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FIRST ON FOX: Africa could become the next major frontier for data centers and Artificial Intelligence, experts say.

The Trump administration is backing and promoting American companies to make AI development, in their words, ‘the gold standard’. The U.S. is trying increasingly to grab business opportunities in Africa, as backlash and environmental restrictions hit data center development in the U.S. and Africa.

"Africa is emerging as a significant potential location for building AI infrastructure, especially as many mature markets face increasing environmental and power constraints," Abhishek Goyal, Consultant at specialist research group Arizton Advisory & Intelligence, told Fox News Digital.

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He added, "The continent could become the next major frontier for AI infrastructure development. As the U.S. and Europe encounter challenges such as power scarcity, grid congestion, permitting issues and environmental regulations, Africa's underdeveloped infrastructure presents an opportunity rather than a disadvantage."

A State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital, "We are committed to ensuring that American AI – including enabling infrastructure like data centers – continues to be the gold standard worldwide, and that we remain the partner of choice for foreign governments and businesses who are seeking to upgrade their telecommunications networks and AI capabilities."

Amongst other deals, this year with U.S. help, an American company has won a $6.2 billion deal in Lesotho in Southern Africa for a data center and hydropower plant.

In the central African country of Gabon, the U.S. Embassy helped win $600 million in business for American companies in 2025. And this year, the embassy in this central African country has assisted in securing a $100 million contract to supply two data centers and a gas-to-power plant, in the face of strong competition from China.

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Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Frank Garcia previously told Fox News Digital, "Under President Trump’s leadership, the United States is assisting U.S. companies to find new markets and flourish in Africa."

"Africa is experiencing a data center boom, but it begins from a very small base," Arthur Goldstuck told Fox News Digital. Goldstuck is CEO of South African technology research group World Wide Worx, and author of "The Hitchhiker’s Guide to AI – The African Edge."

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Goldstuck said that because of a lack of capacity currently, "Africa will not replace either market as any kind of center of global computing. Rather, its attraction lies in serving a rapidly growing African cloud market, and processing African data closer to the people and businesses that generate it.

He continued, "Africa also gives U.S. companies access to a cloud and AI market that remains severely under-served. The opportunities extend from operating data centers to supplying AI chips, cooling systems, cybersecurity and power infrastructure. In some countries, a data center can also become the guaranteed customer that makes a new renewable-energy project financially viable. American companies can therefore develop computing capacity and electricity generation together, in partnership with African companies and governments."

But Goldstuck said that data center growth is fueled by local needs on the continent. "It is a boom by African standards. Africa remains far behind the U.S. and Europe in installed capacity, and weak electricity grids make construction and operation more difficult. Demand is growing rapidly as governments, banks and other large companies seek local cloud and AI services. They increasingly want sensitive information stored within their own countries, which adds momentum to the expansion."

Arizton’s Goyal added that "countries such as South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Morocco and Egypt are attracting large-scale (AI) projects. 

"The U.S. Government aims," a State Department spokesperson said, "to offer credible solutions that leverage public and private financing in priority areas, such as emerging technology, which demand that global telecoms networks remain secure for U.S. citizens and business. For example, undersea cables networks are being constructed across the Atlantic, providing more opportunity and connectivity to Africa than ever before."

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U.S. companies using undersea AI cables to connect with African data centers is a possibility, Goldstuck said, but there are limitations. "Distance creates a slight delay, so African facilities would be less attractive for U.S. services requiring an instant response from American users. They could work well for backups, disaster recovery and some intensive AI processing, provided that the cost, security and legal jurisdiction made sense."

Analysts say presently, much of Africa lacks regulation and is creating the risk of a wild west approach to business. The South African government recently claimed the country hosts 70% of the continent's total data center capacity.

But Pitso Tsibolane, senior lecturer in information systems at the University of Cape Town, told Fox News Digital that in South Africa "there is currently no public register of data center facilities, no requirement that operators disclose how much water, electricity and land they will use and no binding commitments against which performance can be measured."

Tsibolane added, "That gap serves nobody. Communities cannot see what is being traded on their behalf, and responsible operators cannot distinguish themselves from the rest, because nobody’s numbers are on the table. South Africa hosts the majority of Africa’s data center capacity and has a real opportunity to become the jurisdiction that gets this right early: transparent disclosure, an independent factual baseline and predictable approvals. That combination is good for households, good for the grid and good for every investor who intends to be here for the long term."

Arizton’s Goyal says the future for Africa could be bright. "Several African countries present a unique opportunity due to their abundant renewable energy potential — such as solar, wind, hydro and geothermal sources — as well as available land, lower development costs and fast-growing digital economies."

Swedes head to the polls Sunday as Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson’s center-right party is slightly behind the center-left Social Democratic Party led by Sweden's former Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, with the election dominated by fears of mass migration, crime and the economy.

"Years of gang violence, Islamist extremism, persistent unemployment and pressure on public services have intensified the debate over whether integration has kept pace with immigration," foreign policy expert and author Daniel Schatz, told Fox News Digital.

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Following on from Germany's AfD victory in a state election last week, Sweden's hard-right Sweden Democrats are in a position to enter government if Kristersson's party wins again. The Associated Press reported that the anti-immigration party has shifted toward the political mainstream and is likely to get cabinet posts. It has so far supported the Kristersson government from the outside.

The Associated Press reported that the Sweden Democrats were founded by activists in far-right-wing extremist groups, including neo-Nazis. But since then, under its leader, Jimmie Åkesson, it toned down that rhetoric and kicked out racist members. Åkesson, who has led them since 2005, is said to be responsible for the success of a once marginal party. 

Sweden, once a model of the Western social welfare state, has been under economic strain as governments from both the left and the right were forced to restructure their welfare system.

While social benefits continue to be extensive, Sweden’s welfare state has changed amid rising crime rates, but the expectations for public benefits remain.

"Sweden went from being described as a ‘humanitarian superpower’ to a "humanitarian basket case.’ Discontent with migration policies extends to both foreign-born and native-born residents. Shootings have declined sharply, but fewer shootings do not mean the integration problems are solved," Schatz, who is Swedish, added.

Prime Minister Kristersson’s government took power in 2022, as the nation was experiencing a dramatic rise in gun-related violence, with the country witnessing 391 shootings resulting in 62 deaths, according to The Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention, a government agency under the Ministry of Justice.

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The homicide rate in Sweden has been on the rise since 2013, when gun homicides contributed to a general increase in Sweden’s total homicide rate.

The Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention notes that Sweden’s homicide rate ranks very high compared with other European countries, at approximately four deaths per million inhabitants per year.

The average for Europe is approximately 1.6 deaths per million inhabitants.

The issue of immigration is another major issue that dovetails with voters’ concerns over crime and gun violence. Like much of Europe, Sweden experienced a wave of immigration in 2015 coming from those fleeing the Syrian civil war as well as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Sweden took in over 160,000 asylum seekers in 2015, or 12% of all those who sought protection in the EU, according to Sweden’s Migration Agency.

"After the 2015 influx of asylum seekers from Syria and other war-torn countries strained its reception system, Sweden began tightening its borders. The current government has taken that shift much further," Schatz said.

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Prime Minister Kristersson’s parliamentary ally, the right-wing Sweden Democrats, filled the void in the anti-immigration position in parliament.

Nicholas Aylott, professor of political science at Södertörn University in Stockholm, told Fox News Digital that the link between the increase in immigration and the rise in crime changed Swedish politics.

"Migration and law-and-order became much higher electoral priorities," Aylott said.

"The Sweden Democrats based their pitch on them. The other parties, rather belatedly, adapted their positions. The Sweden Democrats had at first been completely ostracized by the other parties, but they were gradually accepted as a legitimate partner by three of the other parties of the right between 2018 and 2022," he said.

As the anti-immigration backlash rose and the Sweden Democrats were more included in the policymaking process, Sweden cracked down on immigration and made it harder to seek asylum.

While asylum claims dropped and gun violence was dramatically reduced as well, with only 158 shootings and 44 fatalities to date, the government still might suffer a defeat at the hands of Andersson’s center-left coalition.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A passenger ship carrying 240 people vanished from contact in the Java Sea on Sunday local time, triggering an urgent search as Indonesian crews raced to locate the vessel.

The Virgo Transport 8 was traveling from Surabaya, East Java, to Banjarmasin on the island of Borneo when communications with the ship were lost, the Associated Press reported, citing Indonesia’s Banjarmasin Search and Rescue Office.

Authorities said the vessel was last tracked roughly 92 miles from a pier in Banjarmasin, the capital of South Kalimantan province.

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Search-and-rescue teams launched an operation after receiving a report that the ship had suffered a communications failure during the voyage, according to the AP.

Officials had not reported any deaths or injuries as of Sunday, and it was not immediately clear what caused the vessel to lose contact or whether weather conditions were affecting the search.

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The Virgo Transport 8 departed Surabaya, Indonesia’s second-largest city, before losing contact while crossing the Java Sea toward South Kalimantan.

The search remains underway.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Saudi Arabia is urging Washington to take direct military action against Iran-backed Houthis, Fox News Digital learned after the terrorist group seized key positions along Yemen’s Bab al-Mandab Strait on Friday.

The dramatic strengthening of Houthi's positioning along the coastline of Yemen is in one of the world's most important shipping choke points — a narrow passage that links the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden, which has been used as a bypass as the Iran war continues to severely disrupt shipping, especially of oil, through the Strait of Hormuz.

The rapid advance on Friday triggered urgent discussions at the highest levels in Riyadh and Washington, and a source familiar with the matter tells Fox News Digital that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman urged President Donald Trump to take military action against the Houthis.

