Today In Issues:
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Israel will protect its interests if US, Iran engage in peace talks, Netanyahu says Hamas rebuilding rapidly in Gaza as Israel’s attention remains elsewhere, experts warn Iran sends waves of missiles into Israel, dismisses Trump's talk of negotiations as 'fake news' ‘We're in the testing phase’: Trump admin eyeing Iran’s parliament speaker as US-backed leader WINEP’s Matthew Levitt: Will Iran turn to terrorism? Rockets launched from Iraq’s Mosul towards US base in Syria, sources say The back-channel diplomacy behind Trump’s U-turn on Iran Gulf states edge toward joining fight against Iran Kim Jong Un says North Korea’s nuclear status is irreversible, threatens South China is mapping the ocean floor as it prepares for submarine warfare with the U.S. Taiwan debates military spending as choices over U.S. and China loom Ambulances set ablaze at London synagogue in attack Starmer calls antisemiticIn The News
Israel
By the time the air-raid sirens sound in this kibbutz near the Lebanon border, Hezbollah’s missiles are often only seconds away. Since war between Israel and Hezbollah returned in early March, the place looks like a well-maintained ghost town, with clean roads and tidy gardens, but no one around. – Wall Street Journal
Less than 48 hours before the U.S.-Israeli strike on Iran began, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke by phone to President Donald Trump about the reasons for launching the kind of complex, far-off war the American leader once had campaigned against. – Reuters
Israel should extend its border with Lebanon up to the Litani River deep inside the country’s south, Israel’s finance minister said on Monday as Israeli troops bombed bridges and destroyed homes in an escalating military assault. – Reuters
The Israeli military said on Monday it is conducting strikes in Tehran, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States and Iran had held talks and that he would postpone any strikes on power plants and energy infrastructure. – Reuters
El Al Israel Airlines (ELAL.TA), said on Monday it would sharply cut back its operations and seat availability will shrink to 5% of normal after the Transportation Ministry ordered a reduction of traffic at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv. – Reuters
The role of Israel’s hijacking of Iran’s street cameras in the killing of the country’s supreme leader underscores how surveillance systems are increasingly being targeted by adversaries in wartime. – Associated Press
A malfunction in the David’s Sling aerial interceptor system allowed two Iranian ballistic missiles to strike southern Israel, wounding dozens of people over the weekend, the military confirmed Monday. – Agence France-Presse
US President Donald Trump believes Israel and the US can reach a joint agreement with Iran that protects Israel’s interests, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement on Monday. – Jerusalem Post
Israel is a major target for cyberattacks on critical infrastructure, according to a new study by cybersecurity firm Claroty, which analyzed hundreds of attacks by global hacking groups aimed at disrupting daily life and sowing chaos. – Jerusalem Post
In a stunning move mid-war, the IDF on Monday announced that it is diverting forces from the invasion of Lebanon to the West Bank to rein in Jewish violence against Palestinians in recent weeks. – Jerusalem Post
At least four people were wounded Monday by a Hezbollah rocket attack on the northern border city of Kiryat Shmona, as the Iran-backed terror group fired multiple salvos into Israel. – Times of Israel
Sirens were heard Tuesday morning around 7:30 a.m. in central Israel-for the second time within three hours-following missile fire from Iran. Residents in Tel Aviv reported four impact sites, one of which involved a direct hit on a building, with several vehicles also damaged. – Arutz Sheva
The Shin Bet and the police thwarted a planned terror attack targeting the Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir. A 20-year-old suspect from eastern Jerusalem has been arrested. – Arutz Sheva
The IDF continues to further degrade the Iranian regime’s military systems and capabilities. Dozens of IAF fighter jets, acting on IDF intelligence, completed a wide-scale wave of strikes on the Iranian regime’s infrastructure in the area of Tehran. – Arutz Sheva
While Israel focuses on threats from Iran and the northern front, Hamas is quietly reconstructing its infrastructure and strengthening control over Gaza, according to security experts. – Arutz Sheva
The head of Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) Ibrahim Kalin met with members of Hamas’s political bureau in Istanbul, according to Turkish security sources quoted by the Anadolu news agency. – Arutz Sheva
Editorial: Israelis are paying a price in this war. They deserve to know that the price is not being paid in vain. The tide is not turning toward Iran. It is turning against the idea that Iran can threaten an entire region and expect everyone else to live with the consequences. If this war leaves Tehran more isolated, more exposed, and more openly resisted by its Arab neighbors, that will shape the Middle East long after the sirens fall silent. – Jerusalem Post
