Today In Issues:
FDD Research & Analysis
The Must-Reads
Netanyahu says Israel will take over Gaza as it allows food into enclave Yemen's Houthis announce 'maritime blockade' on Israel's Haifa port JPost Editorial: Israel must fight like there's no deal, and negotiate like there's no war Iran reviewing proposal for 5th round of nuclear talks Iranian FM hosts Hamas terrorists in Tehran Trump-Putin call yields no breakthrough on Ukraine cease-fire WaPo’s David Ignatius: Trump’s Ukraine peace push is built on three illusions Taiwan president offers peace with China but says island must strengthen defences UK plans new powers to tackle rise in Iran-backed threats WaPo Editorial: South Africa has a chance to reset relations with the U.S. US offers $10 million for tips on Hezbollah in Latin America WINEP’s Michael Knights: What the end of the Houthi campaign means for US powerIn The News
Israel
Tears edged down Idit Ohel’s face as she showed U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and a senior Qatari official the video of her son, Alon, being kidnapped by Hamas into Gaza. – Wall Street Journal
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country’s forces would take control of the entire Gaza Strip, after his government agreed to end a monthslong blockade by allowing limited aid to enter the enclave. – Wall Street Journal
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis announced on Monday what they called a “maritime blockade” on Israel’s Haifa port in response to Israel’s ongoing conflict in Gaza. – Reuters
For more than a year, Israeli authorities prevented Ayed Ayoub from escaping Gaza’s hunger and war with his family for an academic fellowship in France. He finally left last month, after Israel unexpectedly eased its tight control of the border. – Reuters
The Gaza ceasefire negotiations in Doha in recent weeks have not led anywhere because of “fundamental differences between parties”, Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said on Tuesday at an economic forum held in Doha. – Reuters
State prosecutors on Monday filed an indictment against three Arab Israelis, after they were arrested by security forces on suspicion of smuggling drugs into the Gaza Strip via drone. – Agence France-Presse
Israel Police detained a 27-year-old German tourist in Tel Aviv after he allegedly spat at a guard at the US Embassy and threw a bag containing Molotov cocktail materials, including alcohol bottles and loose socks, Israel Police stated on Monday. – Jerusalem Post
The IDF’s operation to assassinate Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar failed, and he is still fighting against Israeli forces, senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan told the Islamic Republic-affiliated news source Tehran Times in a Monday report. – Jerusalem Post
US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said the Trump administration remains determined to see Hamas defeated, prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, and expand the Abraham Accords at The Jerusalem Post Conference on Monday. – Jerusalem Post
Defense Minister Israel Katz met with Azerbaijani Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov on Monday, thanking him for his country’s role in mediating relations between Israel and Turkey. – Jerusalem Post
Five trucks of humanitarian aid, including baby food, entered the Gaza Strip Monday via the Kerem Shalom Crossing, Israel said, marking the first such delivery since March 2, when Israel barred goods from entering the territory. – Times of Israel
Editorial: But most of all, the urgency is felt every day and every hour by the hostages in Gaza and their families going through their personal hell back home. For them, time is a huge enemy. The longer the war goes on without an agreement, the greater the risk to their survival and return home. So, Israel must decide. Will it continue to go forward one step and then back another in its two-pronged effort to defeat Hamas and bring the hostages home, or will it negotiate like there’s no war and fight Hamas like there’s no negotiations? – Jerusalem Post
Ronen Itzik writes: As we look at America’s posture in our region, our neighborhood, we have reason to fear that our enemies will view a conciliatory America as an Israeli vulnerability. We are hopeful that the US will project power and strength in our region and not pressure Israel into an unwise compromise, a position that would return us to incessant bloodshed in the face of emboldened terrorist armies. – Jerusalem Post
Salem Alketbi writes: True courage lies not in clinging to defunct narratives but in critically reexamining assumptions, rejecting extremism, and prioritizing pragmatic solutions. A better future requires democratic governance, sustainable development, and regional cooperation. Recognizing Israel as a strategic partner – not an eternal enemy – is a necessity dictated by geography and mutual interest. The alternative – persisting with zero-sum rivalries and ignoring cooperation – risks further tragedy, empowering only the forces of regression and chaos. – Jerusalem Post
Iran
Britain and Iran summoned each other’s diplomats in London and Tehran on Monday after British authorities charged three Iranian nationals under a national security law following a major counter-terrorism investigation. – Reuters
Iran received and is reviewing a proposal for a fifth round of nuclear talks with the United States, Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on Tuesday, according to state media. – Reuters
Oil prices settled marginally higher on Monday as signs of a breakdown in U.S. talks with Iran over its nuclear program offset a Moody’s downgrade of the U.S. sovereign credit rating. – Reuters