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The Houthis reached the strategic island of Mayyun, also known as Perim, after Yemeni government forces withdrew and also took the mainland coastal town of Dhubab, four Yemeni government sources told Reuters on Friday.

Fox News Digital independently confirmed key elements of an Axios report with a source familiar with the matter, who said the crown prince spoke with Trump a few times over the past 24 hours about the escalating situation in Yemen.

The U.S. does not want to take direct military action for now, but Trump told bin Salman that Washington would assist Saudi Arabia with intelligence and targeting support, according to the source.

The source also confirmed that U.S. Central Command commander Adm. Brad Cooper traveled to Saudi Arabia for coordination talks.

The White House did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the calls or whether additional U.S. military action is under consideration.

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The convergence raises the prospect of simultaneous pressure on two of the world’s most consequential maritime arteries: Iran disrupting traffic through Hormuz while its Houthi allies strengthen their position around Bab al-Mandab.

Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of the Iran program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital that the shift reflects Tehran’s effort to recover leverage as pressure around Hormuz changes.

"Trump’s success in pushing back on Iran’s maritime threat in the Strait of Hormuz and Persian Gulf has made the regime lose the maritime leverage it had, and now it is looking to double down on the Houthis who have proven to be able to impact Red Sea shipping and the Bab al-Mandab Strait in the past," Ben Taleblu said.

"As Tehran loses leverage in the Strait of Hormuz, it is trying to wield a knife and a handshake at once: diplomacy with Arab states and a knife in the back via the Houthi offensive," he added.

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The latest advance follows the Houthis’ capture Thursday of the strategic Red Sea port of Mocha, which was previously held by forces aligned with Yemen’s internationally recognized government.

Former U.S. special envoy for Yemen Timothy Lenderking said Friday that the Houthis had spent the years since the 2022 U.N.-brokered truce rebuilding their military strength and are now exploiting the broader Iran conflict to increase pressure on Saudi Arabia.

Speaking during an on-the-record Middle East Institute virtual briefing, Lenderking said the April 2022 truce largely put Yemen’s civil war on pause but also "did allow the Houthis to regroup, retrain, refit, restock."

"They’re extremely entrepreneurial. They use every opportunity to build their capability, to test their capabilities, such that they are now the most lethal non-state actor in the entire Middle East," Lenderking said.

Lenderking traced the latest round of escalation in part to Iranian Mahan Air flights into Sanaa earlier this summer, which he said brought personnel and equipment intended to support the Houthi war effort, adding that the personnel were from Iran and were "probably IRGC members."

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Lenderking said the Houthis are now taking advantage of the wider conflict with Iran to increase their leverage over Riyadh.

"They’ve seized this opportunity, bringing these various lines of effort together, to put a great deal of pressure on the Yemen government and the Saudis specifically," he said.

On Thursday, a senior Trump administration official told Fox News Digital: "The United States is focused on protecting our core national security interests — such as ensuring freedom of navigation in the Red Sea — while empowering our regional partners to take the lead in managing and resolving regional security challenges. We are in continuous dialogue with Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Yemen Government regarding regional stability."

The stakes extend well beyond Yemen.

The Bab al-Mandab is only about 18 miles wide at its narrowest point and serves as the southern gateway to the Suez Canal. About 7% of global oil output passed through the strait in June, according to Kpler data cited by Reuters. Disruption can force ships to reroute around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, adding significant time and cost to voyages.

Reuters reported Friday that only seven vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, compared with a prewar daily average of 125, underscoring the pressure already facing the region’s other critical maritime choke point.

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Ben Taleblu said the speed of the Houthi advance exposed vulnerabilities in the Saudi-led effort to contain the group.

"The U.S. should help the Saudis stymie the Houthi advance," he said. "The inability of the Saudis to prevent the Houthis from taking the strategic port city of Mocha, for example, does not bode well for what may come."

Hisham Al-Omeisy, senior Yemen adviser at the European Institute of Peace, told Fox News Digital on Thursday that the danger extends beyond the territory captured. Retreating government forces, he said, left behind military equipment that could strengthen the Houthis on other fronts.

"People are focused on taking Mocha and those outposts on the Red Sea," Al-Omeisy said. "But the military side is terrible, particularly the equipment, the munitions, the vehicles, the drones that were at those military camps, which they can now, in turn, use against the government forces elsewhere."

The developments mark a dramatic reversal from the relative calm that followed the 2022 truce and leave Washington and its regional allies confronting a growing question: whether the Houthi advance can be contained without opening another direct U.S. military front as American forces remain focused on Iran and the Strait of Hormuz.

On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Javed Ali drove past the Pentagon on his way to work in northern Virginia.

Roughly half an hour later, American Airlines Flight 77 slammed into the building.

From his office in Falls Church, Ali could see smoke rising from the Pentagon. A year later, in a turn that captured how dramatically the country had changed, he was walking into the still-damaged building himself — now working in the Defense Intelligence Agency's counterterrorism office.

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"It was a very eerie and odd and surreal moment in my career," Ali told Fox News Digital.

Ali's career would eventually take him from the DIA to the newly created Department of Homeland Security and later the FBI, giving him a front-row seat to the enormous national security architecture America constructed after the deadliest foreign attack on U.S. soil.

Twenty-five years later, that architecture presents something of a paradox.

By one of its clearest measures, the post-9/11 system appears to have made another attack on the scale of 9/11 far harder. The United States has not suffered another terrorist attack remotely approaching the scale and complexity of 9/11, which killed 2,977 people. U.S. intelligence and military operations dismantled much of the al Qaeda network that planned it, while new agencies, surveillance authorities, watchlists and intelligence-sharing systems were designed to ensure that another group could not exploit the same seams in American defenses. The 2026 U.S. intelligence community assessment said counterterrorism operations have degraded al Qaeda and ISIS's ability to quickly rebuild their leadership and plan large-scale attacks against the U.S. homeland.

But success against the threat of 2001 did not eliminate terrorism. It helped change it.

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Today's most difficult threats increasingly involve individuals radicalized online, small cells with little warning signature, foreign terrorist organizations seeking to inspire attacks from afar, and an expanding layer of cyber and state-sponsored threats capable of reaching deep inside the United States without hijacking an airplane.

The question 25 years after 9/11, therefore, is not simply whether Americans are safer.

They are safer from one kind of attack — while increasingly exposed to others.

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The scale of the American response was extraordinary.

Just over two months after the attacks, President George W. Bush signed legislation creating the Transportation Security Administration. TSA says its creation amounted to the largest civilian undertaking in U.S. government history at the time, with the federal government rapidly assuming responsibility for airport passenger and baggage screening.

The following year, Congress created the Department of Homeland Security, combining all or part of 22 federal agencies and offices. DHS began operating in March 2003 and today employs more than 260,000 people across missions ranging from border and aviation security to cybersecurity, intelligence and emergency response.

The changes went far beyond new agencies.

The 9/11 Commission found that the pre-attack breakdown was deeper than the familiar failure to "connect the dots." Responsibility had been scattered across agencies, information was not consistently shared, and no single entity was empowered to integrate intelligence and drive joint action across the foreign-domestic divide. The commission concluded that "responsibility and accountability were diffuse."

Washington spent the next two decades trying to close those gaps.

Brown University's Costs of War project estimates that post-9/11 wars and related obligations have cost roughly $8 trillion. It estimates that more than $1.1 trillion has been spent on homeland security efforts to prevent and counterterrorism inside the United States since DHS was created.

Ali said it can be easy, with 25 years of hindsight, to forget how persistent the original threat remained.

Even after the United States invaded Afghanistan, killed or captured senior al Qaeda figures and put the organization under extraordinary pressure, the group continued attempting to find ways back into the homeland.

During Ali's years at DHS, he said officials repeatedly confronted plots involving al Qaeda and its affiliates, including a 2006 plot originating in Britain to bomb transatlantic airliners traveling to North America.

The threat then evolved again.

Usama bin Laden was killed by U.S. forces in Pakistan in May 2011. But rather than marking the end of the era of jihadist terrorism, the following years produced a new and in some ways more difficult challenge.

ISIS grew out of al Qaeda in Iraq, expanded rapidly amid the wars in Iraq and Syria and declared a self-described caliphate in June 2014. At its height, the group controlled vast territory and millions of people in Iraq and Syria while encouraging or directing attacks far beyond its borders. The State Department reported that ISIS had emerged from al Qaeda in Iraq and expanded dramatically during 2013 and 2014.

For U.S. counterterrorism officials, Ali said, the center of gravity increasingly shifted from identifying trained operatives sent by an organized group to finding individuals who might be radicalizing inside Western countries.

Then came another shift: attacks by lone offenders across different ideologies, often with no direct operational relationship to an organization overseas.

"Mostly lone actors, lone offenders, not tied to groups overseas, not traveling overseas, and not being directed by people overseas," said Ali, now an associate professor of practice at the University of Michigan's Ford School of Public Policy.

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The transformation is now reflected in the government's own threat assessments.

The 2026 Annual Threat Assessment from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said setbacks to the ability of Islamist terrorist groups to conduct "large-scale complex attacks" have pushed them toward information operations and propaganda designed to inspire or enable people in or with access to Western countries.

The assessment said there were at least three Islamist terrorist attacks in the United States in 2025 and that law enforcement disrupted at least 15 U.S.-based Islamist terrorist plotters that year. Roughly half of those disrupted plotters had some online contact with Islamist terrorists or were inspired by foreign terrorist organizations, according to the assessment.

