Today In Issues:
FDD Research & Analysis
The Must-Reads
Missile from Yemen intercepted by IDF, fragments hit kindergarten roof in northern Israel IDF strikes in southern Lebanon kill two Hezbollah operatives Trump says buying Iranian oil must stop, threatens secondary sanctions on purchasers US-Iran talks postponed, new date depends on US approach, Iranian official says The epicenter of an explosion at an Iranian port is tied to a charity overseen by its supreme leader WaPo Editorial: Trump promised a better Iran deal. It’s looking a lot like Obama’s Deadly attacks on Syria’s small Druze community are part of a bigger fight WSJ Editorial: Trump invests in Ukraine's future Tunisia leader's opponents, supporters stage rival rallies in sharp political split China signals readiness to respond to U.S. trade overtures Europe is racing to build its own version of the U.S. military-industrial complex Bloomberg’s Marc Champion: Romania’s revote will judge 30 years of graftIn The News
Israel
Firefighters had brought wildfires on the outskirts of Jerusalem under control on Thursday after battling the blazes for a second consecutive day, according to Israel’s fire and rescue service. – New York Times
A ship carrying humanitarian aid and activists heading for Gaza was bombed by drones while in international waters off Malta early on Friday, The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, an international NGO said. – Reuters
When the U.S. and Iran met for nuclear talks a decade ago, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu railed against an emerging deal from the world’s most public stages, including in a fiery speech to Congress seen as a direct challenge to the Obama administration as it was wrapping up the talks. – Associated Press
IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir has evaluated all of the key fronts faced by the military in his first nearly 60 days since taking the IDF’s helm and reached a number of important conclusions, The Jerusalem Post has learned. – Jerusalem Post
A missile was launched from Yemen toward Israeli territory, and aerial defense systems are operating to intercept the threat, the IDF confirmed on Friday morning. – Jerusalem Post
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that 18 individuals had been arrested on suspicion of arson, adding that one of them was caught “in the act” on Thursday afternoon at the International Bible Quiz. – Jerusalem Post
Although Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s playing field to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia has been significantly slowed and harmed, there are still at least two surprising pathways to that crown jewel of Israeli-Arab normalization, The Jerusalem Post has learned. – Jerusalem Post
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that “victory” over Hamas, not the return of the hostages, was the supreme objective of the war in Gaza, provoking anger from captives’ families. – Times of Israel
The Israel Defense Forces killed two operatives of the Hezbollah terror group in drone strikes in southern Lebanon on Thursday, the military said in a statement. – Times of Israel
During a National Day of Prayer event at the White House on Thursday, US President Donald Trump discussed the situation of the hostages in Gaza, and said that fewer than 24 are still alive. – Arutz Sheva
Editorial: Yesh Atid MK Vladimir Beliak, a member of the Knesset’s Finance Committee, summarized it well when he said on Thursday: “What happened to the budget of the Fire and Rescue Authority tells you everything you need to know about yesterday’s fires. The 2025 budget was approved with cuts, while increased funds were dedicated to political and sectoral goals. The Authority’s budget dropped from 2024 to 2025; this government is risking the lives of its citizens for its own survival.” – Jerusalem Post
Yohanan Plesner writes: It will then be up to the people to make their choice and elect leaders who will focus on bringing the country together, mending our battered institutions, expanding the circle of peace, and establishing a new social contract that will ensure Israel’s democratic vitality, economic prosperity and national security for generations to come. If we will it, it is no dream. – Times of Israel
Iran
U.S. President Donald Trump said all purchases of Iranian oil or petrochemical products must stop and any country or person buying any from the country would be immediately subject to secondary sanctions. – Reuters
A fourth round of talks between the United States and Iran, which had been due to take place in Rome on Saturday, has been postponed and a new date will be set “depending on the U.S. approach”, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Thursday. – Reuters
