Today In Issues:
FDD Research & Analysis
The Must-Reads
US envoy to Israel urges Hamas to sign deal so aid can enter Gaza Israeli delegation holds talks in Cairo as mediators float long-term truce – report Israel vows no retreat amid U.S.-Iran nuclear talks Israel warns its citizens abroad about planned global protests over Gaza on Tuesday What do ‘expert level’ talks signal for the progress of the Iran-US nuclear negotiations? Iran accuses Israel of trying to ‘undermine’ nuclear talks with US AFPC’s lan Berman: The winning formula for talks with Iran WINEP’s James E. Shepard: Is the Houthi threat a checkmate for U.S. military logistics? China sanctions US congress members, officials and NGO heads As Vice President Vance visits India, New Delhi appears more interested in tightening ties with Washington than with Beijing Former Ambassador of Nicaragua Arturo McFields: China’s deceitful, disastrous projects in Latin America and Africa AEI’s Michael Rubin: The main reason Trump’s reannexation of the Panama Canal would backfireIn The News
Israel
A far-right Israeli politician said on Monday that saving the hostages in Gaza was not Israel’s “most important goal” in its war with Hamas, further stoking the debate in Israel over its objectives for the war. – New York Times
Israel canceled visas for 27 French left-wing lawmakers and local officials two days before they were to start a visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories, the group said Sunday. – Agence France Presse
The new US ambassador to Israel on Monday called on Palestinian militant group Hamas to accept a deal that would secure the release of hostages, in exchange for the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza. – Agence France Presse
Gaza’s civil defence agency said Tuesday that seven people were killed in fresh Israeli air strikes across the Hamas-run territory. – Agence France Presse
An Israeli delegation arrived in Cairo on Sunday evening to hold talks with mediators in an effort to seek a breakthrough in negotiations with Hamas for a ceasefire and the release of hostages from Gaza, Qatari media reported Tuesday. – Agence France Presse
The Israeli Air Force conducted drills on Monday simulating another Iranian missile attack on Israeli airbases, in light of rising tensions over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program, the Kan public broadcaster reported – Times of Israel
Israel on Monday alerted its nationals abroad to take caution ahead of mass pro-Palestinian protests planned worldwide for Tuesday, warning that the demonstrations could spark violence against Israelis. – Times of Israel
At least eight U.S. Air Force C-17A Globemaster III transport aircraft were tracked flying from Ramstein Air Base in Germany to Israel’s Nevatim Airbase on Sunday. According to flight tracking data and open-source intelligence monitors, the mission is part of a broader operation that has seen at least 25 C-17 flights land in Israel since April 10, making it one of the largest such deployments in years. – Newsweek
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee conveyed a message to the growing isolationist camp on the American right as he submitted his diplomatic credentials on Monday: Maintaining close relations with Israel and countering the Iranian nuclear threat are beneficial to Americans. – Jewish Insider
Israel is unhappy with the direction U.S.-Iran talks appear to be taking but continues to be in direct communication with the Trump administration, an Israeli official told Jewish Insider on Monday after a second round of talks between the U.S. and the Islamic Republic concluded over the weekend. – Jewish Insider
Hamas and Israel both viewed the holidays as a potential deadline to reach a follow-up agreement, but the gap between each side’s conditions has not been bridged – Israel rejects the idea of continued Hamas rule and Hamas refuses to release the hostages without guarantees for an end to the war. – Haaretz
David Ignatius writes: Wars have consequences. Hamas, which began this nightmare, should never govern Gaza again. Netanyahu, who hasn’t been able to end the conflict, should be replaced, too, when the war is done. Both Israelis and Palestinians should be making the same demand: This war must end. – Washington Post
Alex Winston writes: Civilian deaths are a tragedy. But what is equally tragic is the Palestinian leadership’s refusal to lead. Its refusal to demand the return of the hostages. Its refusal to condemn Hamas. It’s refusal to take ownership of its own people’s future. If Palestinian diplomats like Aghabekian wish to be taken seriously, they must first acknowledge the moral and strategic rot that Hamas has inflicted upon Gaza and the Palestinian cause. Until then, the PA will remain an obstacle to peace, rather than a force for it. – Jerusalem Post
John Spencer and Arsen Ostrovsky write: A war can be both morally justified and legally constrained. Israel’s campaign against Hamas is exactly that. It was not launched lightly or recklessly—it was waged in defense of life, sovereignty and the rule of law. Anyone asking whether Israel’s war was necessary should first understand what they are really asking—and then recognize that the answer, by every standard that matters, is yes. – Arutz Sheva