The vulnerability was demonstrated on New Year's Day 2025, when Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a U.S. citizen from Texas, drove a pickup truck into a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, killing 14 people. The FBI described the attack as an act of terrorism and said Jabbar had become increasingly isolated before adopting extremist views.

In the days after that attack, the FBI said lone actors and small cells who radicalize online had posed the greatest terrorism threat to the homeland in recent years precisely because they can be so difficult to detect and disrupt.

That presents almost the inverse of the 9/11 problem.

The 9/11 plot required 19 hijackers, overseas leadership, financing, international travel, flight training and years of planning. The challenge for investigators was collecting pieces of information held across different agencies and assembling them quickly enough.

A lone actor may offer far fewer pieces to collect in the first place.

Ali said many recent attackers or alleged plotters had not previously come onto the radar of the FBI or local law enforcement, leaving authorities with the extraordinarily difficult task of identifying people who may not commit an obvious crime until they move toward violence.

"So yes, we are safer from a certain type of threat," Ali said, "but again, we are not immune from terrorism, and other types of threats are much more difficult to identify or stop."

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That changing threat has also fueled a broader debate over whether the institutions created after 9/11 became too large, too expensive or too focused on the dangers of the previous era.

Morgan Murphy, who served as press secretary to the secretary of Defense during the first Trump administration and later worked in the Trump White House, argues that Washington built too much bureaucracy around the 9/11 threat while other vulnerabilities grew.

"TSA agents still pat down grandma and gum up travel while Beijing wires our living rooms with cheap TVs and selfie sticks through the supply chain handed to them by Clinton, Bush, Obama and Biden," Murphy said. "We spent two decades frisking American passengers while our adversaries plugged themselves into our homes and businesses."

"The genius of America after Pearl Harbor was that we built to fight. After 9/11, we built to process," Murphy told Fox News Digital, "Real security means sovereignty at home and lethality abroad — a sealed border, an untangled supply chain, and enemies who fear us."

Theo Wold, who served as acting assistant attorney general in the Justice Department's Office of Legal Policy and as deputy assistant to the president for domestic policy during the first Trump administration, offered a similar critique, arguing that post-9/11 Washington relied too heavily on large bureaucracies, expansive government authorities and wars in the Middle East.

"George W. Bush and the D.C. governing elite responded to 9/11 the way their politics demanded: create large, unwieldy bureaucracy, push for special legal authorities with limited oversight and activate ground wars in the Middle East," Wold told Fox News Digital.

"Those wars didn’t make us safer, the legal authorities were wielded against Americans, and the bureaucracy is full of waste and has proven nearly unworkable," he said.

Wold argued that the lesson from the past quarter-century should be a more narrowly targeted national-security model.

"Now we know better. Americans are safest when we are nimble and focus ruthlessly on targeting real enemies," he said.

 The challenge now extends beyond terrorism.

The 2026 intelligence assessment warns that China, Russia, Iran, North Korea and non-state ransomware groups continue seeking access to U.S. government networks and private critical infrastructure for espionage, financial gain and possible future disruption. It also warns that artificial intelligence is accelerating cyber capabilities and that several state adversaries are developing missile systems capable of threatening the homeland.

The security landscape that began with al Qaeda operatives training to fly passenger jets has therefore expanded into something far less geographically defined: terrorist propaganda transmitted to an individual's phone, malicious code inserted into a computer network, attacks on critical infrastructure and state adversaries capable of reaching Americans from thousands of miles away.

For Ali, however, the evolution of the threat should not lead Washington to conclude that the original threat has vanished.

One of the central lessons of the years before Sept. 11, he said, was that emerging terrorist organizations have to be confronted before they have the time and space to develop operational capability.

"When these terrorist threats start to emerge, whether it's overseas or here, you have to put pressure on them before they gather momentum to carry out operations," Ali said.

The danger, he argued, would be allowing counterterrorism to fall so far down Washington's list of priorities that the country begins recreating the complacency that existed before 9/11.

"Terrorism as a tactic is probably never going to be defeated," Ali said.

Twenty-five years after he watched smoke rise from the Pentagon, Ali's answer to whether America is safer reflects the contradiction at the heart of the post-9/11 era.

The United States built a massive system to prevent the next 9/11.

It appears to have made another 9/11 far harder to execute.

The harder question now is whether that system can recognize the attack that doesn't look anything like it.

All eyes will be on New Delhi this weekend, as the presidents of Iran, Russia and China gather in India for the 18th BRICS summit. The meeting comes at a critical time as conflicts roil the Middle East and Europe, putting the bloc to one of its biggest tests since its founding 20 years ago.

The Sept. 12-13 summit comes more than six months after the Middle East war broke out between the U.S. and Iran, and at a time when regional tensions are again spiking. It follows the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit earlier this month, where several of the same leaders met.

The BRICS alliance was established in 2006 by founding members Brazil, Russia, India and China, and has since expanded to include nations such as Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

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At the forefront are Iran-India relations, with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Prime Minister Narendra Modi likely to highlight trade, connectivity, energy cooperation and regional developments. The two leaders are meeting less than two weeks after reaffirming their "longstanding" strategic partnership.

In the face of an economic onslaught from Washington, Tehran has been working to deepen ties with Moscow and Beijing. In its latest attempt at securing a critical economic lifeline, Iran is seeking membership in the BRICS New Development Bank. The effort comes as many of Iran's largest remaining economic partners, including China, India, Russia and the UAE, will all be represented in New Delhi, giving Tehran a rare opportunity to engage several key trading partners collectively, just as the U.S. ramps up sanctions pressure.

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Also in focus is China. President Xi Jinping will be visiting India for the first time in seven years. The high-stakes trip marks the biggest step yet in a cautious thaw between India and China after a deadly military clash in 2020 along their disputed Himalayan border. A bilateral meeting between Modi and Xi is expected to focus on maintaining that normalization while expanding economic engagement, making it one of the summit's most closely watched sidelines meetings.

Then there is Russia. President Vladimir Putin met Modi on Friday in a pre-summit bilateral meeting. It marks Putin's first trip to India since the Ukraine war began four years ago.

Energy and defense are expected to dominate the agenda after the Russian president criticized American tariffs as "illegal" and "unacceptable."

Just earlier this week, the Kremlin touted expanding energy ties, saying India's imports of Russian energy have reached a "new record" every month. Moscow has also said Russia understands India's position on the war in Ukraine and that it "to a great extent corresponds" with Russia's own position, while calling on India to facilitate a peaceful resolution.

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The meeting also comes days after Putin publicly welcomed the UAE’s role in facilitating discussions over the Ukraine war, highlighting Abu Dhabi's increasingly influential diplomatic role as another major BRICS participant.

Saudi Arabia will also be watched after Iran-backed Houthi militia renewed attacks on its cities earlier this week.

Both the UAE and Saudi Arabia have become increasingly central to India's Gulf strategy. The summit also comes as New Delhi attempts to navigate widening divisions between Tehran and Abu Dhabi after the UAE cut off commercial and financial dealings with Iran. The suspension has already squeezed Indian exporters, as Dubai has long served as a key commercial hub for India's trade with Iran, giving India a direct economic incentive.

The BRICS summit will be a major test of India's diplomatic mettle in more ways than one, as the nation finds itself balancing competing interests from Washington, Tehran, Moscow, Beijing and the Gulf while trying to forge unity among BRICS members.

"New Delhi’s leadership of BRICS is ultimately an exercise in managing contradiction. The biggest challenge is to ensure BRICS remains a platform for advancing Global South priorities rather than becoming an arena for great-power rivalry, Harsh V. Pant, vice president at Observer Research Foundation, told Fox News Digital. "New Delhi is trying to keep the focus on practical cooperation — from energy security to connectivity and development — rather than ideological confrontation."

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Building a unified position among BRICS members will be a complex task for India, especially given the sharp geopolitical divergences among member states, such as the U.S-China rivalry, the Russia-Ukraine war and tensions involving Iran, Israel and the UAE. Modi will have to balance championing his own priorities with the summit's, as well as toeing the line to avoid an anti-U.S. tilt.

"The balancing act reflects India's broader foreign policy, which seeks to maintain strong ties with Washington while continuing to engage Moscow, Beijing and Tehran," Pant said.

Throughout the conflict, India has sought to position itself as a voice for dialogue while avoiding taking sides, emphasizing themes of resilience, sustainability, cooperation and innovation.

But experts warn that failure to reach consensus would expose the limits of the expanded BRICS grouping, whose broader membership has also imported longstanding regional rivalries.

Though major Western powers are absent, analysts say the alliance is not to be dismissed. Every ceasefire in this conflict has involved mediation by BRICS members or partners, and leaders gathering in New Delhi are expected to explore whether the forum can once again provide diplomatic momentum after recent attempts to revive negotiations between Washington and Tehran stalled.

"Hosting the BRICS summit in New Delhi offers India an important opportunity to demonstrate the logic of its multi-alignment at a time when global politics is becoming increasingly polarized, "Pant said. "By bringing together countries such as China, Russia, Iran and the Gulf states while simultaneously deepening its partnerships with the United States and the Quad, India is signaling that it does not accept the binary choices imposed by great-power rivalry."

The stakes extend beyond diplomacy as disruptions from the war have disproportionately affected developing nations. India, the world's third-largest oil importer and consumer, has already suffered energy and inflation hits. 

"The real measure of India’s success will therefore be its ability to keep BRICS sufficiently inclusive and functional to address Global South priorities while preventing geopolitical divisions from paralyzing the grouping," Pant said.

Iran-backed Houthi forces seized Yemen’s strategic port city of Mocha on Thursday and pushed toward positions overlooking the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, opening a potentially dangerous new front for global trade as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains severely constrained.

