Today In Issues:
FDD Research & Analysis
The Must-Reads
Israel has struck a blow to Iran’s nuclear program—but it isn’t yet a knockout How Israel’s Mossad smuggled drone parts to attack Iran from within After sitting out the Iran attack, U.S. steps in to help Israel intercept missiles Iranian strikes kill at least 8 in Israel as conflict enters fourth day WSJ Editorial: Israel’s nuclear good deed against Iran Israel takes control of Iran’s skies—a feat that still eludes Russia in Ukraine Next round of nuclear talks between U.S. and Iran is off WSJ Editorial: One Iranian miscalculation after another Former US national security adviser John Bolton: Iran’s Ayatollahs are weaker than ever Russia’s summer offensive in Ukraine gains ground with new tactics US aircraft carrier heads west from South China Sea amid Middle East tensions Trump called Canada the 51st state. Now the G-7 summit brings him to Alberta.In The News
Israel
With a series of daring intelligence operations and fierce military campaigns, Israel has effectively disabled Iranian allies Hamas and Hezbollah, while also prompting the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria. It is now taking the fight directly to Tehran. Israel used the cover of American diplomatic efforts to mount a surprise assault that goes far beyond targeting Iran’s nuclear program, instead aiming to cripple the country’s theocratic regime. – Wall Street Journal
Israel has delivered a powerful blow to parts of Iran’s nuclear program, but it hasn’t yet taken out the most heavily protected of Iran’s nuclear sites, leaving Tehran a potential path to the bomb. – Wall Street Journal
Israel and Iran struck at each other’s energy facilities over the weekend, a significant escalation that brings the conflict closer to an industry vital to the global economy and markets. The attacks so far have been limited, but oil prices have risen on the risk of greater damage, and the fighting has affected tanker traffic and supply flows. – Wall Street Journal
Small teams armed with the equipment set up near Iran’s air-defense emplacements and missile launch sites, the people said. When Israel’s attack began, some of the teams took out air defenses, while others hit missile launchers as they rolled out of their shelters and set up to fire, one of the people said. – Wall Street Journal
The U.S. military is operating in the air, on land and at sea to shoot down Iranian missiles fired at Israel in response to its attacks on Iran’s nuclear program and military leadership, tilting Washington toward more direct involvement in the widening conflict. – Wall Street Journal
People in Tel Aviv spent the night running to bomb shelters as Iran rained down hundreds of missiles on the city. On Saturday, a subdued normalcy settled over the city, with many shrugging off one of the longest nights since the attack on Oct. 7, 2023, that sparked the regional conflagration. – Wall Street Journal
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s shaky political position may have been solidified by Israel’s campaign against Iran’s nuclear facilities and its leadership, but to sustain public support he needs to show the military operation is a success and ensure it doesn’t become a protracted conflict, analysts say. – Washington Post
Iranian strikes on populated areas of Israel overnight killed at least eight people, the local authorities said on Monday, as Israel’s military attacked military sites in Iran and the four-day-old conflict between the Middle East’s two most powerful militaries showed no sign of slowing. – New York Times
Israel’s powerful strikes that targeted Iran’s nuclear infrastructure and killed senior military officials have been underpinned by its ability to traverse Iran’s skies without significant disruptions, according to current and former Israeli officials. – New York Times
Palestinians in Gaza said on Saturday that they worried the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran was shifting world attention away from their urgent humanitarian crisis. – New York Times
A United Nations conference set for next week to explore the creation of a Palestinian state has been postponed because of the fighting between Israel and Iran, President Emmanuel Macron of France says. – New York Times
President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he hopes Israel and Iran can broker a deal but said sometimes countries have to fight it out first. Talking to reporters as he left for the G7 summit in Canada, Trump said the U.S. will continue to support the defense of Israel but declined to say if he asked the U.S. ally to pause strikes on Iran. – Reuters
President Donald Trump vetoed an Israeli plan in recent days to kill Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Sunday. – Reuters
Israeli gunfire and airstrikes killed at least 41 Palestinians across Gaza on Sunday, local health authorities said, five of them near two aid sites operated by the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). – Reuters
The Israeli military on Sunday identified the second of two hostages whose bodies were recovered from Gaza last week as Aviv Atzili, who was taken captive during Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. – Reuters
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said she told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday that diplomacy was ultimately best on Iran, but stopped short of calling for an immediate ceasefire. – Agence France-Presse
A forum of seven members of the National Security Cabinet met frequently over the past year and discussed the attack against Iran that began on Friday, according to a source who spoke on condition of anonymity. – Jerusalem Post
Israel’s National Security Council (NSC) on Sunday urged Israelis stuck overseas to stop planning overland returns through Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula or through Jordan, saying both regions remain under its highest, level-4 travel alert amid soaring regional tension following last week’s Iranian missile strikes and the ongoing closure of Ben-Gurion Airport. – Jerusalem Post
