I. Legislative Branch
1) Personnel and Correspondence
Gottheimer and Stefanik Launch Campus Antisemitism Caucus Backing Anti-Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) Legislation. On September 8, 2026, Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Elise Stefanik (R-NY) announced the launch of the Combating Antisemitism on College Campuses Caucus during a visit to Vanderbilt University. According to the announcement, the caucus would, among other things, advance and track legislation targeting campus antisemitism and what the lawmakers called “BDS-driven discrimination.” These measures include the Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act, which would restrict federal student aid to colleges that boycott Israel, and the Antisemitism Awareness Act, which would require the Department of Education to use the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s controversial working definition of antisemitism when evaluating discrimination complaints that may include certain forms of criticism of Israel.
Lawmakers Press Rubio to Secure Release of Palestinian Pediatrician. On September 8, Reps. Maxine Dexter (D-OR) and Raul Ruiz (D-CA) led 67 other lawmakers in a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio urging him to press Israeli officials to end the detention of Palestinian pediatrician Hussam Abu Safiya and to ensure he receives medical care, warning that his continued detention and mistreatment threaten his life. Abu Safiya has been detained without charge or trial in the underground section of the Ayalon prison complex in Ramla, Israel, since December 2024.
Bipartisan Lawmakers Urge Change in Israeli Fiscal Policy Toward Palestinian Authority. On September 9, Reps. Brad Schneider (D-IL) and Craig Goldman (R-TX) led four other lawmakers in a letter to Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and Secretary Rubio, urging the administration to work with Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) to keep Palestinian clearance revenues flowing. The lawmakers warned that Israel’s continued withholding of the revenues risks accelerating the PA’s fiscal collapse and creating “further openings for Hamas and other extremists.”
II. Executive Branch
1) White House
Trump Says Iran War Will End After Midterms. On September 9, President Donald Trump told reporters that the Iran war will end immediately after the US midterm elections in November because Iran is “desperate to try and affect the election.” His comments came despite reports that his top advisers have warned privately that the war could last through the remainder of his term.
On September 11, Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth invoked the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks in defending the ongoing war against Iran, with Hegseth claiming that Iran had “cheered on 9/11.”
Trump Reportedly Rejects Saudi Requests for US Strikes on Houthis. On September 10, President Trump reportedly rejected Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s repeated requests for US strikes on the Houthis as the group seized the Red Sea port city of Mokha and advanced toward the Bab al-Mandab Strait. The Trump administration said that it would not take direct military action for now but would provide Saudi Arabia with intelligence and targeting support.
On September 12, Trump said that Iran was likely responsible for a drone attack on Saudi Arabia that shut down its East-West pipeline, one of the kingdom’s main routes for exporting oil while bypassing the Strait of Hormuz; Saudi officials said that the attack had come from Iraq. Trump added that the Houthis had contacted Washington and indicated that they did not want the United States to become involved in the conflict.
Kushner Says United States Used Israel’s “Global Isolation” to Push Gaza Deal. On September 11, Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and advisor, said that Israel’s September 2025 strike on Hamas leaders in Doha was “terrible” and had left Israel “globally isolated,” creating a dynamic that the United States used to push Israel into a Gaza ceasefire deal.
2) Department of State
Rubio Says United States Will Not Join UK Ban on Trade with Illegal Israeli Settlements. On September 8, Secretary Rubio said that the United States would not join the United Kingdom in sanctioning illegal Israeli settlements. Rubio said that Washington wanted to avoid further instability in the occupied West Bank, adding that this move could also complicate US efforts to advance its Gaza ceasefire plan.
President Trump was also reportedly briefed on the UK measures in advance and did not push back. Meanwhile, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee suggested that Washington could retaliate against the UK, but a US official said that his remarks had not been coordinated with the White House or the Department of State.
3) Department of War
CENTCOM Strikes Iranian Oil Tankers. On September 8, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said that it had destroyed five Iranian crude oil tankers after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) allegedly launched ballistic missiles at a US Navy warship over the previous two days. Four vessels were struck in the Gulf of Oman and one near Kharg Island.
AFRICOM Conducts Strikes in Somalia. On September 8, US forces conducted an airstrike against al-Shabab in Somalia to weaken its ability to “threaten US forces” and citizens abroad.
4) Department of the Treasury
Treasury Sanctions Iranian Aviation Sector. On September 8, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned 36 targets supporting Iran’s aviation sector, extending sanctions to all remaining Iranian airlines, front companies, and foreign intermediaries that the Treasury said supported Mahan Air, a private airline under US sanctions for its alleged ties to the IRGC. These latest sanctions also target Iran’s procurement of US-origin aircraft and sensitive technology. OFAC also suspended three Iran-related aviation authorizations, including for overflights and for non-US airlines to fly US-origin commercial aircraft into Iran.
Treasury Targets Iran-Linked Networks. On September 10, OFAC sanctioned individuals and entities in Iraq, Lebanon, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates accused of supporting Iraq’s Kata’ib Hezbollah and Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
The Treasury also announced a settlement with an individual who agreed to pay $1.43 million to resolve potential civil liability for apparent violations of Iran sanctions, adopted a presumption of denial for most Iran-related specific license requests, and issued an appeal for information on Iran-related sanctions evasion and money laundering.