The advance threatens the southern gateway to the Red Sea just as Saudi Arabia has increasingly relied on that route to bypass Hormuz — putting pressure on critical shipping lanes on both sides of the Arabian Peninsula and raising the risk of further disruptions to oil and commercial traffic through a key global trade choke point.

"Now you have Iran on one side of the Arabian Peninsula controlling Hormuz, and now the Houthis controlling Bab el-Mandeb on the other side of the peninsula," Hisham Al-Omeisy, senior Yemen advisor at the European Institute of Peace, told Fox News Digital. "Which basically is going to drive prices — oil prices, goods and everything else — up exponentially."

IRAN-BACKED TERROR PROXY HOUTHIS THREATEN FRESH ATTACKS AFTER YEMEN AIRPORT STRIKE

On background, a senior administration official told Fox News Digital: "The United States is focused on protecting our core national security interests — such as ensuring freedom of navigation in the Red Sea — while empowering our regional partners to take the lead in managing and resolving regional security challenges. We are in continuous dialogue with Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Yemen Government regarding regional stability."

Yemeni government sources said Thursay the Houthis captured Mocha and reached the Hanish Islands, while Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces withdrew south toward Dhubab, which sits directly on the Bab el-Mandeb opposite the strategic island of Perim. Control of Dhubab and Perim would be critical to gaining a stronger hold over the strait, Yemeni government sources told Reuters on Sept. 10.

Bab el-Mandeb is only about 18 miles wide at its narrowest point and connects the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden with the Red Sea and, farther north, the Suez Canal. It is a major artery for goods moving between Asia and Europe as well as energy shipments.

Its importance has grown dramatically during the Iran conflict.

WHO CONTROLS THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ RIGHT NOW? HERE'S WHAT THE SHIP TRAFFIC ACTUALLY SHOWS

The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported Sept. 9 that crude oil and petroleum liquids moving through Bab el-Mandeb averaged 8.1 million barrels per day in the second quarter of 2026, up from 5.4 million barrels per day in the final quarter of 2025. At the same time, flows through Hormuz plunged from 21.6 million barrels per day to just 4.9 million. The EIA attributed the increase at Bab el-Mandeb in part to Saudi Arabia rerouting crude through its East-West pipeline to the Red Sea port of Yanbu to avoid Hormuz.

Al-Omeisy said the danger extends beyond the Houthis’ geographical gains. He said retreating government forces left behind military materiel that could strengthen Houthi forces on other fronts.

"People are focused on taking Mocha and those outposts on the Red Sea," Al-Omeisy said. "But the military side is terrible, particularly the equipment, the munitions, the vehicles, the drones that were at those military camps, which they can now, in turn, use against the government forces elsewhere."

RUBIO ACCU.S.ES IRAN OF FLYING IRGC PERSONNEL INTO YEMEN AS HOUTHI THREAT ESCALATES

Reuters separately reported Thursday that Iranian arms and direct guidance from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards helped the Houthi advance, citing Yemeni government, Iranian and regional sources. Two Iranian sources told Reuters that Tehran had instructed the Houthis to intensify attacks on Saudi Arabia and promised additional funding, weapons and senior officers. Iran has publicly denied directing Houthi operations.

The seizure comes amid what conflict-monitoring organization ACLED described Sept. 9 as the most serious escalation between the Houthis and the Saudi-backed camp since hostilities resumed in mid-July.

ACLED recorded at least 276 fatalities between Sept. 3 and 7 as clashes spread across al-Dali, al-Bayda, Marib, Shabwa, al-Jawf, al-Hudayda and Taizz, according to an analysis published Sept. 9.

Sherwan Hindreen Ali, ACLED’s Middle East research manager, said fighting along the Red Sea coast had become particularly intense as both sides sought control over territory with direct strategic importance to Bab el-Mandeb.

"Fighting will remain focused on the fronts of the Red Sea coast in al-Hudaydah and Taizz, where both the Houthis and the Saudi Arabia/IRG have a vested interest in claiming the whole territory to deprive the other side of effective control of the strait of Bab el-Mandab," Ali said in an analysis.

Saudi Arabia itself has also become more deeply involved.

EXPERT WARNS OF 'GENERAL ESCALATION' OF FIGHTING IF HOUTHIS RESUME RED SEA CAMPAIGN

Ali said Saudi forces launched at least 15 strikes against the Houthis between Sept. 3 and 7, mostly around Taizz, marking the highest number of Saudi strikes since Riyadh resumed military engagement against the Houthis in July.

The Houthis responded Sept. 8 with what Ali described as their largest wave of direct attacks on Saudi territory since March 2022, launching dozens of drones and ballistic missiles toward Abha, Jizan, Najran and Khamis Mushait. Ali said the attacks injured 73 people.

The widening fighting is now posing an early test for a new joint defense agreement between Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey.

Al-Omeisy said the international response allowed the Houthis to exploit divisions among their opponents.

"The Houthis are also good in exploiting divisions and delays, they move rapidly on the ground to force a status quo while the international community debates merits, responsibilities and costs of an intervention."

The escalation also raises questions about Saudi Arabia’s newly signed defense agreement with Pakistan and Turkey.

IRAN-BACKED HOUTHI THREAT IN RED SEA COULD LEAD TO MAJOR US POLICY SHIFT, ANALYSTS SAY

The agreement, signed last month in Mecca, states that an armed attack against one member will be considered an attack against all three, Reuters reported Sept. 10. But after Houthi drones and ballistic missiles struck Saudi cities and energy infrastructure this week, Pakistan said Thursday that no military response under the pact was currently being discussed. 

"There is no such thing under discussion right now," Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan said, according to Reuters. "When time comes [we] will act under the agreement." 

The Houthis, meanwhile, have said international navigation through the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb remains safe, while maintaining that Saudi vessels are subject to their previously announced blockade, Reuters reported Thursday. 

Al-Omeisy warned that reversing the Houthis’ latest territorial gains could become increasingly difficult.

"The Houthis are really good at capturing a position, they entrench really well," he said. "They send these massive reinforcements, and then it’s going to be extremely difficult to push them out of those areas."

Oil markets were already responding to the widening regional threat Thursday. Brent crude jumped more than 5% to $106.60 a barrel by late Thursday morning, while U.S. crude climbed above $100 for the first time since May, according to Reuters. 

Reuters contributed to the story.

A cargo ship docked for repairs at a port on the northeastern coast of China caught fire Thursday, killing at least 25 people who were on board at the time, according to Chinese state media.

The ship was being fixed by Beihai Shipbuilding Co. in the port of Qingdao — one of the country's major shipping hubs — when it caught fire at approximately 11:15 a.m. local time, the Xinhua news agency reported.

A total of 42 people were on the vessel at the time of the blaze, and 12 of them were safely rescued, Xinhua reported. Five others were injured and taken to the hospital, where they are in stable condition.

CARGO SHIP ATTACKED BY SMALL CRAFT NEAR STRAIT OF HORMUZ, UK MARITIME AGENCY SAYS

Photos released by Xinhua identified the ship as the Ocean Melody. The ship-tracking website VesselFinder lists it as sailing under the Liberian flag.

The Associated Press reported that the fire was extinguished at around 2:30 p.m., a little over three hours after it started. Videos online showed plumes of white smoke billowing from the ship.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Chinese authorities have not said what sparked the blaze while the vessel was undergoing repairs.

TIM SHEEHY EXPOSES A 'SCARY' SHIPBUILDING COLLAPSE THAT LEAVES THE US VULNERABLE TO CHINA

China’s President Xi Jinping called for "intensified efforts" to provide support for those who were affected by the fire, Xinhua reported, adding that Premier Li Qiang said "trapped people" needed to be rescued.

Xi also called for ensuring "preventive measures are thoroughly implemented" and "resolutely prevent major and catastrophic accidents."

Beihai Shipbuilding is a subsidiary of the state-owned China State Shipbuilding Corporation, the world's largest shipbuilder. According to the company's website, its primary businesses are shipbuilding and ship repair.

Qingdao, in China's Shandong province, is one of the country's busiest ports and a major center for shipbuilding, shipping and international trade. The port handles millions of containers each year and is home to several large shipyards.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

At sundown on Friday, Sept. 11, as America marks 25 years since the terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people, Jewish families across the country will welcome in Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year marking 5787.

They will enter synagogues at the moment of peak annual attendance, walking past armed guards, security cameras, secured doors and bag checks.

The convergence brings into focus how the Sept. 11 attacks transformed security in American synagogues and helped create the national infrastructure that now protects Jewish life.

FOX NEWS MEDIA ANNOUNCES EXTENSIVE 9/11 ANNIVERSARY COVERAGE FROM GROUND ZERO, PENTAGON AND SHANKSVILLE

When Rosh Hashanah began six days after the attacks in 2001, a security guard stationed outside a synagogue was still unusual. Twenty-five years later, security is no longer an occasional precaution. It has become a permanent precondition of Jewish communal life.

"The confluence of events, the 25th anniversary of 9/11 and Rosh Hashanah, is really very meaningful to us," Eric Fingerhut, president and CEO of Jewish Federations of North America, told Fox News Digital. "If you trace the evolution of the security situation for the Jewish community in North America, you see that 9/11 really was a major turning point."

Before the attacks, Fingerhut said, synagogues may have relied on police to direct traffic during the High Holidays or installed basic alarm systems, but there was no widespread belief that Jewish communities needed protection from threats to their physical safety.

"That changed on 9/11," he said. "The Jewish community understood quite clearly that the people who attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were attacking America that day, but they had a special animus for the Jewish community and the Jewish people."