Editorial: There is much TV chatter that a new regional war has begun in the Middle East, but Iran has been waging war against Israel and the U.S. for decades. Hundreds of Americans have died at its hands. Iran was able to do that killing with conventional arms. A nuclear-armed Iran would be a grave regional and global menace. Mr. Netanyahu has made the case against the Iranian threat for so long that many thought he would never take military action. But he and Israel, with its keen sense of existential dread, have acted against a danger that threatens everyone. – Wall Street Journal
Editorial: Israel struck while the moment was ripe. But the “day after” plan and the scope of U.S. involvement in shaping it are alarmingly opaque. Trump needs to proceed cautiously — and forthrightly — about exactly what he might be committing the country to. A president with an avowed aversion to sending American troops into “forever wars” in the Middle East should resist being dragged into a new one. – Washington Post
Editorial: That is what happened last time when Israel killed two senior commanders of the Guard in Damascus last April. In response, Iran launched 170 drones, 30 cruise missiles, and 120 ballistic missiles at Israel, almost all of which were intercepted by a joint effort of the U.S., the United Kingdom, France, and Israel. Two Israeli air force bases were hit, some damage was caused, but no one was killed. Any attention and resources diverted from the Pacific and China pose a risk to the national security of the U.S. But an unchecked Iran is also a danger and Israel did us a favor by crippling its military capabilities Friday. – Washington Examiner
David Ignatius writes: Israel’s tactical mastery is unquestioned. But in this latest assault on Iran — as in earlier campaigns in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen — Israel appears to have given relatively little thought to “the day after.” Does Israel seek regime change in Iran, to permanently bend Iran away from its revolutionary course? That seemed to be Netanyahu’s message in a Friday night televised pitch to the Iranian people. “This is your opportunity to stand up and let your voices be heard,” he said. But there is a danger of overreach. Netanyahu may have to settle for a strike that will neuter the Iranian nuclear threat for a few more years but set up a future conflagration. – Washington Post
Richard Nephew writes: Israel’s attacks against Iran appear to have been tactically brilliant and well informed. But its ability to carry out sophisticated strikes was never really in doubt. Analysts knew that the Israeli military was supremely capable and had tricks up its sleeve. Instead, the question was always whether an Israeli-only attack—or even a joint U.S.-Israeli operation—could meaningfully forestall an Iranian dash for nuclear weapons. The world will soon know the answer. – Foreign Affairs
Graeme Wood writes: None of these countries wants all-out war. And they certainly do not wish to volunteer themselves to be attacked, should Iran decide that Israel itself is too hard a target, and its allies are safer to pick on. Iran’s neighbors have plenty of beef with Israel too, and have populations that would be pleased to watch the Jewish state humbled. But Israel’s humiliation, if it must come, can wait. Iran has been unique among regional powers in its tendency to cultivate and arm allies abroad, and to aid those allies in their efforts in order to make trouble for incumbent autocracies, from Cairo to Baku to Sanaa. For Iran to go nuclear, and be able to dictate the terms of these relationships under the leisurely protection of an atomic umbrella, would be catastrophic for them all. Just don’t expect them to say so. – The Atlantic
Iran
Within 48 hours of starting its war on Iran, Israel said it gained air superiority over the western part of the country, including Tehran. Israeli warplanes began dropping bombs from within Iranian skies instead of relying on expensive long-range missiles. – Wall Street Journal
Iran unleashed a barrage of ballistic missiles at Israel late Friday and early Saturday as it retaliated for the waves of Israeli strikes that killed top military leaders and nuclear scientists, and damaged a key uranium enrichment site. – Washington Post
Israel and Iran exchanged more missile attacks on population centers on Sunday, brushing aside international calls to halt what has quickly become the fiercest clash in decades between the two sworn enemies. – New York Times
As Israel and Iran attacked each other with fresh strikes, Iranian citizens’ early hopes that the conflict would be short-lived were giving way on Sunday to fear that the violence they were seeing outside their windows will not end anytime soon. – New York Times
The latest round of talks between the United States and Iran on the future of Iran’s nuclear program has been canceled, officials said on Saturday. – New York Times
President Trump, in his first public comments on the Israeli strike against Iran, said that Tehran had brought the destruction on itself by failing to accept an offer that he had put on the table about two weeks ago in nuclear talks. – New York Times
Iran has told mediators Qatar and Oman that it is not open to negotiating a ceasefire while it is under Israeli attack, an official briefed on the communications told Reuters on Sunday, as the two foes launched fresh attacks and raised fears of a wider conflict. – Reuters
Iran does not intend to develop nuclear weapons but will pursue its right to nuclear energy and research, President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday, reiterating Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s religious edict against weapons of mass destruction. – Reuters
