Today In Issues:
FDD Research & Analysis
The Must-Reads
Israeli military says it fired shots near Gaza aid distribution site GHF updates on aid distribution success, debunks Hamas propaganda Iran poised to dismiss US nuclear proposal, Iranian diplomat says New York Post Editorial: Face facts, Team Trump: Iran doesn’t want a nuke deal Ukraine’s stunning assault roils Russia's global military strategy Russia sets out punitive terms at peace talks with Ukraine US gives nod to Syria to bring foreign jihadist ex-rebels into army Lebanon faces mounting pressure from Hezbollah over war response Myanmar junta says extends temporary ceasefire to June 30 Pivot Point Group’s Eliot Wilson: Can Germany reassert itself as Europe’s military giant? Colorado fire-bomb suspect planned attack for a year, prosecutors say WSJ Editorial: The intifada comes to BoulderIn The News
Israel
The Israeli military said on Tuesday it fired shots at individuals about half a kilometre from the aid distribution site of U.S.-backed GHF in Gaza. The individuals were moving towards forces in a way that “posed a threat to them”, the military said. – Reuters
Three Israeli soldiers have been killed in fighting in the northern Gaza Strip, the military said on Tuesday. The soldiers’ deaths were announced hours after Hamas’ armed wing said on Monday its fighters were engaging in “fierce clashes” with Israeli forces in the north of the territory. – Reuters
Israel on Monday called a demand by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres for an investigation into alleged deadly violence at a Gaza humanitarian aid site a “disgrace.” – Agence France-Presse
Elderly Irish woman Máire ní Mhurchú, who is known as D Murphy, was reportedly arrested by the IDF in the West Bank Palestinian village of Khalet al-Daba’a on Sunday night, Irish media reported on Monday. – Jerusalem Post
A Hezbollah member from Nabatieh in southern Lebanon was arrested over allegedly collaborating with Israeli intelligence, Saudi-owned outlet Al Hadath reported on Monday. – Jerusalem Post
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) announced Monday that it has distributed close to six million meals in its first week of operations in Gaza, and it intends to open even more aid distribution sites. – Jerusalem Post
IDF Arabic Spokesperson Avichay Adraee urged civilians in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza to evacuate due to IDF activity, in a post to X/Twitter on Monday. – Jerusalem Post
Increased involvement by Qatar and Egypt amid a deadlock in hostage deal negotiations could help narrow gaps between the sides, with the coming days considered critical for progress, senior Israeli officials told Walla Monday. – Jerusalem Post
Israeli air defenses intercepted a ballistic missile launched at the country by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen on Monday night, the military said, in what has become an almost daily occurrence. – Times of Israel
The pretext for broadening the war in Gaza is that increased military pressure, along with harsh humanitarian restrictions imposed by the IDF, will force Hamas to accept the new Witkoff plan. – Haaretz
Israeli officials are expressing growing concern over a series of unexpected personnel changes within the U.S. administration, particularly involving individuals widely seen as strongly supportive of Israel. – Ynet
Juliette Kayyem writes: The two attacks are linked not only by their motivation, but by their horrific, performative intimacy. Terrorism always aims to shock with the gruesomeness of bloody murder—one thinks of the Islamic State decapitation videos. Yet terrorism typically wields the threat of random violence, the notion that any innocent might be caught in its vortex of cruelty. These attacks are different because they were directed very specifically at people the attacker took to be Jewish. Their intimacy was precisely intended to inflict horror on a particular community and imply that no Jew could be innocent. – The Atlantic
Iran
Iran is poised to reject a U.S. proposal to end a decades-old nuclear dispute, an Iranian diplomat said on Monday, dismissing it as a “non-starter” that fails to address Tehran’s interests or soften Washington’s stance on uranium enrichment. – Reuters
Iranian, Egyptian and U.N. leaders met in Cairo on Monday to discuss Iran’s nuclear program after the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency in a confidential report said Iran is further increasing its stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels. – Associated Press
The US won’t allow any uranium enrichment as part of a potential nuclear deal with Iran, President Donald Trump said. – Bloomberg