Fingerhut said that shift led Jewish Federations of North America to help create the Secure Community Network after 9/11, giving communities a model for protecting Jewish institutions and a unified channel to federal law enforcement.

For generations, Rosh Hashanah preparation meant apples and honey, prayer books and the shofar. Now the checklist also includes secured entrances, emergency plans and congregants standing watch while their neighbors pray.

The price of that new reality is staggering.

MARYLAND SYNAGOGUE SUES COUNTY OVER LAW RESTRICTING CONCEALED CARRY NEAR HOUSES OF WORSHIP

A national study by Jewish Federations of North America found that Jewish communal institutions spend an estimated $1 billion annually on security. Based on an examination of more than 4,500 institutions, that amounts to nearly $2.8 million every day simply to keep Jewish life open and accessible.

The organization leads the national initiative placing professional security directors across all 141 Federation communities.

Rabbi Chaim Steinmetz, senior rabbi of Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, described the contrast on his own block.

"If you walk past the churches on our block, the doors are wide open, inviting people in," Steinmetz told Fox News Digital. "But at our synagogue, there are security cameras, a double door system and a line of guards outside, at the cost of untold thousands of dollars."

That security is no longer reserved for major institutions or large cities. From New York and Florida to Michigan and Los Angeles, ordinary worshipers are training in situational awareness, access control, surveillance detection, emergency response and coordination with law enforcement.

The Community Security Service, or CSS, said more than 20,000 people completed its training in 2025. Of those, 6,100 volunteers protected 440 synagogues and nearly 100 Jewish events, logging more than 300,000 guard hours across 24 states.

The Secure Community Network, or SCN, provides national intelligence and coordination. In 2025, it recorded 4,400 incident reports, trained 40,000 people and made 851 referrals to law enforcement.

"While the threat environment accelerates, our community has never been more prepared, informed or engaged," Michael Masters, SCN’s national director and CEO, told Fox News Digital. "This year our Duty Desk logged nearly 3,200 threat incidents, pacing ahead of last year."

Steinmetz said threats to the Jewish community "exploded after Oct. 7th," adding that "the hatred of Israel encourages antisemites to come out of the woodwork."

The FBI recorded 1,528 hate crime incidents targeting Jews in 2025, representing 63% of the nation’s 2,408 religiously motivated incidents. Jews comprise roughly 2% of the U.S. population, yet incidents targeting Jews represented 14% of all hate crimes reported nationwide.

ANTISEMITIC VIOLENCE ESCALATES AS DEADLY WEAPON ATTACKS SURGE IN 2025: REPORT

During the first eight months of 2026, major crime fell 6.2% across New York City while confirmed hate crimes targeting Jews rose 8%, from 212 to 229, according to new NYPD figures. That averages nearly one such crime every 25 hours.

Fox News Digital contacted NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch about the department’s High Holiday preparations. The NYPD said it will hold a briefing ahead of the holidays and provide additional security details at that time.

In neighboring New Jersey, the state Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness said it is coordinating with the state Attorney General’s Office, New Jersey State Police, the FBI’s Newark field office, local law enforcement and community partners.

"Together, we are protecting houses of worship, helping ensure every New Jerseyan can practice their faith without fear, and keeping New Jersey safe and secure," NJOHSP said.

The coordination follows recent attacks on Jewish institutions.

On Aug. 14, a man was charged with allegedly disrupting a Friday night service attended by approximately 375 people at Manhattan’s Central Synagogue, damaging ceremonial candlesticks and assaulting a congregant and security guard. The charges against include federal hate crimes and damaging religious property resulting in bodily injury.

Five months earlier, an attacker inspired by Hezbollah rammed a pickup truck carrying gasoline and fireworks through the doors of Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Michigan, according to the FBI. Armed with a rifle and hundreds of rounds, he struck one security guard and exchanged gunfire with others.

Inside were 140 children at the synagogue’s early childhood center. Every child and staff member escaped without physical injury and the guard survived.

For Steven Ingber, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Detroit, the assault remains a powerful reminder of the need for vigilance as families prepare to gather.

"We take the security of our community with the utmost seriousness, and, of course, the assault on Temple Israel remains fresh in our minds," Ingber said. "We will enter the High Holidays vigilant and prepared. But we will also enter them with confidence and pride."

Rabbi Aaron Starr of Congregation Shaarey Zedek in suburban Detroit, who also serves as president of the Michigan Board of Rabbis, said Jewish Michiganders are entering the new year "with a feeling of heaviness."

"From marking the 25th year since the terrorist attacks on 9/11 to marking six months since the terrorist attack on our community and especially our children, anxieties are heightened," Starr told Fox News Digital exclusively. "We enter with heaviness, but we are also filled with hope for a better tomorrow."

LOX & LOADED: JEWISH GUN GROUP PARTNERS WITH NRA AMID RISING ANTISEMITISM

"No family should have to weigh their safety against their faith," Fingerhut said.

Employing one full-time security guard costs an estimated $90,000 annually, according to Jewish Federations of North America. The organization is advocating for greater federal support through the bipartisan Jewish American Security Act, which would strengthen security assistance for at-risk nonprofit institutions.

For Jewish communities, the question is no longer whether security is necessary, but who will bear the growing cost of making worship possible.

SIGN UP FOR ANTISEMITISM EXPOSED NEWSLETTER

Steinmetz called that cost "a vicious tax on the Jewish community," one "levied by the antisemites."

For Fingerhut, the purpose of security is not simply to prevent an attack. It is to ensure fear never determines whether a Jewish family participates in Jewish life.

"We do not want anyone to make the choice not to participate in Jewish life because they are afraid for their safety," Fingerhut said. "What we have learned is that the visible presence of security, and the real impact of that security, is what enables and encourages people to come out and participate in Jewish life."

Fingerhut’s message to Jewish communities in America and around the world was clear: do not retreat, but continue to "lean into Jewish life."

He said, "We will make sure that there is safety and security in place so that we can all feel confident in our involvement in Jewish life."

That is the purpose, according to the experts, of every guard, camera and volunteer: not to turn a synagogue into a fortress, but to ensure that Jewish life continues inside.

A plane carrying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Norway for the king’s state funeral was "almost hit" by a drone as it prepared to take off from Moldova on Tuesday, according to Reuters.

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre told public broadcaster NRK about the incident Wednesday, the outlet said, after Zelenskyy’s aircraft arrived safely in Oslo Tuesday evening.

"His plane was almost hit by a drone as it was about to take off from Moldova. That is the reality he is facing," Støre said, without specifying how close the drone came to the Ukrainian leader's aircraft.

GERMANY BLAMES RUSSIA AFTER EXPLOSIVE-LADEN DRONE FOUND NEAR UKRAINIAN CARGO PLANES AT MAJOR AIRPORT

Later Wednesday, a Moldovan government spokesperson said two Russian drones were involved in the incident, with Zelenskyy’s departure to Oslo delayed after authorities closed the country’s airspace.

His aircraft was then cleared for takeoff once officials determined that one Russian drone had landed on Moldovan territory, a spokesperson told Reuters.

REPORT WARNS RUSSIA USING SHADOW FLEET TO PROBE NATO DRONE DEFENSES

One landed in a field north of the capital, sparking a fire, while the other continued into Romanian airspace.

The incursions forced Chișinău International Airport to temporarily suspend arrivals and departures Tuesday, sending incoming flights into holding patterns or diverting them to neighboring countries, according to tracking data.

RUSSIA'S SHADOW WAR IS PUTTING EUROPE ON EDGE AS GERMANY CONFRONTS A GROWING THREAT

Moldovan President Maia Sandu denounced the incursions as a "serious threat to people’s lives" and separately condemned a Russian drone strike on a border crossing with Ukraine that killed two people.

Zelenskyy arrived in Oslo Tuesday evening, where he discussed military aid, including air defense support and civilian assistance with Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide and Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg, according to Deutsche Welle.

The Institute for the Study of War also said a Russian Shahed drone flew through Moldovan and Romanian airspace for about an hour Tuesday before crashing in Moldova.

A Spanish opposition leader branded the country's socialist prime minister a traitor over his government's handling of the influx of migrants in a North African enclave.

Santiago Abascal, leader of the Vox party, spoke during a parliamentary session when he asked if Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez was being blackmailed by Morocco amid the border crisis in Ceuta.

During his remarks, Abascal called Sánchez a "traitor" and "a dog."

FIREBRAND REP UNLOADS ON SOCIALIST PRIME MINISTER AS 'HORDES OF MILITARY AGED MEN' SWARM EUROPEAN COUNTRY

Sánchez responded in a heated back-and-forth, saying, "I may be a dog, but I have no master."

Abascal then held up sheets of paper one by one that spelled out "Traidor," Spanish for "Traitor." Sánchez then sat down.

Spain has seen major protests in response to the migrant arrivals in Ceuta, with critics blaming Sánchez for the crisis and some accusing him of pandering to Morocco.

LOCALS TORCH MIGRANT SHELTERS AS SPAIN'S PM POINTS BLAME BEYOND THE BORDER

More than 70,000 migrants poured into Ceuta in July. Most of them have returned to Morocco, but many remain in the enclave, with some living in tent encampments on the beach.

Meanwhile, Spain’s national intelligence agency issued multiple warnings before the mass crossing of migrants from Morocco into Ceuta in late July, according to declassified documents released by the government on Wednesday, The Associated Press reported.

"There are two different groups with a total of 180,000 followers," the declassified WhatsApp message said, "just to give you an idea of its scale."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Ukrainian drones struck deep into Russia’s Arctic north Wednesday, sparking a fire at an industrial facility in Novy Urengoy, a city in the heart of Russia’s most important natural-gas producing region, according to Russian officials and the Associated Press.