A 16-year-old boy was indicted on Monday for holding contact with an Iranian agent over several months. – Jerusalem Post
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi hosted a meeting with senior Hamas officials in Tehran on Monday, the Islamic Republic’s semi-official Mehr News Agency reported. – JNS
Russia and Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin refused to agree to an immediate cease-fire with Ukraine in a two-hour call Monday with President Trump, who said afterward that Moscow and Kyiv would resume direct talks on an agreement to halt the fighting. – Wall Street Journal
The process for Moscow and Kyiv to develop a unified text of a peace and ceasefire memorandum will be complex, so there can be no fixed deadline, Russia’s news agencies cited Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov as saying in remarks published early on Tuesday. – Reuters
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday that Kyiv and its partners were considering arranging a high-level meeting between Ukraine, Russia, the United States, European Union countries and Britain as part of a push to end Moscow’s war in Ukraine. – Reuters
The Kremlin on Monday described Romania’s presidential election as “strange”, saying the pro-Russian candidate who won an aborted vote last year had been unfairly disqualified. – Reuters
A man and woman in their seventies were killed in separate Russian attacks on the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson, police and regional officials said on Monday. – Reuters
The Russian authorities on Monday outlawed Amnesty International as an “undesirable organization,” a label that under a 2015 law makes involvement with such organizations a criminal offense. – Associated Press
David Ignatius writes: Trump has a chance to help mediate an agreement that would end the most violent conflict of our era. But if he doesn’t find the patience for hard and well-organized bargaining with Putin, Ukraine will have no choice but to fend for itself — leaving a black mark for Trump rather than a badge of honor. – Washington Post
Rich Lowry writes: Russia’s gains have come at a hideous cost — nearly a million Russian casualties since the start of the war. If Ukraine isn’t going to buckle and the United States isn’t going to abandon her, then the Russians might reach a point of exhaustion. Short of that, Putin has every reason to think he can persevere when the world’s superpower is inclined to blame the victim of his unprovoked aggression. – New York Post
Michael Kimmage writes: Real political power is concentrated in Putin’s hands. But his dictator’s prerogative makes him uniquely the man in charge, which is as much a vulnerability as it is a strength—a strength to the degree that he can win the war and a vulnerability to the degree that he is losing it. Perhaps for this reason, after years of silence on the topic, Putin has begun to speak about a successor. As he himself may be aware, he has staked his political fortunes on a foolish war, and he is not winning. – Foreign Policy
Syria
The Assad regime made Syria an informant state, with surveillance that turned the country on itself. Neighbors and colleagues reported on each other in every district and workplace: what they said, where they went, who came for dinner. – Washington Post
Wa’el Alzayat writes: To realize his goal of moving the region away from conflict and cementing U.S. interests, Trump will have to do what no U.S. president has managed to do before him. Should he succeed, the U.S. has an opportunity to move beyond the binary choices of the past and embrace the possibilities of the future. – The Hill
Joshua Yaphe writes: The question is whether the White House is aware that the transfer of large portions of the Palestinian population could create significant instability elsewhere and that Washington may have to intervene to prevent or mitigate the impact of regional conflict. Senior U.S. officials are probably hoping the Israelis and Turks can work out their differences and reach an accommodation that allows America to keep its distance from the looming problems in Syria. – The National Interest
Middle East & North Africa
Iraqi Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani will oversee the signing of two energy agreements worth a combined $110 billion over their lifetimes with U.S. companies HKN Energy and WesternZagros, an adviser to the leader said on social media on Monday. – Reuters
At least 58 unidentified corpses were found on Monday in a hospital in Tripoli that was under the control of a militia whose leader was killed last week, the interior ministry said. – Reuters
The President of the Islamic Development Bank said on Monday that Algeria is expected to receive $3 billion in loans over the next three years to support the implementation of key development projects. – Reuters
Libya’s UN-recognized government said on Monday it was pressing efforts to reach a permanent ceasefire after days of deadly clashes in the capital and protests demanding the prime minister’s resignation. – Agence France-Presse
After President Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 election, foreign agents working on behalf of the Qatari government appear to have shifted their focus to right-wing media, fueling speculation that the terror-linked Gulf state is attempting to win influence among conservatives. – Washington Examiner
Korean Peninsula
North Korea has issued a warning to Japan over its upcoming test-fire of a prototype railgun. The futuristic weapon signals Japan is mulling a preemptive attack on the nuclear-armed country, state media said, adding that this would be a “suicidal act.” – Newsweek
For the first time in its history, South Korea has opened the doors to a new and striking Holocaust museum, located in the heart of the city of Paju. The inauguration marks a historic moment and symbolizes the country’s commitment to remembrance, education and the fight against hatred. – Ynet