Editorial: But Iran has just been buying time, while sprinting full-speed toward a nuke: Hardly the behavior of a regime that wants to get a deal done. With its proxies across the Middle East decimated, Iran’s rulers plainly figure going nuclear is the best way to guarantee their own safety and start turning the tide back. The prez was rightly also clear that a deal must come fast, or it’d be Plan B; Tehran is hoping it can still stall long enough by stringing Trump’s negotiators along until it’s too late. No more overtures. No more compromises. No more fruitless talks. Show Iran what’s behind Door No. 2. – New York Post
Nik Kowsar and Alireza Nader write: At a time of U.S. aid pullbacks, this isn’t just humanitarian—it’s strategic. As seen during Trump’s recent Middle East visit, environmental collapse fuels instability, migration, and regional unrest. Empowering Iranians to stay and thrive supports long-term U.S. interests without boots on the ground. This is “America First” done right: Stop the next refugee wave, weaken the regime’s grip, and let Iranians reclaim their future. Trump exposed the corruption. Now he can lead the plan to stop it—before it floods over America’s borders. – Foreign Policy
Elliott Abrams writes: This is the moment to make Iran choose: a permanent agreement under which it completely ends enrichment, agrees to civil nuclear power with imported fuel only, fully opens its program to international inspection, and abandons its nuclear weapons ambitions — or alternatively understands that in rejecting such an agreement it is choosing a path whose consequences for the regime will be dire. To allow Iran to escape this choice would be a diplomatic disaster that would sooner or later threaten the security of the United States and its allies. – National Review
Russia and Ukraine
Ukraine’s unprecedented drone strikes on Russian air force bases weaken Moscow’s ability to wage war on its smaller neighbor and undermine its capacity to threaten more distant rivals such as the U.S.—a shift with potentially far-reaching geostrategic implications. – Wall Street Journal
Russia told Ukraine at peace talks on Monday that it would only agree to end the war if Kyiv gives up big new chunks of territory and accepts limits on the size of its army, according to a memorandum reported by Russian media. – Reuters
Ukrainian shelling and drone attacks triggered power cuts over swathes of Russian-controlled territory in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions in the south of Ukraine, Russia-installed officials said early on Tuesday. – Reuters
Russian shelling killed at least five people on Monday in different frontline areas of eastern Ukraine, officials said. Vadym Filashkin, governor of Donetsk region, the focal point of the Russian military’s slow westward advance, said one person was killed and two injured in the city of Kramatorsk. – Reuters
Ukraine’s attack against several Russian air bases on Sunday shows that Kyiv is successful in defending itself, Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Monday. – Reuters
Bernard-Henri Lévy writes: On the other side, a patriotic citizen army, motivated and knowing why it combats—an army that has proved its mastery of the most advanced military technologies, its excellence not only in trench warfare but also in the new remote and ghost warfare. Ukraine will defeat Russia on the battlefield or impose the terms of a just peace. Either way it will win the war. – Wall Street Journal
Kateryna Bondar writes: Conventional air defenses are often ill-suited for this new threat landscape, prompting an urgent call for innovation in early detection, electronic warfare, and layered physical defenses. Together, these trends point to a future where technological agility, not just industrial scale, determines strategic advantage. The militaries that adapt early—by investing in resilience, countermeasures, and adaptive doctrine—will be best positioned to meet the challenges of a rapidly evolving battlefield. – Center for Strategic and International Studies
Syria
The United States has given its blessing to a plan by Syria’s new leadership to incorporate thousands of foreign jihadist former rebel fighters into the national army, provided that it does so transparently, President Donald Trump’s envoy said. – Reuters
Syrian authorities and a Kurdish-led force exchanged Monday more than 400 prisoners as part of a deal reached earlier this year between the two sides. – Associated Press
Trading resumed on the Damascus Securities Exchange on Monday after a six-month closure, as Syria ‘s new leaders attempt to shore up the country’s battered economy and begin rebuilding after nearly 14 years of civil war. – Associated Press
Missing American journalist Austin Tice was imprisoned by the Assad regime and questioned by a Syrian intelligence officer, the BBC reported on Monday, citing uncovered intelligence files from the former government. – Jerusalem Post
Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa is once again under fire after controversial remarks about a “shared enemy” between Syria and Israel sparked a wave of criticism and speculation across the Arab world about the future of relations between the two countries. – Haaretz
Middle East & North Africa
A fire that erupted at a pipeline carrying gas from Iraq’s northern Kirkuk oilfields to power stations was contained, Iraq’s oil ministry said in a statement on Monday. No casualties were recorded, the ministry said, citing the state-run North Oil Co, which manages the northern oil and gas fields. – Reuters
The French anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into whether the killing of a Tunisian national in southern France was a racially motivated crime “related to a terrorist undertaking”. – Reuters
Algeria’s foreign ministry said it “regrets” Britain’s decision on Sunday to support Morocco’s automony plan for the disputed territory of Western Sahara, overturning a decades-long policy in favor of self-determination. – Agence France-Presse
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam met on Monday with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and told him that the government needed over 7 billion dollars to rebuild the country after the damage caused by the war. Salam said his government is committed to rebuilding “what had been destroyed in the Israeli attacks.” – Ynet
Daniel Freedman writes: Deal-making is an exercise in realism. It moves parties from rhetoric to practical wins. For those in the camps, citizenship and freedom from second-class status are big wins. For Libya, Lebanon and Syria, it offers funds to rebuild. For Saudi Arabia and Qatar, supporting the plan generates deep US goodwill and peace with Israel. For Israel, it removes a propaganda and terrorist-inspiring tool. And for the US, besides fostering peace and saving money, it might win President Trump a peace prize. – Jerusalem Post
Korean Peninsula
In a country that mostly outlaws guns, the front-runner for president has been campaigning for Tuesday’s vote clad in a bulletproof vest and giving speeches behind bulletproof glass. – New York Times
South Korean e-commerce and courier companies agreed to a rare halt of their delivery services on Tuesday to allow busy delivery workers time to cast their ballot in the country’s snap presidential election after pressure from unions and activists. – Reuters
South Korea’s leading presidential hopefuls crisscrossed the country on the final day of campaigning on Monday before converging on Seoul, vowing to revive an ailing economy and put months of turmoil over a failed martial law attempt behind them. – Reuters
Victor Cha writes: Trump has shown a tendency to forge ahead with policies on the Korean peninsula […] without the necessary due diligence in terms of consultations within the interagency process, with allies, and intelligence assessments vis-à-vis the adversary. If such force posture adjustments lead to opportunistic aggression or strategic miscalculation by North Korea or other actors, then the goal of being laser-focused on preparing for a Taiwan fight will be undermined. – Center for Strategic and International Studies
China
In its deepening face-off with the Trump administration, Beijing’s trade negotiator has given a preview of Xi Jinping’s chief objective for this trade war: It won’t be like last time. – Wall Street Journal
Two Japanese men were killed in Dalian, a city in northeastern China, and a suspect has been detained, Kyodo News reported on Tuesday, citing the Japanese embassy in China. Chinese police notified the Japanese consulate in Shenyang on May 25 about the killings, saying they resulted from a business dispute between acquaintances, the report said. – Reuters
President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping will likely speak this week, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday, days after Trump accused China of violating an agreement to roll back tariffs and trade restrictions. – Reuters
Karishma Vaswani and Lisa Jarvis write: That would help Xi, as he tries to reinvigorate an economy enduring a prolonged property slump, weak consumer and business confidence, and persistent deflation. But these moments of cooperation are rare. Weaponizing fentanyl as part of trade negotiations will only yield limited results. If Washington wants lasting progress, it must engage Beijing as a partner, and match any expectations abroad with serious commitments at home. – Bloomberg
South Asia
Gautam Adani, Asia’s second-richest man, is trying to get the Trump administration to drop foreign bribery charges against him. Instead, he is facing a new front in his fight with prosecutors: a probe into whether his companies are buying Iranian petrochemical products. – Wall Street Journal