Iran
After strikes that decimated much of Iran’s leadership, the country’s top diplomat has become the chief messenger of a defiant regime. Abbas Araghchi, 63 years old, has long been known in Western diplomatic circles as the lead negotiator, resisting pressure to accept strict limitations on Iran’s nuclear program. – Wall Street Journal
President Donald Trump said Monday the United States is negotiating with Iran to end the three-week-old war, declaring that the two sides had two days of “very good and productive conversations” that will continue throughout this week. – Washington Post
President Trump’s order to postpone strikes on Iran’s power plants gives the country a small reprieve, but U.S. and Israeli strikes have already battered critical infrastructure and stoked popular outrage over the war, even among Iranians who oppose their government. – New York Times
The energy crisis caused by the Iran war is worse than the combined effect of the oil shocks in the 1970s, the leader of the International Energy Agency said on Monday, warning that it would take time to resolve even if the war were to end soon. – New York Times
The cases of individuals arrested over Iran’s nationwide protests earlier this year have been processed, first deputy Chief of the Judiciary Hamzeh Khalili said on Monday, with cases given a final verdict now being implemented – Reuters
A British man detained in Tehran urged Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday to “step out of the shadows” and publicly deny the spying charges against him and his wife, who fear for their lives more than three weeks into the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. – Reuters
Iran launched multiple waves of missiles at Israel, the Israeli military said, after U.S. President Donald Trump postponed a threat to bomb the Islamic Republic’s power grid because of what he described as productive talks with Iranian officials. – Reuters
The Trump administration is quietly weighing Iran’s parliament speaker as a potential partner — and even a future leader — as the president signals a shift from military pressure toward a negotiated endgame. – Politico
Despite weeks of reports about a potential game-changing US operation to fully open the Strait of Hormuz, such an operation against Iran is not imminent, and may not occur at all, The Jerusalem Post has learned. – Jerusalem Post
Following statements by U.S. President Donald Trump, an Israeli official said Washington has set April 9 as a target date for ending the war, leaving about 21 days for continued fighting and negotiations. – Ynet
David Ignatius writes: What worries me as this war is cresting are those caught in the crossfire. The United Arab Emirates, for example, cautioned Washington against going to war, but the UAE took more missile and drone hits than Israel. It wanted Trump to “finish the job” but seems likely to get something considerably less. And the Iranian people, who marched in the streets to protest a regime they detest, died by the tens of thousands in January as the regime cracked down. Everyday Iranians are the real victims: They shouldn’t be left on the precipice much longer. – Washington Post
Shukriya Bradost writes: As such, Iranian Kurdish leaders are carefully watching for signs of international engagement that puts pressure on a central state to protect minority rights. This is particularly the case regarding the United States, which they see as playing an important role in encouraging future negotiations between Kurdish representatives and whatever political leadership emerges in Tehran in spite of the United States’ at-times ambivalent approach to Kurdish pushes for greater autonomy elsewhere. – Washington Institute
Michael Eisenstadt and Assaf Orion write: Accordingly, Washington and its partners will need to combine direct and indirect approaches, countering Iran’s attacks while checkmating its strategy, in order to deter perpetual threats and, by relying in part on non-destructive, indirect measures, create an opening for diplomacy. At the same time, they must prepare for the possibility of continued disruptions to global shipping, energy flows, and markets, designing a potential follow-on campaign to ensure freedom of navigation through the strait against a wounded but still dangerous and aggrieved regime. – Washington Institute
Matthew Levitt writes: Tehran may believe that a successful terrorist attack on U.S. soil could fan the political flames in the United States, prompting protests against an unpopular war and forcing the Trump administration to find an off-ramp. Such an attack could produce the opposite result: a “rally around the flag” effect that gives the war the mandate among the U.S. public it so far lacks. But at the moment, Iran may see no option other than hitting back as hard as it can, wherever it can. Tehran remains a desperate regime. U.S. officials should take its desperation—and the danger that desperation entails—seriously. – Foreign Affairs