Israel on Sunday issued evacuation warnings to Iranians living near weapons production facilities in Tehran as the two nations continued to exchange missile attacks that began on Friday. – Reuters
Germany, France and Britain are ready to hold immediate talks with Iran over Tehran’s nuclear programme in an effort to de-escalate the situation in the Middle East, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said. – Reuters
Iran has asked Cyprus to convey “some messages” to Israel, President Nikos Christodoulides said on Sunday, as the east Mediterranean island appealed for restraint in a rapidly escalating crisis in the Middle East. – Reuters
Iran said the Shahran oil depot in Tehran was targeted in an Israeli attack on Saturday but that the “situation was under control”. – Reuters
No damage was seen at Iran’s Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant or the Khondab heavy water reactor under construction, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Saturday. – Reuters
Iran has partially suspended gas production at the world’s biggest gas field after an Israeli strike caused a fire there on Saturday, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported, in what would be the first Israeli strike on Iran’s oil and gas sector. – Reuters
Iran has reached out to Oman and Qatar, requesting that they mediate with Washington in an effort to halt the ongoing Israeli strikes and restart nuclear talks, a source familiar with the matter told The Jerusalem Post. – Jerusalem Post
Iran has executed a man who was found guilty of spying for Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad, the semi-official Fars news agency and the Iranian Student News Agency reported on Monday, identifying the man as Esmail Fekri. – Jerusalem Post
Iran has warned the United States, United Kingdom and France that their bases and ships in the region will be targeted if they help stop Tehran’s strikes on Israel, Iran’s state media reported. – Agence France-Presse
Editorial: The Middle East war Iran started is becoming an historic defeat. What began in the south of Israel with Hamas death squads—funded, armed and trained by Iran—is ending in Tehran, Natanz, Isfahan and, we hope, Fordow. Destroying the latter enrichment facility underneath a mountain likely requires U.S. planes, but leaving it intact would be a mistake, akin to putting out only half a fire. Mr. Trump says Iran has a last chance for a deal, so how about this? Dismantle Fordow and the rest of the enrichment program right now or lose them, and much more, by force. Iran doesn’t hold the cards here, and its leaders would be wise to take such a deal. But if history is a guide, they will refuse and suffer more defeats. – Wall Street Journal
Editorial: Mr. Trump posted on social media Sunday that “we can easily get a deal done” to end the war. But that prospect will be more likely if he helps Israel finish the military job. Israel is signaling that its campaign can take either a few days or many weeks. If Mr. Trump won’t help on Fordow, Israel will need more time to achieve its strategic goals. A neutral U.S. means a longer war. The President is no doubt concerned that Iran or its proxies will hit U.S. troops or bases in the Middle East. But it isn’t clear how much damage Iran could do given how much Israel has degraded Iran’s forces. Iran also knows that attacking U.S. forces would mean a far more devastating U.S. response. The U.S. could destroy Iran’s navy, oil and gas production facilities and export terminals. – Wall Street Journal
John Bolton writes: In the current crisis, further divisions within the regime’s leadership should be fostered and supported, especially among military officers who could emulate Egypt’s military during the 2011 protests against Hosni Mubarak, refusing to attack civilian protesters. If significant elements of the regular forces and Revolutionary Guard make clear they won’t fire on their own people, the regime could fall quickly. Offering amnesty to regime officials to switch sides could be a useful tool for a more consolidated opposition. – Wall Street Journal
Mathias Döpfner writes: The moment is favorable. Because America and Europe cannot win a three-front war and therefore cannot fight it. But if the anti-democratic triangle — China, Russia, Iran — succeeds in this coup, a different, non-democratic world order will prevail. That is why America and Europe, in their own interests alone, must stand united with Israel and do everything in their power to ensure that this historic liberation is achieved. This morning, my son asked me a question: “In the near future, will Israel become more like us, living in peace, or will we become more like Israel?” It depends. It depends on us. – Politico
Arash Azizi writes: Iran might also attempt to attack American bases in the region, or to strike Gulf countries allied with the United States. The latter possibility explains why several Gulf countries have normalized relations with Tehran and strongly condemned the Israeli attacks. Taking the war to these countries could drive up oil prices and hurt the global economy. It would also involve the U.S. more directly and make still more adversaries for Iran. Another course is possible. Maybe the time has at last come for the brittle, ideological, postrevolutionary regime to surrender. Maybe a new, pragmatic leadership will emerge—one that realizes that the time has come for Iran to stop picking fights, end its global isolation, and pursue its own development. – The Atlantic
Matthew Kroenig writes: After the dust settles, Iran will continue its antagonism to Israel and the United States, but, at least for the foreseeable future, Iran’s resistance will not be backed by the power of nuclear weapons. We have learned this week that Israel is willing to go to war to stop Iran from building nuclear weapons. So long as this remains true, Iran will not join the nuclear club. The world has struggled for more than two decades to stop one of the globally leading state sponsors of terror from building the deadliest weapon known to humankind. Israel’s actions this week have brought the world closer to that goal. – Foreign Policy