Iran accused the United States on Thursday of “contradictory behaviour and provocative statements” after Washington warned Tehran of consequences for backing Yemen’s Houthis and imposed new oil-related sanctions on it in the midst of nuclear talks. – Reuters
Iran had a grand plan for Syria – taken right from the playbook of a country it considers its arch-enemy. Just as the United States solidified its global dominance by investing billions in rebuilding Europe after the Second World War, Iran would do the same in the Middle East by reconstructing a war-ravaged Syria. – Reuters
Iran has to ‘walk away’ from uranium enrichment and long-range missile development and it should allow American inspectors of its facilities, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday as a round of nuclear talks was postponed. – Reuters
The explosion that rocked an Iranian port, killing at least 70 people and injuring more than 1,000 others, had its epicenter at a facility ultimately owned by a charitable foundation overseen by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s office. – Associated Press
Editorial: Trump appears to prefer going it alone as he seeks a new deal. But as Iran is cementing ties with Russia, China and North Korea, the United States will need its friends, too, especially when it comes to sanctions. Iran can be expected to insist on assurances that any future deal won’t be as easily discarded as the last one. – Washington Post
Editorial: Heck, just using Steven Witkoff as the US envoy sends a bad signal: He’s a successful biz guy with zero experience in this field, not a hardened nuclear diplomat; that encourages Tehran to think it can get away with a snowjob like the one Obama bought. Note that Trump plainly ordered Witkoff to walk back his dangerous comments suggesting Tehran might be allowed to enrich any uranium. The prez gets it: No one wants a US war with Iran, least of all Iran. Trump must make full use of that leverage, not settle for the phony “peace” of a deal-for-deal’s-sake. – New York Post
Russia and Ukraine
The minerals deal signed by Ukraine and the U.S. is expected to boost relations between the two allies as they plan joint investments in critical resources. Senior Treasury officials declined Thursday to say how long it could take for U.S. companies to mine the rare earth minerals that President Trump has touted as a centerpiece of the deal. – Wall Street Journal
The war in Ukraine is not going to end “any time soon,” U.S. Vice President JD Vance told Fox News on Thursday. It is “going to be up to the Russians and Ukrainians now that each side knows what the other’s terms for peace are. It’s going to be up to them to come to an agreement and stop this brutal, brutal conflict,” Vance said in the interview on Fox News’ “Special Report with Bret Baier” show. – Reuters
Moscow on Thursday accused Kyiv of attacking a busy market in Russian-controlled southern Ukraine in a drone strike it said had killed at least seven civilians and wounded more than 20, while Kyiv said the attack had killed only military personnel. – Reuters
Senior Russian security official Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday that the signing of a minerals deal between Ukraine and the United States meant U.S. President Donald Trump had forced Kyiv to pay for future U.S. military aid. – Reuters
Editorial: The Graham bill could move to the Senate floor soon if Mr. Trump decides that there’s no point in continuing fruitless peace talks. It’s impossible to negotiate peace with a dictator who thinks he has the upper hand to achieve his goal of swallowing Ukraine. The U.S.-Ukraine mineral deal and the Graham sanctions are signs Mr. Putin may have to start being more realistic himself. – Wall Street Journal
Editorial: And Ukraine gets a long-term economic partnership with the United States, which it hopes will be enough to deter future Russian aggression. Ukraine’s parliament is expected to ratify the agreement. Then the United States will have an economic interest in Ukraine’s future as an independent and sovereign country. This should clarify America’s interests as Trump continues to negotiate peace with Russian President Vladimir Putin. – Washington Post
Editorial: US military aid and intelligence will flow unimpeded. No matter what deal he signs now, Putin will likely continue to view Ukraine as Russian and Ukrainians’ freedom as a threat. To endure, any peace agreement must therefore include a substantive deterrent against future aggression. The US ought to provide it. – Bloomberg