Stavros Atlamazoglou writes: With these resources in easy reach, using spies to snap pictures often amounts to a waste of resources. As the Iran conflict continues, one thing is clear: the United and Israel have decisively defeated Iran in the war of intelligence. American and Israeli intelligence officers have managed to recruit assets to penetrate Tehran’s political, military, and intelligence establishment. As a result, the country’s head of state is dead and its senior leadership has been decimated. Iran’s attempts to gather intelligence on its enemies seem amateurish by comparison. – The National Interest
Russia and Ukraine
In an icy bunker in eastern Ukraine, Capt. Denys Poliachenko worried as Russian forces built up equipment about 20 miles away. His attack drones, their batteries sapped by temperatures far below freezing, could not reach that far. – New York Times
Ukraine’s military intelligence has “irrefutable” evidence that Russia continues to provide intelligence to Iran and such activity can only prolong the war in the Middle East, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday. – Reuters
U.S.-Israeli strikes near the Bushehr nuclear power plant in Iran are extremely dangerous and Russia has shared its concerns with the United States, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday. – Reuters
Russia plans to open four ground control stations for long-range attack drones in Belarus, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday, citing information from Ukraine’s military intelligence service. – Reuters
Russia’s Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga resumed oil loadings on Monday after a drone attack alert was lifted, three sources familiar with the matter said, while neighbouring Primorsk remained shut following aerial strikes. – Reuters
Russia launched drones and missiles overnight on Tuesday at Ukraine, killing at least three people, damaging houses and triggering fires, Ukrainian officials said. The attack came as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned on Monday of an imminent, mass Russian attack on the country, citing Ukrainian intelligence. – Reuters
Russia’s steel industry is emerging as a new pain point for the Kremlin, with major producers beginning to shut capacity in the face of slowing domestic demand and limited export options. – Bloomberg
Suzanne Loftus writes: Russia’s ability to sustain its war in Ukraine depends not only on battlefield dynamics but also on the strategic ecosystem that helps it circumvent Western sanctions and evade diplomatic isolation. This coalition helps shape the narrative that the West is no longer dominant in an emerging multipolar world order. If this coalition weakens or realigns because of the use of American hard power, Russia’s strategic environment shifts to its disadvantage. With a renewed willingness to use coercive tactics in today’s great-power competition, the United States can begin to reshape the broader geopolitical landscape by weakening adversarial coalitions. Assuming the West sustains current levels of support for Ukraine and pressure on Russia, these geostrategic shifts could impact Russia’s prospects in the war. – The National Interest
Iraq
Airstrikes targeting a site belonging to Iraq’s Shi’ite Popular Mobilization Forces in the western province of Anbar killed at least 15 fighters, including the PMF’s Anbar operations commander, and wounded 30 others, security and health sources told Reuters early on Tuesday. – Reuters
At least seven rockets were launched from the Iraqi town of Rabi’a towards a U.S. military base in northeastern Syria on Monday, two Iraqi security sources said, the first attack of its kind since the start of the U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran. – Reuters
At least six Kurdish Peshmerga fighters were killed and 22 wounded in a rocket attack on their base north of Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan, security and Peshmerga sources said on Tuesday. – Reuters
Iraqi leader Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani said he would accelerate the dismantling of a US-led international anti-jihadist coalition, in an interview with an Italian newspaper published Monday. – Agence France-Presse
Lebanon
Israel targeted seven areas of Beirut’s southern suburbs overnight killing at least two people, Lebanese state media reported on Tuesday. – Agence France-Presse
French President Emmanuel Macron, hosting an event attended by a Lebanese minister, on Monday issued a warning that “occupation” does not bring security, in a message seen as directed at Israel. – Agence France-Presse
While the fighting in the north continues and escalates, and tensions along the Lebanon border show no signs of abating, more and more testimonies point to a certain shift in internal discourse in Lebanon regarding Hezbollah. – Jerusalem Post
Adnan Nasser writes: Whether Hezbollah succeeds in relieving pressure on Iran, demonstrating residual strength, or attempting to restore deterrence, the consequences will be borne locally. Infrastructure damage, economic strain, and political fragmentation will not be evenly distributed across the region—they will be concentrated in Lebanon itself. In that sense, the question of victory may be less relevant than it appears. Hezbollah may not be able to claim victory in the traditional sense. If a ceasefire in the war is implemented that allows the Iranian regime to remain intact, the Shia party and paramilitary will see this as a way to reclaim its military prestige. Even so, in the end, Hezbollah’s constituency, the people of southern Lebanon, are the ones paying the ultimate price. – The National Interest