Russia and Ukraine
Just a few miles from the front line in eastern Ukraine, almost 20 feet below the surface, the day begins with a brief five-minute exchange between two surgeons — a father and his son. – Washington Post
Russian forces are hammering cities in Ukraine’s east and pushing farther into Ukrainian territory in the course of a summer offensive to seize the momentum on the battlefield and carve out buffer zones to secure areas already under its control. – Washington Post
Russia’s summer offensive in eastern Ukraine, launched in May, is showing battlefield gains across multiple fronts, probing and attacking with small, fast-moving units as fighting escalates daily. – New York Times
Russian forces carried out an overnight strike on the Kremenchuk oil refinery that supplies fuel to Ukrainian forces in the Donbas region, Russia’s defence ministry said on Sunday. – Reuters
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday that Ukrainian forces had recaptured Andriivka village in northeastern Sumy region as part of a drive to expel Russian forces from the area. – Reuters
Ukraine has received the bodies of another 1,200 Ukrainian soldiers killed in the war with Russia, as part of agreements to exchange both prisoners of war and the dead, Ukrainian officials said on Sunday. – Reuters
Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump held a lengthy call Saturday to discuss the escalating situation in the Middle East and Russia’s war in Ukraine. – Associated Press
One person was killed and 13 others wounded Sunday in a Ukrainian drone attack in Russia’s Tatarstan region, local authorities said. – Associated Press
Ukraine said on Saturday it hoped the military escalation between Israel and Iran would not lead to a drop in aid to Kyiv, at a time when European support is stalling without US engagement. – Agence France-Presse
Leon Aron writes: Mr. Trump’s moral indifference means he has no motivation, much less urgency, to help Ukraine. As Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth put it in June 10 congressional testimony, “a negotiated peace settlement is in the best interest of both parties and our nation’s interest.” Mr. Hegseth said the word victory hasn’t been well-defined, but isn’t an end to Russian aggression clear enough? Moscow’s measured “flexibility” is keeping futile negotiations alive until Mr. Trump wearily disembarks. As long as Mr. Trump wavers, Mr. Putin can continue proceeding, as Lenin put it, “one step forward, two steps back.” – Wall Street Journal
Hezbollah
Iran-aligned Iraqi armed group Kataib Hezbollah warned on Sunday it would resume attacks on U.S. troops in the region if the United States intervenes in the conflict between Israel and Iran. – Reuters
Hezbollah has long been considered Iran’s first line of defense in case of a war with Israel. But since Israel launched its massive barrage against Iran this week, the Lebanese militant group has stayed out of the fray. – Associated Press
The Israeli army is continuing to scale back its troop presence in the Gaza Strip in order to reinforce Israel’s northern and eastern borders, amid concerns over possible infiltration attempts by militias from Jordan and Syria, as well as the potential entry of Hezbollah into the fighting, Israeli defense officials have told Haaretz. – Haaretz
Syria
A former senior Syrian security official has told the FBI that American freelance journalist Austin Tice was killed in 2013 on the orders of President Bashar al-Assad, an account that has not been corroborated by the United States but marks the first time a senior official in the Assad regime has spoken to U.S. officials about Tice’s fate. – Washington Post
Iraq has officially reopened the Qaim border crossing with Syria for trade and passenger traffic, a spokesman for the Iraqi border authority said on Saturday, marking a key step in efforts to normalise relations and revive economic ties between the two countries. – Reuters
A Syrian civilian woman was killed by an Iranian drone that was shot down and fell on a house in the Tartus Governorate in the western part of the country, according to a Sunday report from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. – Jerusalem Post
Egypt
Egypt signed a financial closure deal on Sunday with Norwegian renewable energy developer Scatec for a 1 gigawatt solar plant, which will allow the project to move into its construction phase, the Egyptian cabinet said. – Reuters
Egyptian fertilizer producers were forced to halt operations on Friday due to a drop in natural gas imports from Israel, industry sources told Reuters. They said major Israeli gas fields had suspended operations following Israel’s military strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities and missile factories. – Reuters
Violent clashes broke out between Egyptian authorities and foreign pro-Palestine activists taking part in the ‘Resistance Convoy’ to Rafah on Friday and Saturday. Most of the clashes occurred while activists staged a sit-in outside the Ismailia checkpoint. – Jerusalem Post
Yemen
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis said on Sunday that they targeted Israel in coordination with Iran, the first time an Iran-aligned group has publicly announced joint cooperation on attacks with Tehran. – Reuters
The Israeli media said on Saturday that the Israeli military recently attacked Yemen, attempting to assassinate senior Houthi figure. – Reuters
The Israeli military said on Friday a missile that was launched from Yemen towards Israel fell to earth inside the city of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, adding that no interceptors were involved. – Reuters
Middle East & North Africa
Britain is moving additional military assets, including fighter jets, to the Middle East to provide support across the region, Prime Minister Keir Starmer told reporters on Saturday as he was en route to a Group of Seven meeting in Canada. – Reuters