At least 34 people have died in India’s northeastern region after heavy floods caused landslides over the last four days, authorities and media said on Monday, and the weather department predicted more heavy rain. – Reuters
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday that recent record aircraft orders from the country’s airlines are just the beginning for the world’s fastest-growing domestic aviation market. – Reuters
Over 200 prisoners escaped in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi late on Monday after they were permitted to leave their cells following a series of earthquake tremors, local officials and police said. – Reuters
Myanmar’s junta said it has extended a temporary ceasefire to June to support reconstruction and relief efforts following a massive earthquake in late March that killed at least 3,700 people and devastated parts of the country. – Reuters
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said he’s “very optimistic” about prospects for a trade deal between the US and India, adding he thinks trade negotiators have “found a place that really works for both countries.” – Bloomberg
Asia
Mongolia’s Prime Minister Luvsannamsrai Oyun-Erdene has stepped down after losing parliamentary support following corruption claims that erupted into street protests last month, the country’s parliament said on Tuesday. – Reuters
Cambodia said it plans to seek a ruling from the U.N.’s International Court of Justice over border disputes with Thailand, one of which triggered a fatal military clash last week. – Associated Press
Taiwan said China escalated military pressure around the region in May, deploying dozens of warships and government vessels daily in what it described as an extreme pressure campaign. – Bloomberg
The Philippines, the world’s top rice importer, plans to look beyond its dominant supplier, Vietnam, to ensure steady supplies and competitive prices at home. – Bloomberg
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto used a national holiday address to deliver a sharp warning to the country’s political elite, urging underperforming public officials to step down or face removal. – Bloomberg
The Philippines’ defense secretary cast doubt on a $5.6 billion purchase of American F-16 fighter jets approved in April, saying Manila hasn’t yet decided whether to move forward with the sale. – Defense News
Peter Dean and Alice Nason write: Pillar II needs the same treatment. The enabling factors, from political will to defense trade legislation, are now in place for Pillar II to deliver upon long-anticipated promises. […] It will wither politically, and it will thus fade into irrelevance. If this opportunity continues to be squandered, each country will be giving away its greatest prospective asymmetric advantage in an intensifying global defense technology race. The time to invigorate AUKUS Pillar II is now. – War on the Rocks
Europe
The U.K. will build up to 12 nuclear-powered attack submarines and spend 15 billion pounds ($20.18 billion) on its nuclear-warhead program, as part of a decade-long defense strategy. – Wall Street Journal
The German border police can no longer reject asylum seekers who arrive from neighboring European Union countries without investigating their claims, a Berlin court ruled on Monday, dealing a blow to Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s attempts to control such migration. – New York Times
A man who set fire to a copy of the Koran outside the Turkish consulate in London was found guilty on Monday of committing a religiously aggravated public order offence, in a verdict critics said effectively reinstated an abolished blasphemy law. – Reuters
Dutch far right leader Geert Wilders said on Tuesday his PVV party would leave the governing coalition, toppling the right wing government and likely leading to new elections. Wilders said his coalition partners were not willing to embrace his ideas on halting asylum migration, for which he had demanded immediate support last week. – Reuters
Nordic, Baltic and central European NATO members are committed to Ukrainian membership of the military alliance, the leaders of Poland, Romania and Lithuania said following a summit of the so-called B9 and Nordic countries on Monday. – Reuters
Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk will call for a parliamentary vote of confidence in his coalition government, after his candidate, Rafal Trzaskowski, lost the presidential election on Sunday. – Reuters
The victory of nationalist Karol Nawrocki in Poland’s presidential election looks set to strain relations with Ukraine and embolden Donald Trump-inspired conservatives in central Europe, analysts and diplomats said on Monday. – Reuters
European Union governments have backed a European Commission proposal to put limits on Chinese medical device suppliers’ bidding on public contracts after finding EU companies were not given fair access to China’s public tenders, EU diplomats said on Monday. – Reuters