Gulf States
Foreign ministers from Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan gathered before dawn Thursday in Riyadh for talks aimed at finding a diplomatic off-ramp to the war in Iran. But there was one big problem, according to Arab officials involved in the discussions: finding a counterpart in Iran to negotiate with. – Wall Street Journal
U.S. allies in the Persian Gulf are inching toward joining the fight against Iran, getting tougher following persistent attacks that have disrupted their economies and risk giving Tehran long-term leverage over the Strait of Hormuz. – Wall Street Journal
Bahrain has put forward a draft United Nations Security Council resolution that would authorise countries to use “all necessary means” – diplomatic language for force – to protect commercial shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz, according to a text seen by Reuters on Monday. – Reuters
Middle Eastern airlines, some of the biggest globally, have been hit hard by the Iran conflict that has seen attack drones and missile strikes across the Gulf region, disrupting busy airport hubs and redrawing traffic routes across the skies. – Reuters
Middle East & North Africa
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will travel to Algeria this week as Rome looks to secure alternative gas supplies amid prolonged disruptions in deliveries from Qatar. – Reuters
Libya’s El Feel oilfield has been in shutdown since Thursday after state oil company National Oil Corporation (NOC) used its pipeline to transport crude from the Sharara field after its pipeline was damaged by fire, two El Feel engineers said on Monday. – Reuters
In a city that has long prided itself on never sleeping, Cairo’s streets now tell a different story. The street lights in Egypt’s Nile-side capital of about 25 million have been dimmed to conserve energy, one of several measures introduced by authorities to cope with energy prices pushed significantly higher by the Iran war, now in its fourth week. – The National
Korean Peninsula
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country would permanently strengthen its nuclear forces and treat South Korea as its most hostile state, as he set out policy priorities in a speech to parliament, state media KCNA reported on Tuesday. – Reuters
The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said Monday a summit between her brother and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi won’t happen if Japan sticks to “its anachronistic” approach. – Associated Press
The conflict in Iran is pushing Middle Eastern countries toward South Korea’s lower-cost air defense systems, opening a new opportunity to expand its arms export footprint beyond Europe. – Bloomberg
China
In December, Treasury Wine Estates, an Australian wine company that is one of the world’s largest, said it had a problem on its hands: excess wine valued at about $150 million sitting in distributor warehouses in China. – Wall Street Journal
Facing sharply rising energy prices, China on Monday took steps to defray costs for its more than 300 million drivers who depend on gas-powered cars. – New York Times
Hong Kong police can now demand that people suspected of breaching the city’s national security law provide mobile phone or computer passwords in a further crackdown on dissent. – Reuters
Global corporate executives attending China’s flagship annual business conference this week were reassured by leaders of the world’s second-largest economy that it remains a predictable anchor at a time of geopolitical flux and global uncertainty. – Reuters
China is conducting a vast undersea mapping and monitoring operation across the Pacific, Indian and Arctic oceans, building detailed knowledge of marine conditions that naval experts say would be crucial for waging submarine warfare against the United States and its allies. – Reuters
China has lodged solemn representations with the Japanese after what it described as a “forceful break-in” at its embassy in Tokyo, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Tuesday. – Reuters
President Xi Jinping called for Xiong’an New Area to play a leading role in advancing innovative policies in sectors like technology and finance, reaffirming his commitment to develop a high-tech hub near Beijing. – Bloomberg
Daniel Rechtschaffen writes: In a best-case scenario, the China visit proceeds with minimal disruptions, and both sides buy more short-term stability. It may be undergirded by a trade and investment framework that allows for regular touchpoints like purchase commitments by specific dates to maintain the truce into the future. This will not, however, meaningfully address the deep mutual mistrust built up over the last decade. Neither side will adjust their divergent geopolitical strategies, nor will Beijing or Washington remove any of the coercive tools they have built up as contingencies for when things go south. – War on the Rocks