Iran
Negotiations between Iran and the United States over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program will move Wednesday to what’s known as the “expert level” — a sign analysts say shows that the talks are moving forward rapidly. – Associated Press
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law ratifying a strategic partnership treaty with Iran, Russian state news agency RIA reported on Monday. – Jerusalem Post
Iran on Monday accused Israel of seeking to “undermine” the ongoing talks with the United States on its nuclear program, a key point of tension with the West. – Agence France Presse
Russia is emerging as a potential linchpin in renewed international efforts to limit Iran’s nuclear ambitions, with Moscow being considered both as a possible host for Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile and as a guarantor of any new agreement’s enforcement. – Ynet News
Iran’s top diplomat sought to entice President Donald Trump’s administration with up to tens of billions of dollars’ worth of contracts to help revitalize the U.S. nuclear industry in a canceled speech. The address was to be delivered virtually Monday by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Nuclear Policy Conference. The organizers mandated, however, that Araghchi then open up to questions, a condition that led to his team pulling out of the event. – Newsweek
Marc Champion writes: Winning is never easy in geopolitics, because nations rarely capitulate unless forced to by defeat. It is the case for Ukraine as well as Iran, for China as it resists Trump’s assault on its trade advantages, and for Hamas — though a terrorist organization, rather than a state — in Gaza. Should the US president recognize that fact, looking down before he steps off Wile E. Coyote’s cliff, he can then slow down, adopt more achievable strategies, and deliver solutions instead of chaos. – Bloomberg
Salem Alketbi writes: The final irony is inescapable: arrogant Iran, which has for years cultivated an image of revolutionary defiance and unshakable resolve, now finds itself in the humiliating position of essentially begging for a deal – any deal – that might preserve some semblance of dignity domestically while averting the catastrophic consequences of American military action. – Jerusalem Post
Ilan Berman writes: President Trump has made clear he hopes the issue can be resolved peacefully. In order for that to have a chance of happening, though, America’s approach will need to stick to a clear bottom line. The Iranian regime needs to understand in unequivocal terms that if it wants to stay in business, it needs to get out of the nuclear business altogether. Any deal that falls short of that formulation will be a political victory for the ayatollahs—and a strategic risk for everyone else. – 19FortyFive
Russia and Ukraine
Russia said it was pleased with a Trump administration proposal to rule out Ukraine joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization as a way to end the war but showed no urgency in reaching a deal. – Wall Street Journal
The US will hold talks Wednesday in London with Ukrainian and European officials as President Donald Trump pushes for a deal to halt Russia’s full-scale invasion. – Bloomberg
Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed on Monday bilateral talks with Ukraine for the first time since the early days of the war, and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Kyiv was eager to discuss a halt to attacks on civilian targets. – Reuters
Russian attacks during the 30-hour Easter ceasefire unilaterally declared by President Vladimir Putin over the weekend killed three people in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region, a regional official said Monday. – Associated Press
Chinese nationals have been caught smuggling Russian military gear out of the country before reselling knockoffs back to Russia, authorities have told Russia’s Izvestia newspaper. – Newsweek
A Molotov cocktail was thrown at a synagogue in Kryvyi Rih, a city in central Ukraine, on Saturday night, as the local Jewish community continues to experience an increasing wave of antisemitic incidents. – Algemeiner
Syria
Since rebels toppled the strongman Bashar al-Assad in December, effectively ending the war, Syrians and rare international tourists have been visiting Palmyra to take in one of the country’s most stunning heritage sites and ponder how it may fit into Syria’s future. – New York Times
Palestinian media reports that the new Syrian regime has arrested Khaled Khaled, in charge of the Syrian arena in the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror organization, and Abu Ali Yasser, responsible for the organization’s executive committee in Syria. – Times of Israel
Ameer al-Kaabi and Hamdi Malik write: AAH seems to have an additional incentive to be the most aggressive group leading this campaign, and that is because Sudani is now considered an important electoral rival—one with whom, along with his ally Falih al-Fayyadh, the chairman of the PMF, AAH has engaged in a head-to-head contest for control over the organization. – Washington Institute