Marc Champion writes: Should the war end quickly, the new US-Ukraine fund could well have an economic role to play. If not, investment is improbable, and Trump can either ignore the deal or — less likely — use it to rearm Ukraine. At a minimum, it could be used to pay for continued, critical US intelligence support. Either way, if the remaining documents get signed as planned, Zelenskiy and his negotiators look to have neutralized a potentially fatal dispute. – Bloomberg
Syria
Deadly clashes this week in southern Syria, home to the Druze ethnic group, are putting new pressure on the nascent government as it tries to prevent the country from fragmenting along sectarian lines. – Wall Street Journal
The death toll from this week’s outbreak of sectarian violence in Syria has surpassed 100, a war monitoring group said on Thursday, after clashes between pro-government forces and militants from Syria’s Druse minority spread to new areas. – New York Times
Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri on Thursday harshly criticized Syria’s government for what he called an “unjustified genocidal attack” on the minority community during deadly sectarian fighting in Druze-majority areas south of Damascus this week. – Associated Press
The United States on Thursday confirmed meeting Syria’s top diplomat and called on the interim authorities to take action on concerns, as violence flares against the Druze minority. – Agence France-Presse
Members of Israel’s Druze community protested against anti-Druze violence in Syria on Thursday night by blocking the Kabri Intersection, east of northern Israel’s Nahariya, Israeli public broadcaster KAN News reported. – Jerusalem Post
Middle East & North Africa
Kuwait has launched a crackdown on cryptocurrency miners it accuses of being a “major” cause of a power crisis that has led to blackouts, as authorities seek to ease pressure on the grid before the start of a sweltering summer. – Reuters
Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) said on Thursday that one worker was killed and four were injured in a limited fire that had been extinguished at the Mina Abdullah refinery’s desulfurization unit. – Reuters
Turkish police charged May Day protesters in Istanbul on Thursday, detaining hundreds of people and dragging some away in buses after they tried to defy a ban on public gatherings and march towards Taksim Square. – Reuters
Turkey is determined to construct a canal project intended to relieve pressure on the busy Bosphorus Strait, when financing is secured, a government minister said on Thursday, despite widespread criticism over its possible environmental impact. – Reuters
Opponents of Tunisian President Kais Saied protested on the streets of Tunis on Thursday, accusing him of using the judiciary and police to suppress critics, while his supporters held a counter-rally, highlighting a deepening political divide. – Reuters
The outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) claimed on Thursday two attacks in northern Iraq that wounded five Kurdish security personnel earlier this week. – Agence France-Presse
Korean Peninsula
South Korea’s presidential race was upended Thursday, less than five weeks until election day, when the front-runner was ordered to undergo a new trial on charges of election law violations and the nation’s acting president resigned amid speculation he will enter the field. – Washington Post
South Korea’s former acting President Han Duck-soo said on Friday he would join the race to become the country’s next president after resigning the day before. A snap presidential election will be held on June 3. – Reuters
South Korea’s third acting leader in five months, Lee Ju-ho, is an understated labour economist and education bureaucrat thrust into managing high-stakes trade talks with the United States and a country reeling from political knife fights before a crucial election. – Reuters
South Korea’s parliament approved a supplementary government budget on Thursday of 13.8 trillion won ($9.7 billion) to bolster an economy grappling with weak domestic demand and the potential impact of U.S. tariffs. – Reuters
South Korea’s finance minister Choi Sang-mok offered to resign, the ministry said on Thursday, as parliament was set to vote whether to impeach him. – Reuters
China
At a recent electronics exhibition in Shanghai, semiconductor companies featured slogans such as “Offering complete domestic solutions” and “Use Chinese chips, love Chinese chips.” – Wall Street Journal
China said Friday it was weighing starting talks with the U.S. to halt a trade war, but only if Washington shows sincerity through concrete measures such as by canceling tariffs against Beijing. – Wall Street Journal
Doris Au, a seller of door locks and hardware in Hong Kong for 25 years, received a letter from her bank, DBS Group, last June stating that her business account would be closed. The bank gave little explanation but subsequently froze the account, killing her business with international suppliers, she said. – Reuters