South Asia
Two tankers bound for India sailed through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, as U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to attack Iran’s power plants unless Tehran drops threats that have effectively closed the Gulf. – Reuters
The fundamentals of the Indian economy are strong and the country has adequate availability of petroleum, fertilisers and coal to weather trade and energy disruptions caused by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday. – Reuters
Traders have offered Iranian oil to Indian refiners at a premium to ICE Brent after Washington temporary removed sanctions to ease the energy crisis caused by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, three industry sources said. – Reuters
Pakistan is making a push to mediate talks to end the US-Israeli war against Iran, with its powerful army chief holding calls with President Donald Trump to find a resolution to the fighting, people familiar with the matter said. – Bloomberg
Asia
While the United States wades deeper into war in the Middle East, Taiwan is in the middle of a political fight over how to counter China’s growing strength. – New York Times
Australia and the European Union signed a trade deal on Tuesday that was eight years in the making, removing tariffs for almost all European goods and for nearly all exports of Australian critical minerals. – Reuters
Thailand must submit written comments to the United States on the U.S. Section 301 trade investigation by April 15, the commerce ministry said on Monday. – Reuters
Improving ties with Beijing does not require being anti-U.S., while Taiwan’s survival depends on stable relations with China, the leader of Taiwan’s largest opposition party said on Monday. – Reuters
Asian countries are turning to coal as the Iran war disrupts oil and gas shipments. The continent is exposed because it relies on imported fuel, much of it passing through the Strait of Hormuz — a chokepoint for about a fifth of global oil and natural gas trade. – Associated Press
Japan’s top government spokesperson said Monday that one of two Japanese nationals detained in Iran has safely returned home in good health. – Associated Press
Jessica C. Liao and Zenel Garcia write: Ultimately, Southeast Asia’s fate rests on its own institutions. Without stronger governance, a firmer rule of law, and more effective regulation, the region will suffer. ASEAN’s strategic road map for economic integration and development over the next five years, published in 2025, lays out concrete steps for member states to strengthen institutions, enforce labor and environmental standards, and improve investment governance and transparency. But success hinges on the political will to face up to the challenge and implement these commitments. Only then can the region build a foundation from which it can finally take flight. – Foreign Affairs
Europe
President Trump has criticized Europe for staying on the sidelines in the Iran war. But many European countries are quietly playing a crucial supporting role. While many European leaders have publicly decried the U.S. attacks on Iran, behind the scenes their military bases are facilitating one of the most logistically complex operations the U.S. military has been involved in for decades. – Wall Street Journal
The European Union will provisionally apply its trade agreement with South American countries from May 1, the European Commission said as lawmakers in the bloc are still waiting to ratify the accord. – Wall Street Journal
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the torching of four ambulances operated by a Jewish charity overnight was a “deeply shocking antisemitic arson attack.” – Washington Post
Italians have rejected a government plan to overhaul the country’s judiciary, according to results published on Monday, dealing the first major jolt to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s authority since her election three years ago. – New York Times
Flemming Frederiksen, a retired typesetter and union leader, remembers coming home from work years ago, exhausted and ready for a break, only to find his daughter standing on the front steps of their red-roofed cottage with her arms crossed. – New York Times
An Iranian man who was arrested last week for allegedly attempting to enter Britain’s nuclear submarine base in Scotland has been released pending further inquiries, Scottish prosecutors said on Monday. – Reuters
Britain said on Monday the Iranian ambassador to the UK had been summoned after an Iranian national and one British-Iranian dual national were charged last week on suspicion of helping Iran’s intelligence services. – Reuters
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban ordered a probe on Monday into what he called a wiretapping of his foreign minister as his government sought to deal with the fallout from a media report about its links to Russia before an April election. – Reuters
Czech police and defence company LPP, which produces drones for Ukraine, are investigating a fire at a factory in the city of Pardubice for possible links to Russian interests, LPP said on Monday. – Reuters