Yemen
U.S. airstrikes targeting Yemen’s capital killed 12 people and wounded 34 others, the Houthi rebels said early Monday. The deaths mark the latest in America’s intensified campaign of strikes targeting the rebels. – Associated Press
The head of the Houthi-run Supreme Political Council, Mahdi al-Mashat, threatened further escalation against the United States in response to intensified airstrikes on Houthi strongholds in Yemen and the growing deployment of American weaponry in the region. – Newsweek
James E. Shepard writes: To maintain logistical access to the region, Washington and its military partners should pursue a twofold approach centered on (1) meeting immediate needs through expedient workarounds and pressure on the Houthis, and (2) seeking long-term answers through a viable strategy to neutralize the threat. – Washington Institute
Middle East & North Africa
Tunisian police on Monday detained Ahmed Souab, a prominent lawyer and fierce critic of the country’s president, lawyers told Reuters, raising human rights groups’ concerns that a crackdown on dissent will go ahead. – Reuters
China’s first joint air force exercise with U.S. ally Egypt featured advanced fighter jets, radar aircraft, and aerial refueling planes, highlighting Beijing’s push to project power far into the Middle East and North Africa in a challenge to the United States. – Newsweek
Zvi Bar’el writes: Despite years of debate in Lebanon over disarming Hezbollah, recent military setbacks and regional shifts have revived calls to integrate its fighters into the nation’s army – a move Hezbollah appears unwilling to accept for now. – Haaretz
Pesach Wolicki writes: The battle lines are being drawn within the Islamic world. The fundamental question at stake is whether Muslim-majority nations will continue pursuing jihad against Israel and hostility toward the West, or embrace coexistence and economic integration. Those who preach peace and coexistence, whether for ideological or pragmatic reasons, are in direct confrontation with those who preach jihad and destruction. And the stakes could not be higher. This internal struggle in the Islamic world may well determine the future of the entire region. – Jerusalem Post
Avi Carmeli writes: The rationale for Lebanon’s partition into smaller entities—argued as a solution to its entrenched sectarian gridlock—provides a compelling blueprint. The Middle East’s history of imposed unity has yielded relentless cycles of conflict. By embracing the natural diversity of its peoples and reimagining governance through smaller, sovereign entities, the region can chart a new course. Lebanon and Syria, as microcosms of the broader Middle Eastern crisis, present an opportunity to pioneer this paradigm shift. – Jerusalem Post
Korean Peninsula
South Korea’s acting President Han Duck-soo said during a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday that he expects trade talks this week with the United States to pave the way toward a mutually beneficial solution. – Reuters
South Korea’s economy barely grew last quarter as persistent global trade risks and weak domestic demand continued to sap momentum, a Reuters poll of economists found. – Reuters
Sangsoo Lee writes: While complete denuclearization remains unrealistic, Washington should pursue a phased diplomatic approach, offering targeted economic and security incentives in exchange for verifiable commitments. This strategy would discourage Pyongyang from increasing its reliance on Moscow and Beijing. – The National Interest
China
Today, with economic relations between the two careening off the rails, China and the U.S. are headed toward what could be a Cold War that extends beyond trade—to deepening conflict or even military tension as both seek to form their own blocs. – Wall Street Journal
China has imposed sanctions on some U.S. congress members, government officials as well as heads of non-governmental organisations for “egregious behaviour on Hong Kong-related issues”, its foreign ministry said on Monday. – Reuters
Huawei Technologies plans to begin mass shipments of its advanced 910C artificial intelligence chip to Chinese customers as early as next month, two people familiar with the matter said. The timing is fortuitous for Chinese AI companies which have been left scrambling for domestic alternatives to the H20, the primary AI chip that Nvidia, opens new tab had until recently been allowed to sell freely in the Chinese market. – Reuters
Clive Crook writes: Trump’s disdain for America’s friends risks dismantling even the existing, insufficiently ambitious alliances. No doubt, they were flawed in the way he points out: The allies did too much free-riding at US expense. The fact remains, these alliances need to be broadened and deepened — not just preserved, much less kicked aside. The White House is hustling the US and its friends along a very perilous path. – Bloomberg
South Asia
As tensions between New Delhi and Beijing intensify, Vice President Vance on Monday received a warm welcome from Prime Minister Modi of India, who seems more interested in tightening relations with America than with Communist China. – New York Sun