Joseph C. Sternberg writes: Most of China’s economic problems today arise precisely because the party has built up a political and economic system incapable of generating and then responding to quick feedback on policy errors. America’s greatest advantages always have been the relative brutality of its market economy and its voters’ relative intolerance for failure. But President Trump has chosen to pursue a tactical rather than a strategic trade policy. In so doing, he’s playing right into Beijing’s hands. – Wall Street Journal
Tong Zhao writes: Ultimately, these internal dynamics—more than long-standing trade and foreign policy disputes—pose the greatest threat of turning strategic stalemate into acute crisis. To reduce the risks of catastrophic conflict, strategists in Beijing and Washington should look inward and scrutinize their own leadership before the uneasy stalemate can no longer hold. – Foreign Affairs
South Asia
Armed convoys are rumbling toward Pakistan’s border with India. Fighter jets are slicing across the sky. Television screens are filled with warnings of impending conflict. National leaders are vowing a decisive response to any military action. – New York Times
Kashmir is many things. It is a disputed borderland that India and Pakistan have fought over for more than three-quarters of a century, making it one of the world’s most strife-torn and militarized zones. – New York Times
India’s foreign minister said he has told Secretary of State Marco Rubio that perpetrators of the deadly attack in Kashmir last week should be brought to justice, as the U.S. sought to calm tensions between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan. – Reuters
U.S. Vice President JD Vance said on Thursday Washington hoped Pakistan would cooperate with India to hunt down Pakistan-based militants, and that India’s response to the recent Islamist militant attack in India-administered Kashmir does not lead to a broader regional conflict. – Reuters
Asia
A superpower loomed large as Australians headed to the polls. It wielded trade barriers as a means of political coercion, imperiling Australia’s export-dependent economy. Three years ago that country was China, which had imposed punishing restrictions on many Australian exports, sent spy ships lurking near Australia’s west coast and struck an alarming military pact with a regional neighbor, the Solomon Islands. – New York Times
Japan could use its $1 trillion-plus holdings of U.S. Treasuries as a card in trade talks with Washington, its finance minister said on Friday, raising explicitly for the first time its leverage as a massive creditor to the United States. – Reuters
President Lai Ching-te will next week mark for the first time in Taiwan the end of World War Two in Europe and underscore that aggression must be defeated, sources told Reuters, at a time the island is facing increasing military pressure from China. – Reuters
When 68-year-old Richard Han heads to the ballot box on Saturday to vote in Singapore’s election, cost-of-living pressures will be on the retiree’s mind as he worries about his daily expenses and his son’s prospects after university. – Reuters
Thailand’s state prosecutor said on Thursday it will not prosecute an American academic who was arrested and charged last month with insulting the royal family, a crime that carries a penalty of up to 15 years in jail, and asked a court to free him. – Reuters
A man in Japan was arrested on suspicion of driving his car into seven schoolchildren who were walking home, injuring them, one seriously, police said. – Associated Press
A speeding passenger bus slammed into a row of vehicles lined up at a highway toll booth Thursday in the northern Philippines, killing 10 people, including children, police said. – Associated Press
Japan needs to firmly refuse US President Donald Trump’s calls for Tokyo to increase what it pays to keep American military bases in the country, a former Japanese foreign minister said, a day before the second round of talks over tariffs between the allies. – Bloomberg
Europe
America’s vast military-industrial complex has many critics. For Europe, it is now something to aspire to. This week, Germany asked the European Union to invoke an emergency clause exempting defense investment from spending rules, as part of the bloc’s five-year rearmament plan. – Wall Street Journal
The presidential candidate backed by Poland’s main nationalist opposition party Law and Justice (PiS) attended the National Day of Prayer at the White House on Thursday, his campaign team said. – Reuters
Britain’s special representative for the AUKUS defense project, Sir Stephen Lovegrove, has been briefing U.S. officials in Washington this week about a review of the project he presented to the British government this year, a British official said on Thursday. – Reuters
