The Wire - July 28, 2026

This is the wire 420 hundred Zello July 28th, 2026. President's routine information cut off is 1900. Bottom line up front, major earthquake strikes southern Japan. Netanyahu arrives in Washington D.C. for Senator Graham funeral. Houthi targeting of Saudi oil refineries remains constant. Beginning with international events, in Japan this morning a major earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 7.1 struck the Kumamoto prefecture causing damage to critical infrastructure and residential areas in southern Japan. Aeon Mall was one of the most heavily damaged structures with several entrapments being reported as shoppers were unable to exit the building due to a partial collapse of the structure. After this collapse, a gas explosion was also reported at the mall and as of this morning approximately 20 to 30 people remained missing. In the Middle East, no major changes to the overall situation were reported overnight. Satellite imagery has become available that confirms the Houthis not just hit the Jizan refinery a few days ago, but also the refinery at Yanbu. This afternoon, the Houthis announced that they had targeted a tanker vessel which had been at anchor off Yanbu for a few days, t e refinery at Yanbu. This afternoon, the Houthis announced that they had targeted a tanker vessel which had been at anchor off Yanbu for a few days, though the success of this targeting has not yet been confirmed. Analyst comment, despite the devastating strikes on Saudi oil facilities over the past few days, oil markets continue to plummet indicating a sharp departure from the reality of the situation. On the home front in Washington D.C. yesterday afternoon, Prime Minister Netanyahu arrived for the state funeral of Senator Lindsey Graham as well as to conduct meetings regarding the war in Iran. This morning, the proceedings for Senator Graham began at the capital and various politicians and dignitaries are expected to make an appearance throughout the day. Analyst comments for this wire, debate is growing regarding the general status of the war in the Middle East. Iranian targeting has remained fairly tepid after last week's strikes, although the Houthis have continued to deal damage to Saudi infrastructure over the past few days. For the United States, every indicator lined up last week to suggest weekend strikes were going to take place, but leaks from the White House and Penta or the United States, every indicator lined up last week to suggest weekend strikes were going to take place, but leaks from the White House and Pentagon have suggested that the strikes were called off for now. As to why, the rumors diverge sharply and there's no way to get a solid beat on what the actual plan is at the moment. The situation has reached another point, much like has happened before, where the US can just as equally go all in on another round of strikes, or the US could do nothing. Nevertheless, if strikes are planned, timing-wise, it's almost certain to take place after Netanyahu returns home from his visit to the US. President Trump himself confirmed one of the main reasons for Prime Minister Netanyahu visiting Washington is to provide an in-person briefing on the infamous Pickaxe Mountain complex at the Natanz nuclear facility in Iran. In various statements since this leak, President Trump pushed back on the significance of this underground complex, and thus indicating less support for conducting another Midnight Hammer-style operation, but as always, this can go either way. This concludes the wire for 2000 Zulu, July 28th, 2026.