Morocco is accelerating investments in desalination plants, water transfer projects and new dams to mitigate prolonged drought and meet rising demand from agriculture and cities, water minister Nizar Baraka said. – Reuters
The U.S. State Department issued security alerts on Friday for several Middle Eastern countries, in some cases advising against travel and warning of possible missile attacks after Israel launched military strikes against Iran. – Reuters
Gulf countries on Friday unanimously condemned Israel’s strikes on Iran in public, fearing an escalation that could threaten economic interests and security, but analysts said that many were quietly applauding the Israeli attacks. – Agence France-Presse
Geoff D. Porter writes: The U.S. has exceptionally good relations with Morocco. Morocco is a major non-NATO ally, the highest ally status a country can have with the U.S. outside the NATO framework. It is one of only four Arab countries to have a free trade agreement with the U.S. and is a signatory to the Abraham Accords, normalizing relations with Israel. The U.S. should use its considerable influence with Morocco to encourage it to reach an agreement with Algeria for the cooperative and equitable management of their shared transboundary water resources under the U.N. Water Convention, lest Algeria feels compelled to secure its national interest and its citizens’ wellbeing through other means. – The Hill
Korean Peninsula
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung plans to hold bilateral talks with the leaders of countries attending the G7 summit, with details still being coordinated, his office said on Sunday. – Reuters
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung said on Friday his government would focus on easing regulations and accelerate working-level tariff talks with Washington as part of broader support for companies on trade matters. – Reuters
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected military industrial factories, calling them to expand production of shells that meet modern warfare needs, state media KCNA said on Saturday. – Reuters
China
After the U.S. and China reached an agreement this past week to end the latest skirmish in their trade war, President Trump wrote on social media that he and Xi Jinping will “work closely together to open up China to American Trade.” – Wall Street Journal
China’s military held joint sea and air patrols in the South China Sea on Saturday, a spokesperson for the People’s Liberation Army’s Southern Theater Command said. – Reuters
U.S. aircraft carrier USS Nimitz left the South China Sea on Monday morning heading west, according to data from ship tracking website Marine Traffic, after a reception for its planned port call in central Vietnam was cancelled. – Reuters
The renewed U.S.-China trade truce struck in London left a key area of export restrictions tied to national security untouched, an unresolved conflict that threatens a more comprehensive deal, two people briefed on detailed outcomes of the talks told Reuters. – Reuters
China’s government on Friday said Taiwan was deliberately politicising the damage of undersea communication cables as part of a smear campaign, expressing anger after the island jailed a Chinese ship captain for an incident earlier this year. – Reuters
China’s government is reviewing impacts on the nation’s scientific research after President Donald Trump’s moves to withdraw funding from some US agencies and halt publication of certain categories of data. – Bloomberg
Robert M. Gates writes: The Trump administration’s disruption of outdated institutions provides a great opportunity to strengthen America’s nonmilitary arsenal. Failing to do so would mean abandoning the field to the Chinese, who already are running rings around us. Above all, there must be an overarching national strategy developed by the president and secretary of state—in collaboration with Congress—for applying nonmilitary instruments of power to the contest with China. We have no time to lose. – Wall Street Journal
Natalia Chabarovskaya writes: After the first wave of anti-Russian sanctions, Chinese contractors took over from their European counterparts on the Yamal LNG project, for example, gaining an opportunity to test their equipment in the harsh conditions of the Russian Arctic. The Russian market is also becoming valuable for many Chinese consumer goods manufacturers. Given Moscow’s enthusiasm for promoting de-dollarization of international payments, Russia is also developing into a significant experimental arena for yuan internationalization, which has been Beijing’s goal for more than a decade. – Center for European Policy Analysis
South Asia
Indian authorities have ordered what they called “extended surveillance” of all Boeing BA aircraft in the country’s fleet while they investigate the cause of Thursday’s crash of an Air India plane that killed at least 265 people. – Wall Street Journal
The intensity of the flames from the crash of Air India Flight 171 has made the identification of passenger remains a mammoth task, medical officials in India said on Sunday, as relatives of more than 200 victims waited outside a mortuary for a third day. – New York Times
All seven people on a helicopter in northern India were killed early on Sunday when it crashed while ferrying passengers on a popular Hindu pilgrimage route in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, officials said. – Reuters
Sri Lanka has made substantial progress on an IMF-supported economic reform program, but more work is needed to reduce the Asian country’s 24.5% poverty rate, tackle corruption and reduce domestic debt, the global lender’s No. 2 official said Monday. – Reuters
Pakistan’s central bank is expected to hold its policy rate on Monday, a Reuters poll showed, as many analysts shifted their previous view of a cut in the wake of Israel’s military strike on Iran, citing inflation risks from rising global commodity prices. – Reuters