Pope Leo sharply criticised aerial bombardments on Monday, saying they are indiscriminate and should be banned, in his latest anti-war comments as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran enters its fourth week. – Reuters
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz promised on Monday to move quickly with promised reforms to tax and social security after his conservative Christian Democrats beat his Social Democrat coalition partners in a weekend state election. – Reuters
Slovenia’s political parties looked set for urgent coalition talks on Monday after no clear winner emerged from an election that could sway the Alpine country’s domestic and foreign agenda. – Reuters
The long-awaited trial over a train crash that killed 57 people in Greece in 2023 was adjourned soon after opening on Monday due to poor courtroom conditions and amid protests outside against what many see as the state’s role in the incident. – Reuters
The leaders of over a dozen European far-right parties gathered in Hungary’s capital on Monday in a show of support for Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, a nationalist figure beloved by U.S. and European conservatives whose performance in a pivotal election in April could set the tone for the movement’s future. – Associated Press
Hungarian opposition leader Peter Magyar said he will oust Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s key allies — including the president and chief justices — if his party wins a supermajority in elections on April 12. – Bloomberg
UK prime minister Keir Starmer said he is looking at wider measures to support Britain’s economy through the Iran crisis as he prepares to chair an emergency meeting on the economic impact of the conflict. – Bloomberg
British Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has admitted that antisemitism continues to rise in the United Kingdom following an arson attack on four Jewish volunteer ambulances belonging to the Hatzolah organization in Golders Green, north London, The Telegraph reported on Monday. – Arutz Sheva
Jillian Kay Melchior writes: The starker contrast is on foreign policy. Mr. Magyar’s election platform criticizes Fidesz for “leading our country out” of the EU and “constantly obstructing and destroying [its] functioning.” Tisza says it does “not support any war effort.” It opposes accelerated EU accession for Ukraine and sending Hungarian soldiers to any war. But it also believes that Hungary should orient itself toward Europe, not Russia, which it labels “the war aggressor.” That’s a big improvement. – Wall Street Journal
Martin Krasnik writes: Maybe that’s the crux of it: Denmark has undergone such a vibe shift that almost everybody accepts that we have to be ready to defend ourselves, and we’re free to wonder what else our politicians stand for. Ms. Frederiksen will most likely have her third term, and an opportunity to complete what she has started. After that, many assume she will move on to a diplomatic job in Europe, or perhaps the top job at NATO. Whatever she does next, Denmark has changed fundamentally, and is better prepared for a world that lurches from one crisis to the next. – New York Times
Leo Pearlman writes: Yet we are encouraged to treat this as distant, abstract, disconnected. It is not disconnected. It is the same pattern, same direction of travel, same refusal to confront reality until it becomes unavoidable. So, now we are here. Ambulances burned in London by an Iranian terror group, because they are funded by Jews. You can continue to explain it away, to soften it, to tell yourself this is temporary, isolated, manageable. Or you can accept the reality of where we are and act accordingly. If you care about what happened last night, prove it. Support the people who save lives and help rebuild what was destroyed. They burned ambulances and if that still doesn’t force clarity, then there is no line for you. Only a point at which it finally becomes yours. – Arutz Sheva
Africa
Chad has begun the emergency relocation of refugees from its border with Sudan as the army prepares to deploy to the area in response to cross-border attacks, an official from the country’s refugee agency told Reuters on Monday. – Reuters
Ship-refuelling companies along Africa’s coast are seeing a surge in business as more vessels divert around the Cape of Good Hope, with war in the Middle East reshaping global shipping routes and boosting the continent’s role as a bunkering hub. – Reuters
The ruling party candidate in Benin’s upcoming presidential election has vowed to create municipal police forces in northern border towns to defend against persistent attacks from jihadist groups. – Reuters
Ukraine is interested in importing liquefied natural gas from Mozambique, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday, as it struggles to meet its energy needs following years of Russian attacks on its production infrastructure. – Reuters
Zimbabwe released on bail the leading opponent of planned constitutional amendments that would extend the rule of the country’s 83-year-old president and have the post elected by Parliament, not the people. – Associated Press