Regional Gov. Dmitry Artyukhov said Russian air defenses repelled the attack but falling drone debris caused a fire at an industrial site. He did not identify the facility, and the extent of the damage was still being assessed, Reuters reported Wednesday.

Ukrainian defense manufacturer Fire Point appeared to claim involvement, posting: "Guess who covered more than 3,300 km and successfully hit the target."

The extraordinary strike comes as Washington makes a renewed push to end the more than four-year war even as Russia and Ukraine intensify long-range attacks on each other.

UKRAINE UNLEASHES MORE THAN 400 DRONES NEAR MOSCOW IN ONE OF WAR'S BIGGEST ATTACKS

Speaking to reporters at Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday, President Donald Trump said he had just spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin and suggested both Moscow and Kyiv may be prepared to negotiate.

"We had a great conversation. He is wanting to make a deal. And if Zelenskyy is wanting to make a deal, that would be very nice," Trump said.

Asked what was holding up an agreement, Trump pointed to the personal animosity between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, calling them "two people that hate each other."

"These are two people that are tired of fighting," Trump added.

Trump’s comments followed a weekend diplomatic push by U.S. special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who traveled to Moscow and Kyiv in an effort to revive negotiations. The talks produced no breakthrough, according to the Associated Press.

RUSSIAN STRIKES CONTINUE FOLLOWING VISIT BY WITKOFF AND KUSHNER TO KYIV

Russia resumed major missile and drone attacks on Kyiv shortly after the American delegation left Ukraine, killing five people and wounding 35 on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

A European intelligence source told Fox News Digital that the simultaneous diplomacy and military escalation reflects a long-standing dilemma for Western governments trying to engage Moscow.

"You have to talk, you have to explain," the source said, arguing that communication is necessary to prevent misunderstandings.

RUSSIA UNLEASHES NEARLY 600 MISSILES AND DRONES ON KYIV IN DEADLIEST STRIKE SINCE MAY

But the source said Russian officials can interpret Western outreach differently.

"Whenever you talk with them, they consider that this is a Western weakness," the source said, adding that the assessment was based in part on informal contacts with Russian officials.

The source also said Putin’s recent emphasis on Russian "military progress in Ukraine" appeared aimed in part at Washington, projecting strength as U.S. officials seek to revive negotiations.

The escalation is taking an increasing toll on civilians. The United Nations said last month that Russian attacks killed or wounded more Ukrainian civilians in July than in any month since March 2022, with 437 killed and more than 2,600 wounded.

More than 16,800 Ukrainian civilians have been killed and more than 51,000 wounded since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, according to the U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine. Moscow has repeatedly denied deliberately targeting civilians and says its strikes are aimed at military and military-related facilities.

DRONE OFFENSIVE HITS RUSSIAN OIL TANKERS AND REFINERIES AT 'INDUSTRIAL SCALE' AS MOSCOW BANS DIESEL EXPORTS

United24 described Wednesday’s attack as the deepest Ukrainian drone strike inside Russia since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Novy Urengoy lies roughly 1,740 miles from Ukraine’s border. Artem Zhoga, Putin’s envoy to Russia’s Urals Federal District, said a Ukrainian drone had attempted to strike a fuel-and-energy facility in Yamal, according to Meduza.

The city sits in Russia’s Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, the country’s dominant natural-gas producing region. About 80% of Russia’s natural gas is extracted there, according to Interfax data cited by the Associated Press.

Artyukhov said there were no reported casualties.

The attack was part of a broader Ukrainian drone assault on Russia. Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces also struck targets around the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, including a naval base, an oil-loading terminal, military port facilities and warships capable of carrying cruise missiles, according to the Associated Press.

Russian authorities said four people, including a child, were killed and 29 wounded in the Novorossiysk attack.

Russia, meanwhile, continued its own long-range campaign against Ukraine Wednesday. Russian drones struck the Starokozache border crossing between Ukraine and Moldova, killing two civilians and wounding three, while another wave of attacks on Kyiv killed one person and wounded 14, according to Reuters.

Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Israel’s move to advance construction in the strategically significant E1 area between Ma’ale Adumim on the West Bank and Jerusalem has triggered growing backlash, with Britain announcing sanctions and 11 other countries threatening or considering trade restrictions on Jewish communities in the disputed area.

The Netanyahu government last month announced tenders for the first 1,400 of roughly 3,400 housing units in E1, a 4.6-square-mile area that would expand the built-up connection between Ma’ale Adumim, a city of about 40,000 people in the Judean Desert, and the Israeli capital.

European governments have strongly opposed the move, with Britain’s left-wing ruling party announcing sanctions Tuesday.

BRITAIN’S DRAMATIC CRACKDOWN ON ISRAELI SETTLEMENTS SPARKS FIERCE RESPONSE AS US BLOWBACK LOOMS

U.K. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced a ban on products from Judea and Samaria, saying the government in London "believes the unlawfulness of the occupation should be reflected in the economic relationship we choose to have with the occupied territories."

The foreign ministers of 11 additional countries — Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden — said Tuesday in a joint statement they intend to impose or are actively considering trade restrictions on goods from Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.

Doron Spielman, international spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, told Fox News Digital the E1 project has been underway for years and is located in Area C of the West Bank, which, according to the Oslo Accords, is under full Israeli security and civilian control.

"The Israeli government believes E1 is the natural extension of the area of Ma’ale Adumim, which is an area where Jews live freely within 3 miles of our biblical capital, Jerusalem. I don’t understand why the world is so focused on a hilltop in the middle of Judea, which is the biblical national homeland of the Jewish people," he said.

Spielman stressed that "at no point in time, in any agreement that Israel ever made, was E1 ever slated to become part of a Palestinian state."

"E1 doesn’t affect Palestinian freedom of movement; that’s a myth. ... Palestinian propaganda is trying to create an international issue about something that is very basic regarding Jews living in their homeland," he added.

HOLY LAND BATTLE: SOLOMON'S POOLS BECOME FLASHPOINT IN FIGHT OVER ISRAEL'S BIBLICAL HERITAGE

While not explicitly commenting on E1, a State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital that, as President Donald Trump has made clear, the United States does not support the annexation of the West Bank.

"Such actions could be counterproductive to the president’s comprehensive plan to end the conflict in Gaza and undermine our broader efforts to achieve regional peace and stability," the spokesperson said.

Ashraf al-Ajrami, a former Palestinian Authority minister of Prisoners Affairs, told Fox News Digital there is no scenario in which the Palestinian Authority would agree to construction in E1.

"The whole international community refutes this plan because they understand the objective of it. It’s not a plan that helps settlers to grow; it’s a plan to destroy the hope of having a two-state solution. It is the opposite of the Palestinian national rights of self-determination and statehood," he said.

"The Israeli government has ignored all the ultimatums from the European Union and even the objections from the American administration up to this point. They will start to build the units merely to divide the Palestinian territories in the West Bank and cut the contiguity between East Jerusalem and our villages in the area."

Former Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren told Fox News Digital the E1 project is controversial because the U.S. and other governments that support a two-state solution believe construction there would divide the West Bank and prevent the creation of a Palestinian state.

"The Oslo Accords do not prohibit Israeli settlement construction, nor do they stipulate that the accords’ outcome must be a two-state solution," he said.

"Therefore, this is not a violation of the Oslo Accords. It may violate the spirit of the accords, but there have been many thousands of violations of their spirit. The Second Intifada was a violation of the spirit of the Oslo Accords," he added, referring to the Palestinian terror campaign against Israel from 2000 to 2005, which was marked by suicide bombings targeting civilians.

EXCLUSIVE: ISRAEL SEIZES VAST IRAN TERROR AXIS ARSENAL WITH SURPRISING FOREIGN ORIGINS

Naomi Kahn, international director of Regavim, an NGO dedicated to protecting Israel’s national lands, resources and the rule of law, told Fox News Digital the Palestinian Authority made the plan controversial 30 years ago when it approached the U.S. administration at the time.

"The Rabin government had actually announced plans to develop the Ma’ale Adumim area, and the PA claimed that if Israel built in E1, it would spell the end of any possibility of a Palestinian state," she said.

While that claim is false in physical terms, Kahn said, it has carried political significance because the PA has made E1 a battleground and involved international actors from the outset.

"E1 has been at the heart of efforts to essentially globalize the push to remove the State of Israel from all of Judea and Samaria," she said.

Kahn noted that some of the countries pushing for sanctions against Israel have spent the past 20 years actively financing and supporting illegal Arab construction in E1, while Palestinian Authority outposts have increasingly mushroomed throughout Judea and Samaria.

She said Regavim first went to court about 16 years ago over the illegal construction of these outposts and has since won six times.

"Still, nothing has happened," said Kahn, whose organization was recently among four Israeli civil society organizations sanctioned by the European Union over allegations that they support "settler violence" and undermine prospects for a Palestinian state.

Dan Diker, president of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, told Fox News Digital E1 is a critical security corridor that would help protect Jerusalem from Palestinian terrorism and encroachment into areas under Israeli security and administrative control under the Oslo Accords.

Diker said Israel is wary of another invasion following Oct. 7, this time from Palestinian Arab towns, cities and villages across Judea and Samaria.

"There are tens of thousands of machine guns, other weapons and ammunition smuggled into Palestinian villages, towns and cities, and there is deep concern that, particularly in communities in the E1 area, they could cut off the road between Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adumim, creating another existential threat," Diker said.