Bangladesh’s interim leader signalled on Friday the possibility of holding a national election in February next year, two months earlier than previously announced. – Reuters
Asia
Increasing the number of nuclear powered submarines operated by Australia, Britain and the United States will make the Indo Pacific more secure and was in the United States’ interests, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday. – Reuters
Cambodia said on Sunday it had asked the International Court of Justice to resolve its border disputes with Thailand, after a flare-up in their long-running row led the Southeast Asian neighbours to mobilise troops on both sides of the border. – Reuters
The United States is pushing Vietnam in tariff talks to reduce the use of Chinese tech in devices that are assembled in the country before being exported to America, three people briefed on the matter said. – Reuters
Vietnam and the United States made progress during a third round of trade negotiations last week, but critical issues remain unresolved, requiring further analysis and continued dialogue, Vietnam’s trade ministry said on Sunday. – Reuters
The new prime minister of Mongolia has pledged to address the economic demands of protesters after their daily rallies led to the fall of his predecessor. – Associated Press
Europe
Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service will be led by a woman for the first time in the agency’s history after Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced Sunday that he had selected a career spy with extensive experience in technology and Middle East operations to lead the storied MI6. – Washington Post
French President Emmanuel Macron visited Greenland on Sunday, saying he was bringing “a message of solidarity and friendship” from France and the European Union to a strategic Arctic territory that President Donald Trump has vowed to “get” for the United States “one way or another.” – Washington Post
French President Emmanuel Macron, during a visit to Greenland to offer his support to the Arctic island, said on Sunday that Russia lacked the credibility to mediate the crisis between Israel and Iran as U.S. President Donald Trump has suggested. – Reuters
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that Iran bore a heavy responsibility for destabilisation of the Middle East and that it had pushed ahead with an unjustified nuclear programme, but he also urged restraint after Israel struck Iran. – Reuters
Canada and the United Kingdom agreed on Sunday to set up a trade working group which will submit its recommendations to the prime ministers of the respective countries within the next six months, a joint statement by the two governments said. – Reuters
A German court is set to deliver a verdict on Monday in the case of a Syrian doctor accused of crimes against humanity, including the torture of detainees at military hospitals in Syria, in a landmark trial following the collapse of the Assad regime. – Reuters
Former president Nicolas Sarkozy has been stripped of his Legion of Honour, France’s highest distinction, after being convicted of corruption and influence peddling last year, according to a decree published in Sunday’s Official Bulletin. – Reuters
Thousands of people took to the streets of cities in southern Europe on Sunday to demonstrate against overtourism, firing water pistols at shop windows and setting off smoke in Barcelona, where the main protest took place. – Reuters
The Austrian government plans to tighten national gun laws after enduring its worst school shooting, Chancellor Christian Stocker said in an interview broadcast on Saturday. – Reuters
Finnish prosecutors are considering pressing charges against three senior officers of an oil tanker suspected of damaging undersea power and telecommunications cables in the Baltic Sea in December, police and the prosecutor said on Friday. – Reuters
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Cyprus on Sunday in a visit focused on the potential role the island could play in linking India to Europe via a trade corridor, officials said. – Reuters
Tens of thousands of demonstrators in the Netherlands donned red clothing and marched Sunday to protest the Dutch government’s policy toward Israel, exceeding the turnout for a similar event in May. – Associated Press
Less than two weeks before a NATO summit, Sweden and the Netherlands said Friday that they intend to increase defense spending to 5% of their gross domestic product, in line with U.S. President Donald Trump’s demands. – Associated Press
Sweden and the Netherlands are pressing the European Union to sanction members of the Israeli cabinet over the war in Gaza, joining several other nations in the region whose stance on Israel has hardened in recent weeks. – Bloomberg
France is boosting security, including around Jewish and US sites on its territory, because of the conflict between Israel and Iran, the country’s interior minister said in a domestic order sent on Saturday. – Agence France-Presse
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said she told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday that diplomacy was ultimately best on Iran, but stopped short of calling for an immediate ceasefire. – Agence France-Presse
Germany said Sunday it was reinforcing security around Israeli and Jewish sites in its territory against possible reprisal attacks by Iran. “We are also preparing ourselves in Germany in case Iran targets Israeli or Jewish institutions,” Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced to reporters before flying out to attend a G7 summit in Canada. – Agence France-Presse
Africa
At least 100 people have been killed in an attack by gunmen on a village in Nigeria’s central Benue state, Amnesty International Nigeria said Saturday. The attack took place from late Friday into the early hours of Saturday in the village of Yelewata, the group said in a post on social media platform X. – Reuters