Decker Eveleth writes: In both testing and development, an airborne radar offers North Korea unique capabilities it could not achieve solely with ground-based stations. On the operational warfighting side, an airborne radar could see South Korean and U.S. missiles incoming, giving North Korea valuable warning time. On the missile testing side, an airborne radar capability could give North Korea the data it needs to perfect its ICBM reentry vehicle design, potentially shaving considerable time off development. – Foreign Policy
China
China’s ruling Communist Party has ordered officials to reduce government waste with a range of new rules: Expensive alcohol, cigarettes and gourmet dishes can no longer be offered at work-related meals; guests should not be seen off at airports; and conferences will no longer feature lavish flower arrangements. – Washington Post
China on Monday urged the United States to “immediately correct its wrongdoings” and stop “discriminatory” measures after the U.S. issued guidance warning companies not to use advanced computer chips from China, including Huawei’s Ascend AI chips. – Reuters
China and Germany should prevent undermining their normal bilateral cooperation in the name of “de-risking”, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul in a phone call on Monday. – Reuters
Editorial: A call from him could force Vlad to face reality at the negotiating table. Graham has said that the secondary sanctions bill has enough bipartisan support to pass “if Russia does not embrace an honorable, just and enduring peace.” Putin is making it ever more clear he has no intention to do so. Trump should give the go-ahead to start making China’s bankrolling of Moscow’s bloodlust hurt. The road to peace in Ukraine goes through Beijing. – New York Post
South Asia
India’s government is taking legal action against academics, journalists and private companies seen as critical of its recent military campaign against Pakistan, including arresting one professor who had admonished Indians “who are baying for war.” – New York Times
Small Indian grocery shops and major online fashion retailers are boycotting Turkish products ranging from chocolates, coffee, jams and cosmetics to clothing amid growing anger at Turkey’s support for Pakistan in a confrontation with India. – Reuters
Pakistani police stepped up their search Monday for the suspect in the killing of a doctor from the country’s tiny Ahmadi minority, the latest in a string of deadly attacks targeting the community. – Associated Press
Mihir Sharma writes: The country needs secure foreign markets for the garment exports that finance its development, and the internal stability that calms investors. Without these, it will descend into a spiral of degrowth and destabilization of the sort that has consumed Pakistan. Bangladeshis are rightly proud that their country has done far better than Pakistan in the years since the two split. But now we should fear they have chosen to follow that road to ruin. – Bloomberg
Jos Joseph writes: They should also be worried about Pakistan’s plan to let China build a port in Gwadar, which would be a massive threat to the U.S. and its access to the Persian Gulf. But even more important is the worry that Pakistan and its Inter-Service Intelligence will continue to support and foster terrorist groups that will attack India, allowing them to plan attacks on targets much closer to home. – The Hill
Michael Rubin writes: So far, however, Pakistan appears more inclined to follow the Russian and Congolese path of denial rather than the Armenia path of military reform. This is tragic for it may preserve Munir’s bank accounts and personal privileges, but it condemns Pakistanis to decades more failure and only makes more war inevitable as Pakistan triggers conflicts its leaders do not realize they can never win. – 19fourtyfive
Asia
Japan’s top trade negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, said on Tuesday there was no change to Tokyo’s stance of demanding an elimination of U.S. tariffs in bilateral trade negotiations. Tokyo will not rush into clinching a trade deal if doing so risked hurting the country’s interests, he said. – Reuters
Taiwan wants peace and dialogue with China as war has no winners, but the government must continue to strengthen the island’s defences, President Lai Ching-te said on Tuesday as he completed one year in office. – Reuters
Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of over 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. – Reuters
Vietnam’s trade ministry said a second round of trade negotiations with the United States has started in Washington, with the Southeast Asian country hoping to avoid a threatened 46% tariff rate. – Reuters
Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong has pledged to keep tariff-free access for Pacific Island goods, after Fiji was hit by a 32% U.S. tariff, in a speech positioning Australia as a reliable partner to the region amid global aid cuts. – Reuters
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said he was open to reconciling with the Duterte family, one week after allies of his estranged Vice President, Sara Duterte, outperformed expectations in a fiercely contested and pivotal Senate race. – Reuters
Member states of the World Health Organization on Monday rejected a proposal to invite Taiwan to its annual assembly in Geneva after China voiced opposition. – Reuters
Indonesia and Thailand agreed Monday to elevate their relationship to a strategic partnership, during the first state visit by an Indonesian president in 20 years and agreed to push for greater trade and investment. – Associated Press
