen’s civil war reignited in July, when the group declared a maritime blockade on Riyadh and began targeting its ships in the Red Sea.

They seized control of Yemen’s Red Sea coast and the Bab al-Mandab Strait last week, which has become vital as the wider US-Iran war chokes the Strait of Hormuz. Photo: Reuters Saudi Arabia yesterday issued attack alerts for Mecca — the holy city’s first of the Middle East war — and Jeddah and Taif governorates, before quickly canceling them.

The Saudi Civil Defense had earlier issued short-lived air-raid alerts in six regions. The Houthis have also targeted the oil infrastructure of Saudi Arabia, the world’s leading crude exporter, pushing global oil prices above the US$100 threshold. A Houthi strike in western Yemen on Monday killed eight government soldiers, two military sources said.

The group also claimed a new large-scale attack using “dozens of ballistic missiles and drones” against King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait, in southern Saudi Arabia. A Khamis Mushait resident said he heard “intense blasts” that left fires burning for a “long time.

” “Honestly, we couldn’t sleep at all,” they said. The Riyadh-led coalition yesterday confirmed there had been missile and drone attacks the previous day on Khamis Mushait, Abha and Taif, reporting 13 civilians wounded and damage to seven houses and two vehicles.

Saudi Arabia responded with more than 50 strikes, as it had the day before, the Houthis said. As the attacks continue, the UN Security Council was due to meet to discuss the Houthis’ offensive, diplomatic sources said. The coalition said it would deal with the attacks “firmly to protect the sovereignty of the Kingdom” and would take “all necessary operational measures to deter this ...

hostile and extremist approach.” While Saudi Arabia has conducted dozens of airstrikes on Houthi-held areas, it has so far failed to deter the fighters’ lightning offensive. Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman was expected to hold talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi yesterday.

US media last week reported that US President Donald Trump had rejected a personal request from the crown prince to intervene in the war. Trump on Saturday said the Houthis had called Washington and asked the US not to get involved. Meanwhile, the US is facing a shortfall in ammunition as a result of its war against Iran, the US Department of Defense’s inspector general confirmed on Monday, contrasting with Trump’s assertions of full stocks.

In a first-of-its-kind mandatory report to the US Congress, the inspector said that between Feb. 28 and June 30, Operation Epic Fury (OEF) had an estimated cost of US$33.4 billion, including US$22.3 billion spent on expended munitions. “The munitions expenditure on OEF has resulted in strategic inventory shortfalls and revealed industrial base bottlenecks for munitions resupply,” the report said.

An unauthorized drone intrusion over Ching Chuan Kang Air Base (清泉崗基地) at Taichung International Airport on Tuesday night forced the temporary closure of the base, diverting eight fighter jets and delaying a commercial flight, authorities said. Air Force Command Headquarters said that clear weather had allowed for scheduled night training exercises, but after a drone was spotted entering the airspace, the control tower declared an emergency closure of the airport, forcing eight Indigenous Defense Fighter jets in the air to divert and land at Hsinchu Air Base (新竹基地).

Taichung airport director Chang Jui-shu (張瑞澍) said the airspace intrusion lasted from 7:37pm to Indonesian rescuers searched for eight people who went missing at sea while heading to a volcanic island to report on an eruption there, officials said yesterday.

Anak Krakatau initially erupted for about 25 hours over the weekend, and it has since continued to erupt intermittently with explosions ejecting lava, ash and incandescent volcanic material from the crater, the Indonesian Geology Agency said in a statement.

A speedboat carrying five photojournalists, two crew members and a route guide lost contact after leaving Carita, a coastal town in Banten Province, for the volcanic island, Banten Province Search and Rescue Office Chief Al Amrad said. He PRICE STABILIZATION: The Ministry of Economic Affairs has urged the legislature to support the Cabinet’s supplementary budget for state-owned energy companies State-owned oil supplier CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) on Saturday announced that it would raise domestic gasoline prices by NT$0.

7 (US$0.02) per liter and diesel prices by NT$0.6 per liter this week after international crude oil prices rose above US$100 per barrel last week. Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) yesterday said that it matched CPC’s price adjustments for this week.

The decisions end a six-week period during which CPC and Formosa kept fuel prices in Taiwan unchanged. Retail gasoline prices this week would rise to NT$31.2, NT$32.7 and NT$34.7 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively at CPC More than 100 Taiwanese-Americans, Taiwanese lawmakers and members of civic groups on Saturday marched through New York City to call for Taiwan’s participation in the UN, with Marshall Island Permanent Representative to the UN John Silk joining the event to show support.

Participants chanted: “UN for Taiwan” and “Keep Taiwan Free” as they marched through central Manhattan, passing Times Square and Bryant Park before ending near the New York Public Library. The annual march brought together Taiwanese community groups from across the US East Coast.