The lawsuits, set to be heard on Tuesday with other challenges, mark an escalation of a standoff involving foreign companies’ and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government over its stance towards waste management practices. – Reuters
Karishma Vaswani writes: This would help cement the argument that like-minded countries are working together to act as a buffer in the competition against China in the Indo-Pacific. India is open to cooperation, but not always on someone else’s terms. Vance would be wise to mind his manners while he’s there. – Bloomberg
Asia
Minority coalition partner New Zealand First introduced a bill to parliament on Tuesday that if enacted would define women and men by their biology, preventing trans women and men being recognised by law. – Reuters
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said on Tuesday Thai-U.S. trade negotiations have been postponed from April 23. Paetongarn gave no reason for the postponement – Reuters
Taiwan will send envoys of the “appropriate level” to Pope Francis’ funeral given the deep friendship between the island and the Vatican, the Taiwanese foreign ministry said on Monday, expressing condolences to one of its few remaining allies. – Reuters
Indonesia and China said Monday they committed to maritime cooperation promoting safety and security in the South China Sea, amid longstanding Indonesian suspicions about China’s actions in waters controlled by Jakarta. – Associated Press
A high-level Japanese delegation will deliver a letter from Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to Chinese leader Xi Jinping this week, as Tokyo strives to avoid getting caught in the crossfire of escalating trade friction between China and the US. – Bloomberg
Vietnam may be set to purchase F-16 Fighting Falcon jets, according to a report. […]The deal would make Vietnam the fifth government in the Asia-Pacific region to acquire F-16 fighter aircraft, as militaries look to strengthen their capabilities amid rising territorial tensions with China, ruled by President Xi Jinping. – Newsweek
A map by Newsweek shows how President Vladimir Putin’s Russia has been flexing its naval muscles in the Indo-Pacific region in recent months while Moscow’s forces simultaneously wage war on Ukraine. – Newsweek
Europe
French prison officers and detention centres were again targeted overnight, Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Monday, following a string of unclaimed attacks on prisons last week. Authorities have said that drug traffickers are most likely behind an unprecedented wave of attacks against French prisons, though foreign influence and the far-left have also been mentioned, but no arrests have been made. – Reuters
Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere and finance minister Jens Stoltenberg will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington on Thursday, the prime minister’s office said. – Reuters
Eighty years after the Holocaust, more than 200,000 Jewish survivors are still alive but 70% of them will be gone within the next 10 years — meaning time is running out to hear the voices of the last generation who suffered through one of the worst atrocities in history. – Associated Press
It turns out that Donald Trump might be the best thing to happen to free trade — for Europe, at least. By throwing up a tariff wall around the United States in support of his America-first agenda, the U.S. president is inadvertently prompting other countries around the world to team up in a bid to offset the huge hit to their exports that it will inflict. – Politico
Editorial: Recent research shows a nearly threefold rise in Russian hybrid attacks on European and US targets between 2023 and 2024, from sabotage of infrastructure to disinformation and assassination attempts. UK jets scrambled three times in recent days to intercept Russian warplanes flying close to NATO airspace. History has shown that an unchecked Russia, given time to rearm, is likely to expand its territorial ambitions. The US may think it can live with that risk. Europe can afford no such illusions. – Bloomberg
Africa
The Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) has claimed responsibility for a series of deadly attacks targeting Nigerian security forces as well as Christian civilians in Nigeria’s northeastern regions earlier this month. – Reuters
South Sudan’s army said it had recaptured a key town in Upper Nile state that it lost to an ethnic Nuer militia in March in clashes which led to the arrest of First Vice President Riek Machar and a spiralling political crisis. – Reuters
A paramilitary group in Sudan attacked a city in the western Darfur region, killing more than 30 people, an activist group said, in the latest deadly offensive on an area that is home to hundreds of thousands of displaced people. – Associated Press
South Sudan is sending a delegation to Washington to discuss the return of 137 nationals whom the US has ordered to be deported. – Bloomberg
The Americas
More than two dozen people whom the U.S. government says are current or past members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua have been charged with murder, sex trafficking and other crimes under a federal law created to combat organized crime, the U.S. Justice Department said on Monday. – Reuters