North Macedonia announced plans Monday to abolish all import taxes on the United States in the hope of reaching a reciprocal zero-tariff deal with the Trump administration. – Associated Press
The European Union on Monday said it is preparing “countermeasures” against the United States after the Trump administration’s surprise tariffs on steel rattled global markets and complicated the ongoing, wider tariff negotiations between Brussels and Washington. – Associated Press
French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will look to patch up difficult relations during a bilateral meeting in Rome on Tuesday, as Europe grapples with the seismic geopolitical shifts caused by the Trump administration. – Bloomberg
Lionel Laurent writes: Yet the familiar urban-rural divide was on display in this election, just as it was in Portugal. The revenge of “places that don’t matter” is increasingly palpable. There is no magic wand to fend off the twin pressures of Trump and Putin’s Russia, but time is running out for Europe’s leaders to understand and address why voters are heeding MAGA’s siren song. – Bloomberg
Eliot Wilson writes: It may be, however, that Chancellor Merz’s determination to make Germany great again, to adapt a phrase, will encourage Europe to attend to its own defense, as the president has so long wanted. The end result may be that Europe buys much less military equipment from major U.S. manufacturers. Lockheed, RTX, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, Boeing and others will just have to understand. – The Hill
Simone Rodan-Benzaquen writes: Austria had previously produced assessments, but few have led to action. Belgium has accommodated Brotherhood-linked networks under the banner of multiculturalism. And the United States? Here, the conversation barely exists. While several American Muslim organizations have historical or ideological ties to the Brotherhood, public scrutiny is rare, and political discourse tends to avoid the subject entirely. But the warning is clear. The threat is not just in France. It’s in Europe. It’s crossed the Atlantic. It’s all around you. – The Free Press
Africa
A Kenyan and a Ugandan human rights activist who were detained in Tanzania for several days last month said on Monday that Tanzanian security officers sexually assaulted them while in custody. – Reuters
The Nigerian Air Force killed more than 20 armed militia members and destroyed 21 motorcycles in an airstrike in northwestern Zamfara state over the weekend, thwarting a planned large-scale attack on villages, a spokesperson said on Monday. – Reuters
Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in Democratic Republic of Congo executed at least 21 civilians over two days in February in the eastern city of Goma, Human Rights Watch said in a report published on Tuesday. – Reuters
An explosion was heard near a Roman Catholic shrine in Uganda’s capital on Tuesday morning, Ugandan media reported, and the army said two armed people were “neutralized” in the Munyonyo suburb ahead of celebrations for the Martyrs Day public holiday. – Reuters
An Al Qaeda-linked jihadist group active in West Africa’s Sahel region has claimed an attack on a military base in Mali on Sunday that two sources said had killed more than 30 soldiers. – Reuters
The Americas
Around 13% of Mexicans likely turned out to vote in the country’s first-ever judicial election, Mexico’s INE electoral authority said on Monday, as the government hailed a successful process while analysts said the low turnout could undermine an already controversial reform. – Reuters
Prime Minister Mark Carney, seeking to reduce Canada’s economic ties to the United States, on Monday met the heads of the 10 provinces as part of a push to slash the time needed to approve mining and energy projects. – Reuters
Guatemala’s attorney general’s office announced arrest warrants on Monday for a group of people including Colombia’s attorney general and a former UN anti-corruption prosecutor, drawing condemnation from the foreign ministry in Bogota. – Reuters
Panama’s Maritime Authority has removed from its registry more than 650 vessels since 2019 as part of an effort to fulfill U.S. sanctions and enforce stricter rules for the ships it flags, it said on Monday. – Reuters
Jair Bolsonaro’s insistence he can pull off a Donald Trump-like comeback in Brazil’s looming election has paralyzed his fervent right-wing movement, effectively blocking the search for a successor to the ineligible former president. – Bloomberg
Faced with an electoral campaign fought on two fronts — against the left and the hard right — Chile’s presidential front-runner Evelyn Matthei is trying to mark a difference not through sweeping promises, but by recognizing the cold, hard facts of a weak economy. – Bloomberg
United States
