Day: October 20, 2026

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🇮🇷 🇮🇱 🇺🇸 A third round of the Iran war could go after desalination plants and undersea internet cables from day one.

Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute, says round two ended up looking just like round one, and round three is shaping up the same way, except Israel is now pushing to hit energy sites, water plants and the cables under the Gulf right out of the gate.

Those threats tend to get carried out:

“When it comes to these military threats, they’ve acted on most of them, to the best of my knowledge.”

Those cables run through the whole Gulf, so cutting them would knock Iran’s neighbors offline right alongside Iran.

@tparsi
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  Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal)🇮🇷🇦🇪 Iran’s Revolutionary Guard is reportedly threatening to cut the undersea internet cables the Gulf runs on if the war restarts

Dubai runs on trade, and trade runs on those cables, which is the kind of stability a third round of this war takes away first.

Trita Parsi of the Quincy Institute says Tehran slices the salami, so the cables may sit several rungs up the escalation ladder, but it rarely bluffs on the military side:

“When it comes to these military threats, they’ve acted on most of them, to the best of my knowledge.”

Israel’s defense minister has threatened to send Iran “back into the Stone Age” by hitting its energy infrastructure if Iran attacks Israel, so both sides are now naming the infrastructure they would hit first, and the Gulf economies sit between them with no cables and no say.

@tparsi
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  —  https://x.com/MarioNawfal/status/2112311210670432560

RT  @JeffStorobinsky: . @joshrogin ‘s thoughts on Trump, Putin and Xi as the war between Russia and Ukaine continues

EXCELLENT

10.19.26 htt…

🇫🇷 Another piece of France’s architectural heritage has been left in RUINS

Devastating aerial footage shows the aftermath of a massive fire at Limoges City Hall, with its roof destroyed, wooden beams charred, and debris scattered throughout the historic building.

The elegant stone facade is still standing, but the destruction behind it is heartbreaking 💔

Writer: Sol  x.com/lepopulaire_fr/status/…
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Self-driving cars are on the brink of becoming commonplace. Next up are the highway’s biggest, loudest and most intimidating vehicles: driverless trucks.  on.wsj.com/4i2FPi0