For the international community, Diker said, the political disagreement over E1 is rooted in the period when Israel and the Palestinian Authority were expected to negotiate the final status of a peace agreement.

"Since then, we’ve had the terror war of 2000, followed by four terror wars waged by Hamas, culminating in Oct. 7. The geopolitical and security reality has completely shifted, but the international community’s mindset has not. For them, it’s a political issue; for us, it’s an existential one," he added.

U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) announced on Tuesday that the U.S. sank another vessel characterized as a "floating refueling station" linked to drug trafficking efforts.

"On September 8, under the direction of #SOUTHCOM, Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere (JTF-WHEM) forces successfully interdicted a floating refueling station supporting illicit at-sea drug trafficking operations in the Eastern Pacific," SOUTHCOM noted in a post on X.

"Intelligence confirmed the vessel's involvement with the Los Choneros violent narco-terrorist organization. Individuals removed from the vessel have been transferred to Ecuadorian authorities. After clearing the vessel and disembarking the crew, U.S. forces sank it," the post continued.

AMERICANS WARNED OF KIDNAPPING, EXTORTION AS VIOLENT CRIME GRIPS PARTS OF TOURIST SPOT

"JTF-WHEM continues to conduct precise and professional operations to dismantle the logistical networks fueling narco-trafficking in the Western Hemisphere," SOUTHCOM added.

The post was the latest in a string of similar announcements about the U.S. sinking vessels serving as refueling stations linked with the Los Choneros, a designated foreign terrorist organization.

US FORCES SINK NARCO-REFUELING STATION LINKED TO ECUADORIAN CARTEL IN PACIFIC: SOUTHCOM

"The Ecuador-based gang Los Choneros is a major driver of destabilizing violence in Ecuador," according to a counterterrorism guide.

"Los Choneros engages in a range of violent and criminal activities, including hired killings; kidnappings; political assassinations; and the smuggling of weapons, explosives, and drugs," the document notes.

US MILITARY BOARDS, SEARCHES AND SINKS VESSEL ALLEGEDLY SUPPORTING LOS CHONEROS NARCO-TERRORISTS

"Los Choneros uses prisons and illegal gold mines as operational bases and cooperates with the Mexico-based Sinaloa Cartel and with Albanian cartels to facilitate drug shipments globally," the guide states.

The State Department said Tuesday it is aware of approximately 70 Americans who remain unaccounted for in the Nepal-China border region following last month's catastrophic flooding, while 18 Americans have now made it to safety.

"We extend our deepest sympathy to all those affected by the flooding in Nepal, and their families, and we reaffirm our enduring friendship with the Nepali people," a State Department official told Fox News.

"The Department of State remains in close contact with the families of Americans who remain unaccounted for and is committed to providing regular updates as more information becomes available."

ROUGHLY 80 AMERICANS STILL UNACCOUNTED FOR AFTER HIMALAYAN DISASTER KILLS 903, OFFICIALS SAY

Officials also urged Americans not to travel to the disaster zone, warning the region remains at risk for additional flash floods and landslides.

The latest update reduced the number of Americans unaccounted for from 75 to 70, while the number confirmed safe rose from 16 to 18.

Officials have not confirmed any American deaths.

RESCUERS USE ZIPLINES TO TRANSPORT TRAPPED CITIZENS AFTER DEVASTATING NEPAL FLOODS DECIMATE COUNTRY'S BRIDGES

As search efforts continue, Nepalese authorities said rescuers are concentrating on three hydropower project tunnels where they believe dozens of workers may still be trapped beneath debris left by the Aug. 26 glacier collapse that triggered devastating flooding along the Nepal-China border, according to Reuters.

"Our search operation is focused on finding survivors, including in tunnels. Our bigger focus is on the Chilime hydroelectric project, where we believe people are trapped, because there was a canteen, residency and arrangements for food," Dharma Raj Upreti, chief of Nepal's disaster authority, told Reuters.

DEATH TOLL FROM MUDSLIDES, FLOODING AT NEPAL-CHINA BORDER CLIMBS PAST 670; NEARLY 3,000 MISSING

The disaster has killed at least 1,399 people across Nepal and China's Tibet region, with more than 5,400 others still missing, according to authorities. 

Both governments have blamed climate change for the glacier collapse that unleashed the flooding.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Gilberto C. Teodoro, the Defense Secretary for the Philippines, publicly bashed China after he was handed a note outlining China's position on the South China Sea while he was speaking during the Seoul Defense Dialogue in South Korea on Tuesday.

While Teodoro was in the middle of speaking, a man in a white sports coat walked up behind him and placed a sheet of paper on the table beside him.

"I have a note here, I think this is from China," Teodoro said, stopping short in his remarks.

"And may I read it?" he asked the crowd, before proceeding to read aloud from the note.

"China's position on the South China Sea arbitration is clear, consistent and firm. They have no position. The arbitration violates fundamental principles of international law," the note read.

MASSIVE RISK IN SOUTH CHINA SEA EXPOSED AFTER FOUR-DAY POWER LOSS ON US NAVY DESTROYER

The note likely referred to the 2016 legal case that the Philippines brought against China under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The case, titled the South China Sea Arbitration, determined that China was unlawfully reclaiming land in the Philippines' territorial waters.

China has long rebuked the ruling and consistently accuses the Philippines of infringing on China's sovereignty in the disputed waters.

The long-running dispute has created a number of tense standoffs between the two countries' navies.

"How can you deal with a country in an international forum – beyond the question asked to me – disrespecting the organizers of this forum, how do you expect to deal with it civilly?" Teodoro asked the crowd.

"I ask you the question, is this the right paper to post to me when I'm being asked a question on the floor? And how will you treat this kind of behavior? It not only disrespects, shows, if this is a Chinese position sent to me, it not only disrespects international law, throwing UNCLOS to the floor and trampling upon it, but it also disrespects the basic decency accorded that should be accorded to our most gracious host, the Republic of Korea and the rest of the audience here," he continued.

RULE JAPANICA: AMERICA AND JAPAN ARE BUILDING THE ALLIANCE CHINA FEARS

"So, perhaps basic decency and behavior is what China needs to do. This is actual coercion, bullying and aggression. I will keep this paper as a memento of how desperate China is and how ineffective its position is in the face of a free audience. Thank you very much for the person who gave me this piece of paper. You have just done your country a great service," Teodoro added.

"I think it is well known to the public, to everyone here about the Philippine situation where we face challenges daily from the People's Republic of China which tries to occupy and illegally assert its presence over our territory and especially our exclusive economic zone. In contravention with the UNCLOS. We live in a very interconnected world, and there is no right for any state of that matter to appropriate an international common for its exclusive use or right, contrary to what the international norms clearly state. So the Philippines has been forced to enter into creative defense arrangements and alliances," Teodoro concluded.

Hungary has demanded that 10 individuals with the Russian mission depart the country.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Orban — who is not related to Hungary's former Prime Minister Viktor Orban — noted in a post on X that the 10 people had participated in actions that were "unacceptable" according to the Vienna Convention.

"Acting on my instructions, on Tuesday the relevant official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed the Russian ambassador to Hungary that, according to the assessment of the Hungarian authorities, 10 members of the Russian mission had engaged in activities in Hungary that are unacceptable for diplomats under the Vienna Convention. The Hungarian side has therefore called on the individuals in question to leave Hungary," she declared in the post.

RUSSIA'S SHADOW WAR IS PUTTING EUROPE ON EDGE AS GERMANY CONFRONTS A GROWING THREAT

But Orban noted that Hungary is not cutting off diplomatic relations with Russia.

"This decision protects Hungary’s security and sovereignty. It does not imply breaking off diplomatic relations with Russia. Hungary intends to continue the necessary dialogue, based on mutual respect and adherence to the rules," she said in the post.

HUNGARY'S NEW LEADER ONCE IDOLIZED ORBÁN — NOW HE'S THE MAN WHO BROUGHT HIM DOWN

The Russian Foreign Ministry, in comments to Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti, vowed to provide "an appropriate response" to the expulsions.

Hungary is a member of the European Union.

European Commission spokesperson Christian Wigand said Tuesday that "we take note of Hungary’s legitimate decision" to expel the Russian diplomats.

Wigand noted that the move was an expected response due to "Russia’s persistent campaign in using hybrid attacks against the EU and its member states."

RUSSIA'S QUIETER NUCLEAR SUBMARINES THREATEN NATO, FORMER COMMANDER WARNS

Hungary is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), of which the U.S. is a founding member.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A supermarket manager in Mexico leapt to action Sunday, diving into the road to save a 3-year-old girl from oncoming traffic, security footage shows.

Luis Cruz, a manager at the Super King El Rey del Ahorro grocery store, sprinted after the girl who had wandered into the busy road and grabbed her while diving to the ground moments before she would have been hit by a silver minivan.

The girl had run out of the Puebla, Mexico, supermarket around 2 p.m. local time after slipping out of her mother’s grip, according to Mexican news outlet Tribuna Noticias.

The girl was initially chased by a woman, but the woman slipped and fell before she could grab the child.

WATCH: ICE OFFICER MAKES HEROIC RESCUE AFTER 6-YEAR-OLD GIRL HAS POOL EMERGENCY

Video shows Cruz quickly tackling the girl to the ground moments before a minivan crossed the lane she would have entered had Cruz not stopped her.

OFF-DUTY ICE OFFICER RELIES ON 'SIXTH SENSE' TO SAVE DROWNING CHILD BEFORE DELIVERING MESSAGE TO CRITICS

As car horns honk, Cruz grabs the girl, pulling her backwards as they both tumble safely to the ground in the lane closest to the store while the minivan screeches to a halt in the middle lane.