Four Democratic U.S. representatives arrived in El Salvador on Monday hoping to compel the Trump administration to release Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man mistakenly deported and now held in a notorious prison in that country. – Reuters
The top U.N. official in Haiti sounded an alarm to the U.N. Security Council on Monday that escalating gang violence is liable to lead the Caribbean nation to “a point of no return.” – Associated Press
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has demanded El Salvador release hundreds of Venezuelans who were deported from the United States, who he described as being “kidnapped,” after his Salvadoran counterpart earlier proposed a prisoner swap. – CNN
Arturo McFields writes: Defeating China in the Americas requires significant public and private investment, presence and power, but, above all, a strong political will to review and reverse the communist threat in the region. Fortunately, these changes are already underway, and the outlook seems promising. – The Hill
United States
President Donald Trump on Monday dismissed a deepening controversy surrounding Pete Hegseth, declaring the embattled defense secretary is “doing a great job” despite seismic dysfunction within the Pentagon amid political infighting, numerous firings, and reports he divulged to his wife, brother and lawyer the highly sensitive details of an imminent military operation. – Washington Post
Harvard University sued the Trump administration in federal court Monday, the latest move in the escalating feud between the nation’s wealthiest school and the White House. – Washington Post
The Trump administration on Monday demanded the resignation of the top federal official overseeing a dispute between the United States and Mexico over untreated sewage flowing across the border into California. – Washington Post
Michael Rubin writes: Herein lies the problem. While the U.S. paid for the first canal, the financing and investment for the second was far broader: not only Panama itself, but also the Japanese, European Union, Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, Inter-American Development Bank, and World Bank. Accordingly, grabbing the Panama Canal would no longer be righting Carter’s wrong, itself degrading the value of any U.S. treaty, but would be an act of naked imperialism. – Washington Examiner
Cybersecurity
Hackers linked to Russia’s government launched a cyberattack last spring against municipal water plants in rural Texas. At one plant in Muleshoe, population 5,000, water began to overflow. Officials had to unplug the system and run the plant manually. – Associated Press
Transnational organized crime groups in East and Southeast Asia are spreading their lucrative scam operations across the globe in response to increased crackdowns by authorities, according to a U.N. report issued on Monday. – Associated Press
Japanese regulators published an urgent warning about hundreds of millions of dollars worth of unauthorized trades being conducted on hacked brokerage accounts in the country. – The Record
The international community has reached a “critical inflection point” in the fight to contain Southeast Asia’s cyber fraud industry as it continues to metastasize into a global behemoth, the United Nations warned Monday. – The Record
Defense
The U.S. Army has formally approved a new air and missile defense sensor to replace its aging Patriot for low-rate production, according to its system developer Raytheon. – Defense News
Harlan Ullman writes: This calls for a fundamental review of national security and strategy. Yet, the likelihood of a truly first principles approach in the current exceedingly toxic political environment is nil. The crucial question is whether this nation is capable of such an effort. And on that, our collective future may rest. – The Hill
Lauren Dailey and David Rothzeid write: Secretary Hegseth’s new memo is a significant step toward broadening the dual-use industrial base. This step was emphasized in the recent executive order that reinforces the “general preference” for acquisition officials to leverage Other Transactions Authority. However, the success of these initiatives will depend on steps beyond simply using the Commercial Solutions Opening or Other Transactions. – War on the Rocks
Roslyn Layton writes: China’s integrated approach — tying spectrum to Huawei’s 5G, DeepSeek and TikTok parent company Douyin’s reach, BeiDou navigation, and hypersonic advances — shows what’s at stake. The United States need not reinvent the wheel. Yet, it should align its spectrum strategy with 21st-century geopolitical realities. That means slicing bands for military precision, refarming for commercial growth, and investing in systems that exceed adversaries’ capabilities. The tools of war may not all come from the Defense Department, but leveraging best-in-class technology — wherever it originates — can ensure the United States remains preeminent. To safeguard the spectrum is to secure the future of U.S. power. The time for adaptation is now. – War on the Rocks