An explosion killed at least one person and injured an unspecified number of people Monday in Nigeria’s north-central Kwara state, police said, in the latest attack in an area where Muslim militants have been increasingly active. – Associated Press
Conor Savoy writes: That is the work that could produce a durable U.S. commercial presence in Zambia’s copper and cobalt sector, and it is work that USAID did for many years. The administration must establish a firm, permanent firewall between humanitarian and strategic assistance, and then direct the full weight of its economic tools toward building the conditions that make U.S. investment in Zambia viable in the long term. That is the return on investment the administration claims to want — and it is achievable without making global health funding a bargaining chip. – The Hill
The Americas
A large military transport plane carrying Colombian army troops crashed Monday in a forested part of the country’s southern jungles, killing dozens as its fuselage was engulfed in flames after hitting the ground, officials said. – Wall Street Journal
The Canadian and American flags could be seen billowing at a distance in the all-white Arctic landscape — the Maple Leaf visibly lower than the Stars and Stripes. – New York Times
Mexico’s government is negotiating the return of international experts to take back up investigations into the 2014 disappearance of 43 students in southern Guerrero state, President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Monday. – Reuters
The U.S. and Costa Rica have signed an initial agreement for Costa Rica to accept migrants deported by the U.S. from other countries, Costa Rica’s presidency said on Monday. – Reuters
Brazil’s hospitalized former President Jair Bolsonaro has been discharged from the intensive care unit, local media reported on Monday, citing his doctor. – Reuters
Peruvian President Jose Maria Balcazar on Monday appointed Waldir Ayasta as the country’s new Minister of Energy and Mines following the resignation on Sunday of predecessor Angelo Alfaro after he was accused of raping a minor in the year 2000. – Reuters
Editorial: President Donald Trump has mused about taking over the island, and his administration is openly pining for regime change. The White House doesn’t care about spreading democracy so much as having a friendlier government. Yet the island’s visitors weren’t exactly pushing for democratic change. The truth is that these activists only care about Cubans now that they have an excuse to rail against America. The schtick might have been more convincing without the parties. – Washington Post
United States
U.S. gas exporters are emerging as among the biggest beneficiaries of President Donald Trump’s war with Iran, as governments in Asia scramble for alternatives to Middle Eastern fuel. – Washington Post
Two pilots died in a runway accident that shut New York’s LaGuardia Airport on Monday and U.S. President Donald Trump deployed armed immigration agents to help ease long security lines at major airports strained by personnel shortages. – Reuters
A former U.S. congressman illegally lobbied U.S. officials to ease pressure on ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government, a U.S. prosecutor said on Monday at the opening of a trial that will feature testimony from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. – Reuters
At war with Iran, President Donald Trump is cycling through an increasingly desperate list of options as he searches for a solution to the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz. He has jumped from calls to secure the waterway through diplomatic means to lifting sanctions and now escalating to a direct threat against civilian infrastructure in the Islamic Republic. – Associated Press
The Trump administration said Monday it has initiated two new investigations into Harvard University over alleged antisemitism on campus and racially discriminatory admissions practices. – Bloomberg
The Trump administration ending its war against Iran now would essentially cede control of the key energy choke point of the Strait of Hormuz to Tehran, President Donald Trump’s former secretary of Defense said Monday. – Politico
Editorial: Mr. Trump could include support for Ukraine—buying some of Kyiv’s counter-drone hardware, for instance—and press Democrats to pass it. The U.S. isn’t meeting the 5% of GDP standard for defense that Mr. Trump demanded for NATO. This is a national liability that predates the Iran war, and $200 billion is a realistic number for starting to fix the problem, so Americans never again read headlines about insufficient missile stocks days into a war. – Wall Street Journal
Walter Russell Mead writes: Mr. Trump has weathered many crises. The Iran war is the greatest—and gravest—challenge he has faced. Harry S. Truman, Lyndon B. Johnson and George W. Bush could all tell him how difficult war leadership can be in a divided America. […] Mr. Trump launched what he expected to be a short war. One hopes that optimism proves justified, but if the war continues for more than a few additional weeks, he will need to build broader support abroad and at home to carry it through—while keeping his MAGA base united behind him. That’s a tough assignment, but nobody ever said being president of the U.S. was an easy job. – Wall Street Journal
