Trump Publicly Endorses Netanyahu as a 'Great Warrior' as Middle East Plunges into Turmoil

[Anchor]

Ahead of the Israeli general election, U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed public support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Meanwhile, armed clashes between Saudi Arabia and the Iran-backed Houthi rebels continue, with a Saudi military helicopter crashing and resulting in the deaths of officers.

Here is correspondent Lee Hanseok reporting from Washington.

[Reporter]

U.S. President Donald Trump took to social media to declare his official endorsement of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the upcoming Israeli general election on October 27.

President Trump praised Prime Minister Netanyahu as a great warrior, emphasizing that if it were not for him, the United States would have to directly end the war with Iran.

Prime Minister Netanyahu immediately responded on social media, expressing gratitude for President Trump's tremendous support and cooperation, and adding that they will accomplish this mission together.

Amidst these developments, a former expert in missile and aerospace defense has been officially appointed as Iran's new defense minister.

In his inaugural remarks, newly appointed Minister Ahllaghi Ketapchi warned that the terrorist U.S. president should first figure out how to withdraw U.S. troops, cautioning that if even a single bomb is dropped on Iran, American soldiers will leave lying down.

Meanwhile, the conflict between the Iran-backed Houthi rebels and Saudi Arabia is escalating into an all-out war.

A reconnaissance helicopter crashed near Najran in southwestern Saudi Arabia, killing two Saudi military officers.

This marks the first coalition casualty since clashes resumed in July.

While the Saudi military stated the crash was caused by a mechanical failure, the Houthi rebels claimed they shot it down using a surface-to-air missile.

Additionally, the Houthis claimed that Saudi retaliatory airstrikes killed nine civilians in northern Yemen, and successive Houthi ballistic missile attacks have disrupted operations at the airport in the Saudi capital of Riyadh.

Combined with Iran's harsh threats and the bloody clashes along the Saudi-Yemen border, the situation in the Middle East is spiraling into uncontrollable turmoil.

(Video by Park Eun-ha | Video Editing by Cho Moo-hwan)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.