Nigeria’s Ogoni activists on Friday rejected a posthumous pardon for nine members executed three decades ago by a military dictatorship, criticising President Bola Tinubu’s move as inadequate and perpetuating injustice. – Reuters
Mali’s government will establish a state-controlled gold refinery with Russia’s Yadran to boost bullion revenue as West African nations aim for greater resource returns amid rising commodity prices, the country’s finance minister said. – Reuters
Thousands of protesters gathered in Ivory Coast ‘s capital Abidjan on Saturday to demand the reinstatement on the electoral list of main opposition leader Tidjane Thiam, a former CEO of Credit Suisse, who was barred from running in the presidential election set for October. – Associated Press
Guinea’s military junta has created a new institution that will be responsible for managing elections, including a constitutional referendum in September and the general and presidential elections set for December. – Associated Press
Malian security forces clashed with members of an armed separatist group over two days, resulting in the deaths of 10 separatists, the Malian army said Friday. The Azawad separatists said it killed dozens of Malian soldiers and members of a Kremlin-controlled armed force. – Associated Press
The head of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo met with leaders of the Rwanda-backed rebel group M23 on Friday in Goma, in her first visit to the eastern city of Goma since its capture by the insurgents. – Associated Press
Nicholas Naquin and Carlos Roa write: Africa is vast, fragmented, and beset by internal challenges. But it’s also fast-growing and more geopolitically open than anywhere else. Many of its leaders are tired of China: the debt traps, the cheap goods, the closed meetings. They want options. Washington doesn’t need to pretend to love Africa. But it does need to show up with something to offer. In Mr. Trump’s second term, who is better to lead that than someone who’s un-fireable, unflappable, and unlikely to get lost in the fog of Foggy Bottom? Send in Mr. Vance. – Wall Street Journal
The Americas
President Trump has pushed to annex Canada, called its former prime minister the governor of the 51st state and imposed stiff tariffs on Canadian imports, perplexing and perturbing the country’s leaders and citizens. This week, Trump will bring his disruptive brand of politics to Canadian soil. – Wall Street Journal
Prime Minister Mark Carney wants to use a Group of Seven summit starting Sunday to showcase Canadian strength and unity. But global leaders will be visiting an oil-rich province that is considering a divorce from Canada. – Wall Street Journal
Members of Canada’s Sikh community who were warned by police that their lives were at risk and allege the Indian government is responsible for the threat are incensed by Ottawa’s invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the G7 summit in Alberta. – Reuters
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Friday became the latest world leader to call for a stronger security force in Haiti, as the underfunded, poorly manned U.N.-backed mission has failed to make headway against the nation’s spiraling gang crisis. – Reuters
Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, the first female president of Nicaragua, died early Saturday morning in Costa Rica at the age of 95, her family announced in a statement. – Reuters
Editorial: Canada has a proud military history, from Vimy Ridge in 1917 to Juno Beach in 1944, and more recently rallying to America’s side after 9/11. The Canadians held down Kandahar province in Afghanistan during some bloody years of the Taliban’s resurgence. The world isn’t getting any safer, and Mr. Carney will need to follow through on his commitment—and then some—to restore Canada’s reputation and capabilities after a decade of decline. – Wall Street Journal
Mary Anastasia O’Grady writes: Apologists for the 2016 Santos surrender to FARC leadership call continued violence from the group the work of “dissidents.” But the flourishing of the ELN and other organizations like Clan del Golfo prove that when you reward terrorism and criminality, you get more of it. Sending a teenager to kill Mr. Uribe also looks like fallout from the Santos surrender. Recruiting children as assassins, sex slaves and cannon fodder is a long-established guerrilla practice. Yet the Colombian elite gave the FARC a blanket pardon, and unelected seats in the legislature to boot, without requiring any accounting of the thousands of youngsters it abused and sacrificed over the years. Why not keep doing it? – Wall Street Journal
United States
On the first day of his second term, President Trump predicted he would be remembered as a peacemaker and a unifier. “Our power will stop all wars and bring a new spirit of unity to a world that has been angry, violent and totally unpredictable,” Trump said on Inauguration Day. About five months later, the world is proving to be more angry, violent and unpredictable than Trump bargained for. – Wall Street Journal
A man suspected of shooting two state Democratic lawmakers was arrested late Sunday after authorities tracked him into an area with crops and woodlands in rural Minnesota, authorities said. – Wall Street Journal
Organizers in more than 2,000 cities are mobilizing for “No Kings” rallies Saturday in opposition to President Trump and his military parade in Washington. Among those watching closely: extremist organizations on social media. – Wall Street Journal
The fragile nature of American unity was on display across the country Saturday. Joined by tens of thousands of spectators, President Trump presided over a military parade celebrating the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, a pageant of soldiers in Revolutionary War uniforms, Sherman tanks from World War II and heavy equipment from every modern military conflict. – Wall Street Journal