Shirin Yadegar writes: The athletes who sought asylum and those forced to return under threat represent millions of Iranian women living under a regime that fears their independence, their voices, and their freedom. Meanwhile, here in California, we benefit from the very freedoms they are risking everything to obtain. That should not just inspire sympathy. It should demand responsibility. Because freedom is not just something we celebrate. It is something we are obligated to defend. The women of Iran are not asking for attention. They are demanding dignity. And the question for those of us living freely, especially those who claim to stand for women, is simple: Will we use our voices while we still can? Or will we remain silent while they risk everything to be heard? – New York Post
Glenn VanHerck and Ramon Marks write: The bottom line is that the United States must move forward aggressively to address these new UAS threats and others emerging in the homeland. Legacy approaches defined by stove-piped responsibilities and authorities no longer work. That antiquated framework must be promptly replaced by a collaborative, integrated architectural network that enables fused domain awareness and real-time collaboration among key decision-makers. Joint Interagency Task Force 401 is a solid first step in this direction, helping propel such a reorganization. It calls for full support from all agency stakeholders. That task force should be urgently empowered at the White House level to address policy and capability gaps swiftly. – The National Interest
Cybersecurity
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission said on Monday it was banning the import of all new foreign-made consumer routers, the latest crackdown on Chinese-made electronic gear over security concerns. – Reuters
The Trump administration’s two-week old cyber strategy that aims to promote more proactive, offensive actions while bolstering federal networks and critical infrastructure, is a significant shift that’s already materializing in meaningful ways, a group of experts said Monday at the RSAC 2026 Conference. – Cyberscoop
Decentralized finance platform Resolv said a recent cyberattack allowed a threat actor to compromise the company’s infrastructure and illicitly create $80 million worth of its USR stablecoin. – The Record
Andy Puzder and Jacob Helberg write: Europe can play in that architecture—but it must show up as a genuine partner. The State Department’s Pax Silica initiative is building the network the AI race requires, knitting together energy, critical minerals, semiconductor manufacturing and computing capacity across trusted nations. The EU’s talent, capital and industrial base belong in that network. Europe can join the U.S. and other AI-first economies, or it can continue regulating its way into irrelevance. We hope it will join. – Wall Street Journal
Enrique Dans writes: But the technology that makes them possible is, to a large extent, commercial, modular, and increasingly accessible, so the simple dynamics of technological diffusion mean that the advantage does not remain in the hands of the few for long. More and more states, and eventually non-state actors such as terrorist groups, will attempt to turn people into coordinates and coordinates into targets. AI-powered weapons are capable of eliminating people, decapitating regimes, and turning assassination into a simple target shot. When that happens, war will cease to be a dispute over territory and will become a systematic hunt for identities. That is the real historical leap that we have in front of us. It is not appetizing. – Center for European Policy Analysis
Defense
Senior military officials are weighing a possible deployment of a combat brigade from the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division and some elements of the division’s headquarters staff to support U.S. military operations in Iran, defense officials said. – New York Times
U.S. Navy counter-mine ships that replaced minesweepers last year in Bahrain have yet to demonstrate their reliability and effectiveness in the face of potential naval mine warfare, according to the Defense Department’s testing office and military experts. – Military Times
America and Britain are joining forces to tackle the threat of underwater drones to ports and other critical infrastructure, according to a solicitation by the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit. – Defense News
Damir Marusic writes: The Shaheds detonating around the Persian Gulf underline the point that the era of relying purely on exquisite, expensive weapons is over. Watching cheap drones tear apart Ukraine’s Western-provided air defenses should have been a wake-up call, but the problem remained theoretical. Washington carefully rationed what was sent to the Ukrainians without asking difficult questions about U.S. arsenals. Now, by depleting existing stocks, Trump is forcing the reckoning: Just how will the U.S. rebuild? Hopefully, voices like Sankar’s will prevail as the scramble begins. – Washington Post