Nigel Farage’s Reform UK has won a key parliamentary by-election following a recount, in a blow to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, fueling concerns in his Labour Party that he’s failing to slow the rise of the populist right. – Bloomberg
Constantin Mihai says his guiding political light is someone who was barred from running in Romania’s presidential election this weekend, and yet whose influence hasn’t gone away. – Bloomberg
Lee Hockstader writes: The looming question now is whether Merz is the right man to forestall the disaster of an AfD victory in Germany’s next elections, set for 2029. His sense of urgency in preparation for the chancellorship suggest he might be. As to whether he has the right temperament for the top job, Germans, and much of the rest of the world, are waiting to find out. – Washington Post
Marc Champion writes: For as Banut Stetca, a 35 year old returned from working in Switzerland, put it to me: “This election was the result of everything that happened in the last 30 years. People didn’t love Georgescu because he was a sovereigntist or because of anything he said. They loved him because he was someone else.” On Sunday, Romania’s voters will still be looking for that “someone else.” – Bloomberg
Rosario Iaconis writes: In fact, on April 30, Euro Weekly reported that “Italy enters 2025 with positive signals in its economic activity. GDP increased by 0.4% between January and March compared to the previous quarter, and by 0.6% year-on-year, according to provisional data published by Istat on Wednesday.” Potus 47 is surely taking notice of Signora Meloni’s astute stewardship of the Magic Boot’s economy, increasing the probability that Rome will be the site of the U.S.-EU conference the prime minister’s deft diplomatic ministrations made possible. – New York Sun
Africa
The U.S. is pushing Congo and Rwanda to sign a peace accord at the White House in about two months, accompanied by bilateral mineral deals that would bring billions of dollars of Western investment to the region, President Donald Trump’s senior advisor for Africa told Reuters on Thursday. – Reuters
Democratic Republic of Congo has launched a bid to strip former President Joseph Kabila of immunity so he can face trial on charges of supporting the M23 insurgency in the country’s east, where the government is seeking to draft a peace deal this week. – Reuters
Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote said on Thursday he was “comfortable” with the impact President Donald Trump’s tariffs would have on his urea exports to the U.S. because major competitor Algeria had been slapped with a higher levy. – Reuters
The South African armed forces said Thursday they had begun withdrawing their peacekeeping troops from rebel-controlled eastern Congo. The South African National Defense Force said the troops began moving out earlier this week and would travel through neighboring Rwanda to Tanzania and fly home from there. – Associated Press
Howard Sackstein writes: South Africa has so far paid a very heavy price for its folly. It has angered its second largest trading partner and the country with whom it has its largest trading surplus. Hundreds of thousands of South Africans face unemployment, and our stagnant economy teeters on the brink of solvency. Of course many in our community could help, but Ramaphosa has neither the insight nor inclination to ask, and our community has been too betrayed and hurt to volunteer to help. If he was a wise leader, it would be time for Cyril to ask, was it worth it? – South African Jewish Report
The Americas
Hundreds of thousands of Cubans gathered in Havana’s Revolution Square for the traditional May Day march on Thursday, amid a grueling economic crisis and as tensions ratchet up with U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration. – Reuters
The Brazilian Supreme Court has authorized former Brazilian President Fernando Collor de Mello to serve house arrest after being sentenced to almost 9 years in prison on corruption and money laundering charges, according to a court order seen by Reuters on Thursday. – Reuters
The International Court of Justice said Venezuela must refrain from conducting or preparing to conduct elections in a disputed territory currently under Guyanese control, reaffirming a prior decision, according to a document shared by Guyana President Irfaan Ali on Thursday. – Reuters
The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday imposed sanctions on two entities and three Mexican nationals it said are involved in a drug trafficking and oil smuggling network linked to the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion gang. – Reuters
Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro raised workers’ minimum wage days before a controversial regional vote, a move that could add pressure on prices as the government grapples with shrinking foreign revenue. – Bloomberg
Ron MacCammon writes: But that change won’t come from above. It won’t come from Washington or Brussels. NGOs or envoys won’t deliver it. It must come from within. Until then, the world watches. And Venezuela drifts, orphaned by its history and betrayed by both its rulers and its would-be saviors. Long after Bolívar, the fight for liberty has become a long silence that no one seems ready to break. – The Hill
United States
A Jordanian national in Orlando, Florida, was sentenced to six years in U.S. federal prison for threats against and attacks on businesses over their perceived support for Israel, the U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday. – Reuters
President Donald Trump’s administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to intervene in its bid to strip temporary protected status for more than 300,000 Venezuelan migrants, a move that would clear the way for their deportation from the United States. – Reuters
President Donald Trump recently suggested he’d rather his administration didn’t use the Signal messaging app. A recent photo suggests his team isn’t getting the message. – Bloomberg
Georgetown University has refused to cave to anti-Israel agitators, saying the Washington, D.C.-based institution will not divest or end partnerships with companies tied to Israel. – Fox News
Editorial: Despite a pushback by isolationists in Mr. Trump’s inner circle, an Iran military option appears to still be on the table. The latest round of talks, which was scheduled for Saturday, is now postponed, indicating difficulties. One of Mr. Waltz’s first tasks could be to snap back global sanctions that existed before the 2015 nuclear deal. While Mr. Rubio’s White House stint might be a stopgap measure, he comes in at a crucial time. – New York Sun
Editorial: Yet Beijing and Doha are the top foreign donors to America’s most prestigious higher education institutions. Are their yuans and riyals spent to help America maintain our technological edge? As the increased radicalism on campuses proves, turning students against the values that Georgetown was originally founded to promote seems a more likely reason for these donations. Disclosure of foreign funds could start taking the weeds out of the Ivies. – New York Sun
Eli Lake writes: Whatever reason Waltz was dismissed, his departure is being perceived as a win for the faction of the party that would rather allow Iran to go nuclear than risk a war to stop them. The former congressman was not really an ideologue or a militarist, but he represented a more traditional GOP foreign policy that sought to preserve our alliances and deter our adversaries. If he is replaced by Witkoff or another restrainer, then America’s allies may find themselves looking for new friends in a far more dangerous world. – The Free Press
Cybersecurity
Many young Romanians are again scrolling through video-sharing platform TikTok for guidance on how to vote in Sunday’s rerun of a presidential election annulled over allegations of Russian meddling via suspicious TikTok accounts. – Reuters
Microsoft and Meta Platforms led Wall Street higher Thursday after the Big Tech companies reported profits for the start of the year that were even bigger than analysts expected. – Associated Press
Ascension Health revealed another security incident this week, warning more than 100,000 people in multiple states that their information was likely accessed by hackers late last year. – The Record
Editorial: Do Apple and Google want to risk potentially hefty damages by continuing to host TikTok? Good question for their executives and shareholders. The state AGs’ investigations give the tech companies legal cover to defy the Administration. Mr. Trump might even find that TikTok’s disappearance from app stores strengthens his leverage in negotiations over a ByteDance divestment. – Wall Street Journal
Defense
U.S. President Donald Trump ousted his national security adviser Mike Waltz on Thursday and named Secretary of State Marco Rubio as his interim replacement in the first major shakeup of Trump’s inner circle since he took office in January. – Reuters
The Air Force has started ground testing its first Anduril-made semiautonomous drone wingmen known as collaborative combat aircraft, which could be flying within months. – Defense News
A combined force of Philippine, American and Australian troops in Palawan defeated a simulated amphibious invasion during Balikatan 2025’s coastal defense drill on the South China Sea earlier this week. – USNI News