The grocery store, according to Tribuna Noticias, awarded Cruz with 20,000 Mexican pesos – roughly $1,184 – for his heroics.

CALIFORNIA LIFEGUARD SPEAKS OUT ON HEARTSTOPPING OCEAN RESCUE: 'I LOVE WHAT I DO'

Cruz also reportedly said he didn't think before taking action, and that as a father himself he was driven by paternal action. He also, Tribuna Noticias reported, urged parents to keep a watchful eye on their children.

Fox News Digital contacted Super King El Rey del Ahorro for confirmation and further comment.

The United Kingdom unveiled sweeping new measures targeting Israeli settlements in the West Bank on Tuesday, triggering an immediate diplomatic rupture with Israel and a sharp warning from a senior Trump administration official.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced Tuesday, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s approval, that Israel would close the British Consulate in Jerusalem and impose a series of countermeasures in response to the U.K. sanctions.

The Israeli measures also include removing British representatives from the International Gaza Support Center in Kiryat Gat, ending British activities training Palestinian Authority forces in the West Bank and denying entry to 12 British elected officials and other British nationals whom Israel accused of antisemitic or anti-Israel activity.

UK MOVES TO SANCTION ISRAELI SETTLEMENTS AS PM BURNHAM RISKS CLASH WITH TRUMP: REPORT

"Measures against Israel will not go unanswered," Sa’ar said. "Whoever acts against Israel, Israel will act against them, and they will lose their influence and relevance in the region."

The escalation came hours after Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband told Parliament that Britain would ban imports of goods from Israeli settlements, target companies and individuals facilitating settlement expansion, and refuse licenses for arms and other exports that materially contribute to the occupation.

The move is part of a coordinated push with France, Canada and other European partners amid what the governments described Tuesday as "unprecedented levels of settler violence and settlement expansion" in the West Bank, including Israel’s E1 project, which they argue threatens the viability of a future Palestinian state. The measures come just weeks before world leaders gather for the U.N. General Assembly in New York and less than two months before Israel’s Oct. 27 election, adding diplomatic and political stakes to an already strained relationship between Israel and several of its traditional Western allies.

At the same time, the foreign ministers recognized Israel’s "legitimate security interests" and reiterated their condemnation of Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attack, which they described as "the worst antisemitic massacre since the Holocaust." They said their objective remained a two-state solution allowing Israel and "a sovereign, democratic and viable Palestinian state" to live side by side in peace and security.

UK DEFENSE SHORTFALLS HIGHLIGHTED AS BRITAIN AVOIDS IRAN OFFENSIVE ROLE AMID TRUMP CRITICISM

The timing has also become a political issue inside Britain. An unnamed Labor MP told The Telegraph that Prime Minister Andy Burnham had faced pressure from colleagues worried about Gaza-related campaigning and losing seats to the Greens, while Israeli officials have accused London of trying to influence Israel’s election — claims the British government rejects as it frames the measures as an effort to preserve the two-state solution.

"Today, I announce that the official view of the British government is that the occupation is unlawful," Miliband told lawmakers Tuesday.

Miliband opened the statement by describing himself as a "proud British Jew" with "the deepest gratitude to the State of Israel," recalling how his grandmother found refuge there after losing her husband and 60 other family members at the hands of the Nazis.

He stressed that the measures were aimed at settlements rather than Israel itself.

"The sanctions regime will target illegal settlement and settlement expansion. Not Israel," Miliband said, adding that Britain would continue to support trade with Israel inside the Green Line and that he "wholeheartedly" opposed the broader Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.

Miliband also condemned rising antisemitism in Britain, saying, "Holding British Jews responsible for the actions of the Israeli government is antisemitism, plain and simple."

He reaffirmed Israel’s right to defend itself against terrorism, called for Hamas to disarm and dismantle its terrorist infrastructure under the U.S. -led 20-point Gaza plan, and announced sanctions against Hezbollah financing institution Al-Qard Al-Hassan. He also said Britain was reimposing major economic sanctions on Iran and would continue security cooperation with Israel against shared threats.

The measures drew immediate criticism from U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, who warned in an interview with BBC World Service Newsday that Britain could face economic repercussions in the United States.

ISRAELI OFFICIAL SAYS EU SANCTIONS REVEAL ANTISEMITISM HIDING BEHIND 'SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE MASK'

"I think without a doubt there will be," Huckabee said when asked whether the U.K. should expect consequences.

Huckabee pointed to Florida and other states with anti-boycott laws, arguing that British companies could face restrictions on doing business there.

"If the Brits do something like this with a partner, Israel, then they will not be able to do business in Florida," he said, warning of a "huge economic impact on British businesses."

He also challenged Britain’s policy on substantive grounds, arguing that Israel is permitted under the Oslo agreements to build communities in Area C and predicting that the sanctions would have "a very negative effect that does not meet whatever goal maybe that the Brits have."

In a separate portion of the BBC interview, Huckabee said, "I feel like that it's a discrimination against the Israeli government. It's a discrimination against the Jewish people. And I don't understand the rationale."

The Trump administration also made clear Tuesday that Washington would not join the coordinated sanctions push. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States does not want to see "anything destabilizing" in the West Bank, but said Washington would not follow Britain, France and Canada in blocking imports from Israeli settlements, according to Reuters.

IS ISRAEL REALLY ISOLATED? POLLS AND DIPLOMACY POINT IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS

Sa’ar also accused London of interfering in Israel’s election campaign and said the settlement sanctions were driven by domestic British politics ahead of the Labor Party conference.

"The British move is morally distorted and constitutes blatant interference in the affairs of a sovereign state and in its electoral process," he said.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog called Britain’s move a "grave miscalculation" Tuesday and argued that it amounted to "gross interference" in Israel’s upcoming election, according to a statement from his office.

Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, president and founder of the Tel Aviv-based Shurat HaDin-Israel Law Center, also criticized the measures, arguing that the economic impact would be limited while the political consequences could be significant.

"These sanctions are not serious economic policy; they are political theater staged at Israel’s expense," Darshan-Leitner told Fox News Digital. She disputed Britain’s legal characterization of the territory, saying, "The territories are disputed, not sovereign Palestinian land, and their future must be negotiated by the parties under the Oslo framework."

Darshan-Leitner also argued that because little of the roughly $8 billion in annual U.K.-Israel trade originates in West Bank settlements, the measures would have little direct economic effect while potentially influencing Israel’s political debate ahead of elections.

Miliband, however, argued that failing to act would allow continued settlement expansion to destroy the possibility of a two-state solution. He focused particularly on Israel’s E1 project east of Jerusalem, which Britain and numerous other governments say threatens the territorial viability of a future Palestinian state.

Sa'ar rejected Britain’s position that the E1 settlement project threatens the viability of a future Palestinian state.

UK PINS STRING OF ANTISEMITIC ATTACKS ON IRAN-LINKED GROUP, BANS IRGC

The policy has also exposed divisions within Britain.

Conservative lawmaker Tom Tugendhat acknowledged in Parliament that illegal settlements were wrong and that some settlers had committed "outrageous abuses" against Palestinians, but argued that the government’s response risked hurting ordinary Israelis and Palestinians.

"What we reject here is not the intent, but the performative politics," Tugendhat said, warning against acting without sufficiently broad international support.

Miliband rejected arguments that the measures were intended to isolate Israel.

"Our argument is not with the people of Israel, with whom the U.K. has unshakable bonds," he said. "Our argument is with the conduct of its government."

Thieves made off with two valuable Renoir paintings after breaking into a small museum on the French Riviera early Tuesday, dropping two other stolen works in the garden as police raced to the scene, officials said.

The two thieves cut through a garden fence and entered the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer shortly before 6 a.m., stealing four paintings, Mayor Bryan Masson said.

The alarm sounded at 5:48 a.m. Police arrived five minutes later and chased the thieves, who dropped two of the paintings in the garden before escaping with the other two, according to Masson.

NJ FATHER-DAUGHTER TEAM ACCUSED OF PEDDLING FAKE PICASSOS, WARHOLS AND MORE TO NYC ART HOUSES PLEAD GUILTY

"Attacking the Renoir Museum is attacking a part of the history and heritage of Cagnes-sur-Mer," Masson said, further calling for tighter security at museums across France.

Surveillance cameras captured two people entering the museum. Police were still looking for them Tuesday.

The four paintings taken included "Portrait of Madame Colonna Romano," "Coco Lisant" and "Young Girl at the Well," according to French newspaper Nice-Matin, which valued the stolen works at about $10.5 million.

A regional police official confirmed the theft and search for the suspects to The Associated Press but could not confirm the reported value. It was also unclear which two paintings the thieves abandoned as they fled.

The museum remained closed Tuesday while police investigated.

The Renoir Museum is housed in the hilltop estate where French Impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir spent the final years of his life and died in 1919.

WATCH: MASKED THIEVES WIELDING HAMMERS HIT JEWELRY STORE IN WHAT EXPERT CALLS 'MOB-STYLE' HEIST

The museum, which opened in 1960, sits in Cagnes-sur-Mer between Nice and Cannes on France’s Mediterranean coast. Its collection includes 13 Renoir paintings, about 40 sculptures, furniture and photographs.

Tuesday’s theft follows a series of museum robberies in France, including last year’s theft of crown jewels from the Louvre in Paris.

Thieves stole jewels valued at about $102 million from the Louvre in October, including a tiara that belonged to Empress Eugénie.

Europol said last month that art robberies in Europe have grown more violent and that some thefts once carried out by specialist gangs are now being committed by opportunists recruited through social media.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.