Europe
Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio held their first formal meeting with Pope Leo XIV on Monday as the Trump administration seeks to reset relations with the Vatican by working together on resolving the war in Ukraine and de-emphasizing fundamental disagreements over migrant policy. – Washington Post
Europe’s economy will grow more slowly than expected this year, dragged down by trade uncertainty from President Trump’s tariffs, despite increasingly stable prices on consumer goods and energy, European Union economists said on Monday. – New York Times
European leaders agreed to increase pressure on Russia through sanctions after U.S. President Donald Trump briefed them on his call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said late on Monday. – Reuters
Lithuania’s foreign ministry said on Monday it has filed a case against Belarus at the International Court of Justice, accusing its neighbour of organizing and facilitating the smuggling of migrants into Lithuania. – Reuters
Antonio Costa, the head of the European Council that represents EU member states, said on Monday that the European Union and Britain were “not very far” from concluding a deal on Gibraltar. – Reuters
The centrist and nationalist hopefuls contesting Poland’s presidential election runoff began trying to win over the supporters of eliminated candidates on Monday, in a major test of the coalition government’s pro-European policies. – Reuters
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called on Monday for Israel’s exclusion from international cultural events such as the Eurovision song contest over its military campaign in Gaza, just as Russia was barred after its invasion of Ukraine. – Reuters
Britain plans to strengthen its ability to crack down on state-backed terrorist threats following an increase in security incidents involving Iranian nationals in the UK, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said on Monday. – Bloomberg
The European Union’s 27 member states gave initial approval to a €150 billion ($169 billion) defense fund that will distribute money to countries looking to invest in security capabilities such as ammunition, drones and the protection of critical infrastructure, according to people familiar with the matter. – Bloomberg
Editorial: The EU and the UK held a summit Monday in an attempt to repair the relationship that Brexit disrupted. Restoring ties is all the more urgent at a time when Europe must pull together to compete with an increasingly erratic America. They should make a permanent deal on derivatives — and on financial services more broadly — part of the effort. Both stand to gain. – Bloomberg
David Lega writes: Eurovision 2025 showed us that the support is there. Now we must make that support visible. The Jewish people in Europe are watching. And we are listening. It is time for our political leaders, our institutions, and above all our fellow citizens to do the same. This wasn’t just a song contest. It was a wake up call. And perhaps, a hope. – The Express
Africa
South Africa has been a focus of President Trump’s criticism in his second term. Mr. Trump has made debunked claims that white farmers in South Africa are being killed in a genocide. – New York Times
Judges at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled on Monday that Equatorial Guinea has a legal claim to a cluster of small islands in potentially oil-rich waters in the Gulf of Guinea, settling a decades-long dispute with neighbouring Gabon. – Reuters
Tanzania’s main opposition leader Tundu Lissu told his supporters to have no fear as he appeared in court on Monday on charges including treason, as President Samia Suluhu Hassan warned foreign rights activists against interference. – Reuters
The bespectacled, grey-bearded man ran out of the primary school in Khartoum’s Amarat district, shaking with shock. He, like thousands of others, had returned to check on buildings retaken by the army after two years of civil war, only to find a new threat lurking in the rubble of Sudan’s capital, in his case an unexploded shell under a pile of old cloth. – Reuters
Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah Burhan appointed Kamil Idris, a former UN official and ex-presidential candidate, as prime minister of Sudan’s military-led government on Monday. – Reuters
At least 20,000 people have fled Marte town following increasing attacks by Islamist militants in Nigeria’s northeastern Borno state, its governor has said, four years after residents returned to the town that was once controlled by insurgents. – Reuters
Editorial: It’s also a successful democracy that should be a model for moderation and power-sharing elsewhere. But it has huge economic problems, including high unemployment and crumbling infrastructure. It needs American trade and investment, not admonition and isolation. At the White House, Ramaphosa will have a chance to help Trump understand. – Washington Post
Curtis Bell writes: Even as the new administration shifts the focus to short-term transactionalism, this is not the time to turn away from strategic priorities in Africa. […] They would also reduce the costs that would surely arise for any future intervention and would improve prospects for support of U.S. priorities globally while blunting the influence of China and Russia. – Foreign Policy
The Americas
When asked what their city would be without auto-parts makers, Pauline Ridley and Colleen Barrette, two union officials, quickly replied, “A ghost town.” – New York Times
Finance leaders from the Group of Seven industrialized democracies will strive for unity on non-tariff issues when they meet in Canada this week, but may have trouble reaching consensus with a Trump administration intent on pushing allies to serve U.S. interests. – Reuters
