The Rest of the World Report | September 11, 2026 — Morning Edition

Weekday morning and evening editions. Saturdays once. Good news on Sundays. All sources labeled.ALI AL-TAHERIsrael said Thursday it destroyed a Hezbollah tunnel network beneath the Ali al-Taher ridge in southern Lebanon, using more than 1,100 tons of explosives. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz called it the completion of “operational control” over the ridge, above and below ground.The explosion itself is independently confirmed. Lebanon’s National News Agency reported tremors and a loud blast in the Nabatieh region. The US Geological Survey recorded a 4.1-magnitude seismic event at the site. AFP journalists in southern Lebanon heard the explosions.What Israel destroyed is not independently confirmed. No neutral party has verified the tunnel network’s existence, its contents, or the claim of operational control. A retired Lebanese general told Reuters an Israeli “ring of fire” has kept the Lebanese Armed Forces from reaching the ridge. An Associated Press photographer viewing the site from nearby Kfar Rumman on September 4 saw no visible Israeli military presence. Hezbollah has issued neither a confirmation nor a denial.Israel first claimed control of the ridge on September 3, saying its forces had cleared two underground routes and killed or driven out the Hezbollah personnel inside. An unnamed IDF source later told the Israeli outlet Maariv that troops found 15 bodies in the tunnels. Neither the IDF nor that report identified them or offered evidence.The Israeli military says the complex extended more than two kilometers, built over two decades with Iranian financing. Inside, Israeli forces reported finding dozens of Iranian-made rockets, missiles, and drones, along with anti-tank missiles and hundreds of mines and explosive devices. The military identified the site as the command hub for Hezbollah’s “Badr” unit, with weapon storage rooms and living quarters built to let fighters remain underground for extended periods. None of these specifics have been independently verified.The strikes come after a lull in fighting between Israel and Hezbollah that had held since June 19. Israel and Lebanon are due for a new round of US-backed talks in Rome later this month. Beirut authorities say Israeli strikes have killed more than 4,300 people in Lebanon since March. Reuters reported this month that Iran had warned the US against an Israeli operation targeting the ridge.🇺🇸 What American Readers Need to Know: A major claim about Iran-backed infrastructure is moving through American coverage almost entirely on Israel’s word. The explosion is real and measured independently. What it actually destroyed is not.Sources: Al-Monitor (Netanyahu/Katz statement, background); Al-Monitor (NNA, USGS, AFP confirmation, cumulative death toll, ceasefire lull); The National (explosive tonnage); France 24 (complex length, contents inventory, Badr unit); FDD (independent verification gap, Reuters/AP sourcing, Maariv report)KHASABTwo more vessels were struck late Thursday near Khasab, Oman, at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz. The UK Maritime Trade Operations center said four unidentified projectiles hit the ships, setting one on fire. No group has claimed responsibility. The condition of the second vessel and the identities of both ships have not been disclosed. The master of a separate ship reported witnessing the strikes from about six nautical miles away.The attack brings the total number of vessels struck near Hormuz this week to twelve. Iran said Wednesday it had attacked ten ships in the strait, a day after US Central Command said American forces destroyed five Iranian oil tankers.Separately, satellite imagery reviewed by traders shows a possible new rupture on Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline. The claim has not been corroborated by Saudi Aramco, Saudi authorities, or any wire service. Oil markets are weighing one confirmed attack against one unverified claim on the same news day.