The United States is considering restricting entry to citizens of an additional 36 countries in what would be a significant expansion of the travel ban announced by the Trump administration early this month, according to a State Department memo reviewed by The Washington Post. – Washington Post
The United States on Friday told the United Nations Security Council that it would “be wise” for Iran to return to the negotiating table as Tehran accused the US of taking part in Israeli strikes on its nuclear and missile facilities. – Agence France-Presse
Eli Lake writes: Ultimately, the fortunes of the Trump administration’s restrainers and hawks depend above all else on factors out of their control: the performance of the Israel Defense Forces and the decision of Iran’s supreme leader. Three days into the war, the anxious predictions of the restrainers have not come to pass. Neither yet has the victory hoped for by the hawks. Netanyahu has warned that the war could last “weeks.” The longer that the war lasts, the harder it will be for Trump to keep both sides happy. – The Free Press
Editorial: Americans should be able to recognize the nuanced nature of many political debates while also recognizing that antisemitism has become an urgent problem. It is a different problem — and in many ways, a narrower one — than racism. Antisemitism has not produced shocking gaps in income, wealth and life expectancy in today’s America. Yet the new antisemitism has left Jewish Americans at a greater risk of being victimized by a hate crime than any other group. Many Jews live with fears that they never expected to experience in this country. No political arguments or ideological context can justify that bigotry. The choice is between denouncing it fully and encouraging an even broader explosion of hate. – New York Times
Cybersecurity
The Washington Post is investigating a cyberattack on email accounts of some of its journalists, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Sunday. There has been a possible unauthorized targeted intrusion affecting a few journalists, the source said. The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the breach, said it was potentially the work of a foreign government. – Reuters
Nvidia (NVDA.O) CEO Jensen Huang has been pitching the idea of “sovereign AI” since 2023. Europe is now starting to listen and act. The concept is based on the idea that the language, knowledge, history and culture of each region are different, and every nation needs to develop and own its AI. – Reuters
Canada’s WestJet Airlines is investigating a cybersecurity incident that has disrupted access to its mobile app and some internal systems, affecting an undisclosed number of users, the airlines said in a statement on Friday. – Reuters
As the second-ever National Cyber Director, Harry Coker, Jr. continued the rollout of the new National Cyber Strategy and focused on cyber rule harmonization efforts while working in the Biden White House. – The Record
Ransomware gangs have been exploiting a vulnerability in remote device control software SimpleHelp during a recent string of attacks, according to federal cybersecurity officials. – The Record
Defense
Small, difficult to detect and able to pack a powerful punch, attack drones have become a formidable weapon in modern warfare. But when launched from deep inside enemy territory — as in Iran and in Russia this month — their impact is all the more devastating. – New York Times
American air defense systems and a Navy destroyer helped Israel shoot down incoming ballistic missiles Friday that Tehran launched in response to Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities and top military leaders, U.S. officials said. – Associated Press
The Pentagon is moving two destroyers toward the Eastern Mediterranean as Israel braces for a retaliatory attack from Tehran after Friday’s airstrikes on Iranian military targets. – Politico
European NATO countries are eyeing drones for airborne electromagnetic-warfare operations including radar jamming, a skill many of the continent’s air forces are currently lacking. – Defense News
Four Silicon Valley technology executives from major companies are joining the U.S Army Reserve as officers to inject the speed and expertise of commercial technology development into military innovation through the newly established Detachment 201, an Executive Innovation Corps, the service announced Friday. – Defense News
Michael Schaffer writes: All the same, he said Democrats could maybe learn a thing or two from the instinct behind Trump’s embrace of the parade, if not from the event itself: Sometimes, it’s politically useful to publicly celebrate things you like — people and triumphs that the broader public might also embrace. “There’s a whole language of commemoration that Dems are just in the wrong key about,” he said. “They don’t get it.” And even if the day is a smashing political success for Trump, it’s not exactly certain that it heralds some permanent shift in either his standing or the politics of the military. After all, the popular president who hosted the joyous 1991 parade was turfed out of office less than 18 months later. – Politico
James Holmes writes: In my judgment, however, the directive does not fully reflect the Mahanian centrality of trade and commerce, or of the nonmilitary elements of sea power. However, the strategy is deeply, deeply multinational in character. It makes clear, time and again, that allies, partners, and friends are crucial to American success on the high seas. So what are the trendlines? We are trending toward joining China as a Mahanian competitor; we are increasingly joint in our maritime operations; our leadership is sidling toward our first genuinely maritime strategy; and we acknowledge our reliance on allies, partners, and friends in the region. All of which is good. We have our minds right. Now we just need to execute. And fast. – The National Interest