Brazil, the world’s largest poultry exporter and main poultry meat importer into the European Union, is no longer allowed to ship poultry and meat products to the EU due to the outbreak of bird flu, the European Commission said on Monday. – Reuters
Venezuela’s Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said on Monday he has ordered flights from Colombia suspended after the arrests of more than three dozen people, including some 17 foreigners who arrived via Colombia, over allegations of “conspiracy.” – Reuters
The leader of Brazilian organized crime syndicate PCC has been jailed in a maximum-security prison in Brasilia after his arrest in Bolivia over the weekend, officials in Brazil said on Monday. – Reuters
Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro said on Monday that he is contemplating a new round of peace talks with the nation’s largest remaining rebel group, and suggested that the talks could take place in the Vatican. – Associated Press
Chile ultra conservative candidate Jose Antonio Kast tied center-right contender Evelyn Matthei atop a new presidential poll, marking the latest twist in the race to lead one of Latin America’s richest economies. – Bloomberg
United States
A Mexican naval ship called for assistance from tugboats in New York just moments before it crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge, signaling the crew may have known the ship was veering off course after leaving a Manhattan dock, federal investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board said Monday. – Washington Post
The Supreme Court said Monday that the Trump administration can cancel temporary protections for up to 350,000 Venezuelans — a major undoing of a Biden administration decision that allowed those migrants to live and work in the United States for humanitarian reasons. – Washington Post
The U.S. State Department said on Monday that it was imposing visa restrictions on owners and other staff at India-based travel agencies that it says knowingly facilitate illegal migration to the United States. – Reuters
The US Department of State is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information on Hezbollah’s activities and connections in Latin America. – Bloomberg
US President Donald Trump invited Pope Leo XIV, the first American pontiff, to visit him in Washington, the White House said Monday. – Bloomberg
White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett criticized Moody’s Ratings over its decision to lower the US credit rating, calling the move backward-looking and saying the Trump administration is committed to lowering federal spending. – Bloomberg
Fliers denigrating Jews were strewn around Squirrel Hill, and residents were reportedly targeted with antisemitic epithets, the latest antisemitic incident in the neighborhood that suffered the 2018 Tree of Life synagogue shooting. – Times of Israel
The White House stressed Monday that US President Donald Trump wants the war in Gaza to end, as American officials denied reports that Washington was threatening to “abandon” Israel if it didn’t follow suit. – Times of Israel
Michael Knights writes: They can now be smarter than prior U.S. administrations by recognizing that there are median options between all-in and all-out. That means convening under one umbrella the forces that want to end the Yemen war and contain the Houthis, all while keeping the Suez Canal open and creating the stability needed to supercharge U.S.-Gulf economic partnership. – The Hill
Cybersecurity
A “significant” amount of personal data, including criminal records, of applicants who had applied for legal aid since 2010 was accessed and stolen in a cyber attack, Britain’s Legal Aid Agency said on Monday. – Reuters
The European Union would become a world leader in stopping kids from using social media under a new proposal gaining traction in Brussels. – Politico
Atop Senate Intelligence Democrat is warning the Office of Personnel Management against cancelling identity protection services that have been provided to current and former federal employees since their data was exposed in the massive 2015 OPM data breach. – FedScoop
Two cyberattacks affecting Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) last year put patients at risk of clinical harm, according to official data obtained by Recorded Future News. – The Record
Romania and Poland each reported increased Russian disinformation activity ahead of their presidential elections, with authorities warning the Kremlin-backed network Doppelgänger is actively attempting to influence voters. – The Record
French officials have dismissed claims by Telegram founder Pavel Durov alleging state interference in Romania’s presidential election. – The Record
Defense
The Navy is getting ready to brief contractors on the service’s vision, objectives, program schedule and technical requirements for a new unmanned surface vessel that can carry containerized payloads. – DefenseScoop
The corruption trial of retired Adm. Robert Burke concluded Monday with him being found guilty of four criminal counts, including bribery charges, by a jury in Washington, D.C., his attorney and others in the courtroom confirmed to Military.com – Military.com
America’s shifting focus towards countering China demands increased investment in air power — which may ultimately require taking resources from other military services who are not as well suited to the challenge, according to Air Force Chief of Staff David Allvin. – Breaking Defense
During President Donald Trump’s visit to the Gulf, the US and United Arab Emirates signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) formalizing the establishment of a “comprehensive U.S.-UAE Major Defense Partnership.” – Breaking Defense