An Egyptian national charged with tossing gasoline bombs at a pro-Israeli rally in Boulder, Colorado, injuring a dozen people, planned his attack for a year and used Molotov cocktails instead of a gun because his noncitizen status blocked him from buying firearms, prosecutors said on Monday. – Reuters
A second group of white South Africans has arrived in the United States under a refugee program announced by the Trump administration, officials and advocacy groups said Monday. – Associated Press
President Donald Trump condemned an attack in Boulder, Colorado that targeted a march in support of Israeli hostages taken by Hamas and said he would work to remove the suspect in the attack from the US. – Bloomberg
Two foundational government pathways for the resettlement of Afghan allies and refugees would be terminated under executive branch plans shared with Congress last week. – Military Times
Editorial: Mr. Soliman is a migrant from Egypt, and the Trump Administration has played up that he is in the U.S. on an expired visa and had applied for asylum. But his immigration status isn’t the main issue. What matters is the rising tide of antisemitism in the U.S. The rhetoric of anti-Israel protesters in favor of violence has consequences, which includes actual violence against Jews or “Zionists.” This will get worse if it isn’t denounced by all political sides. – Wall Street Journal
Editorial: The Boulder attack came on the eve of another Jewish holiday: Shavuot, which celebrates God’s gift of the Torah to the Jewish people at Mount Sinai. […] A worthwhile approach — though not guaranteed to work, particularly at a satisfying speed — is the one the Boulder walkers used to highlight the plight of the Hamas hostages: peacefully appealing to people’s basic humanity. – Washington Post
Michael Rubin writes: The U.S. military’s experience and model too often blinds U.S. pundits and politicians who seek to export it, never mind the lackluster results that followed. Perhaps rather than lecture to democracies on the frontline of wars against terrorist and genocidal dictators, the United States should humbly start to listen to them for Washington could use a dose of the brilliance that both Jerusalem and Kyiv now demonstrate. – 19fourtyfive
Cybersecurity
Air Mobility Command is set to deploy a commercial AI platform that supplies a “street-level threat intelligence view” and is custom-designed to help military officials better assess real-time risks — like small drones — anywhere forces deploy, two sources familiar with the work told DefenseScoop. – Defensescoop
The fiscal 2026 budget proposal President Donald Trump unveiled last week would make deep cuts to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency workforce, with a goal of eliminating 1,083 positions and chopping its budget by $495 million, to $2.4 billion. – Cyberscoop
Multiple sites used to test malware against real antivirus tools were taken down by law enforcement in the U.S. and Netherlands last week. – The Record
A little-known hacking group has emerged as a major threat to Russian state institutions and critical industries, carrying out attacks aimed at causing maximum disruption and extracting financial gain, according to a new report. – The Record
Editorial: If you want to know why in 2023 there was a brief sensation of TikTok Zoomers just learning about Osama bin Laden’s propaganda letter to America, it’s worth asking ByteDance if these videos were boosted. The president now has an opportunity to follow the will of Congress and the ruling of the Supreme Court when it comes to TikTok. If he cannot find an American buyer for the social media platform in three weeks, then he has no choice. He has to ban TikTok. This is not a discussion. It’s the law. – The Free Press
Judd Rosenblatt writes: The U.S. is the nation that split the atom, put men on the moon and created the internet. When facing fundamental scientific challenges, Americans mobilize and win. China is already planning. But America’s advantage is its adaptability, speed and entrepreneurial fire. This is the new space race. The finish line is command of the most transformative technology of the 21st century. – Wall Street Journal
Defense
Following Ukraine’s stunning attack over the weekend that used small drones to target and destroy Russia’s strategic bombing aircraft, the U.S. Army is applying big picture observations to its ongoing force transformation. – Defensescoop
In another effort to speed up drone acquisition, the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) is using a “new and agile” process to develop and deploy uncrewed systems at faster speeds and larger scales, the agency announced today. – Breaking Defense
Arizona-based company Hydronalix is working to expand the military utility of its general purpose unmanned surface vehicle (USV), Reckless, according to Hydronalix’s president Robert Smith. – Janes