🇺🇸 What American Readers Need to Know: Twelve vessels struck in five days near a strait carrying roughly a fifth of the world’s oil is not a slowdown. It’s a pace, and prices are already reflecting it.Sources: Gulf News (Khasab attack, UKMTO warning); InvestingLive (pipeline claim, unconfirmed status)MOKHAHouthi forces seized the Yemeni port city of Mokha on the Red Sea coast Thursday, along with nearby Mayun Island, according to Yemeni officials and residents cited by Reuters. The city had been held by forces aligned with Yemeni government’s Presidential Leadership Council.Mokha sits roughly 60 kilometers north of the narrowest point of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Risk analyst Hamish Kinnear of Verisk Maplecroft called the capture a “major blow” to Saudi Arabia. It opens the way for the Houthis to press further toward the strait itself.The Houthi-run humanitarian operations coordination center said Red Sea navigation remains safe for all shipping companies except Saudi vessels, according to a statement carried by Reuters.Mokha’s capture extends the Houthi offensive that began September 3 in Taiz, the heaviest fighting since the 2022 truce collapsed. The Houthis now hold a port city and an island on the strait’s northern approach.Brent crude spiked to nearly $110 a barrel Thursday night on the combined Hormuz and Mokha news. It has since eased. As of this publication, Brent sits at $104.80 and US gas is at $4.30, per AAA.🇺🇸 What American Readers Need to Know: The Houthis now control ground on both sides of the approach to a strait carrying about 10% of the world’s oil supply. What happens at the pump this weekend runs through this stretch of Yemeni coastline as much as it does through Hormuz.Sources: CNBC (Mokha seizure, Kinnear quote); AGBI (navigation statement, Brent pricing); AAA (gas price)161 DRONESRussia struck Ukraine with a missile and 161 drones overnight into Friday, according to Ukraine’s Air Force. Sumy’s shopping center was hit for the third time in two days, with a fire reported at the scene. Russia also struck humanitarian aid warehouses in Odesa, sparking a fire.Thursday’s strike on a shopping center in Pavlohrad has grown deadlier overnight. Regional officials now put the toll at five dead and 67 injured, including eight children, up from the four dead and 62 injured reported when the strike first happened. Pavlohrad has declared September 11 a day of mourning.Reuters reported Thursday that NATO allies disrupted a covert Russian naval exercise near Norway’s Svalbard archipelago this spring, involving technology designed to disable subsea cables without leaving a trace. Britain, Norway, and the US tracked and confronted the Russian vessels, which left the area without completing the drill or damaging any cables. Norway’s defense minister said the operation sent Russia “a clear message” that it cannot operate covertly.Zelenskyy said Thursday that Kyiv and Washington are preparing for possible three-way peace talks with Russia, though he does not expect substantive negotiations during Russia’s upcoming State Duma elections. Speaking alongside Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in Calgary, he said Ukraine expects “the opportunity to meet with the American team in New York” at the end of September. He named grain exports and energy infrastructure as the likely starting points for any first steps.Ukraine’s General Staff put Russia’s losses over the prior 24 hours at roughly 1,490 troops and 1,925 drones. Ukraine does not independently verify Russian battlefield losses; the figures are Kyiv’s own count, not a confirmed toll.🇺🇸 What American Readers Need to Know: Zelenskyy naming an actual date and city for a US meeting is a real data point, not just rhetoric. It’s worth watching whether Washington confirms it in the coming days.Sources: RBC-Ukraine (Zelenskyy peace timeline quote, Russia losses figures); Kyiv Post (Calgary press conference context, US-Ukraine coordination); Kyiv Independent (Sumy, Odesa strikes); Kyiv Independent (NATO Svalbard operation, Reuters reporting); UA.News (updated Pavlohrad toll, day of mourning)NUMBERS AT PUBLICATION🇮🇷 Iran: 3,684 killed 🇱🇧 Lebanon: 4,352 killed, 12,318 wounded 🇮🇱 Israel: 1,200+ killed, ~5,400 wounded (includes 472 killed, 3,004 wounded in Gaza) 🇺🇸 US military: 18 killed, 756 wounded 🇵🇸 Gaza: 1,344+ Palestinians killed, 4,464 wounded, since the October 10, 2025 “ceasefire” 🇵🇸 West Bank: 316 killed (incl. 73 children), 5,641 wounded (incl. 915 children), since January 2025 🛢️ Brent crude: $104.80/barrel (OilPrice.com) ⛽ US gas: $4.30/gallon (AAA) Sources: Iran HRANA; Lebanon MOPH; INSS (Israel); DCAS (US, disputed); OCHA (Gaza, West Bank); OilPrice.com; AAA. 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