Today In Issues:
FDD Research & Analysis
The Must-Reads
Israel prepares for possible collapse of ceasefire with Iran Hamas names Khalil al-Hayya leader in Gaza, keeps leadership largely unchanged ahead of top vote Attacks on U.S. Warships in Strait test Trump’s desire to end Iran war US intelligence indicates limited new damage to Iran's nuclear program, sources say Iran leader confronts IRGC over attacks on UAE WSJ Editorial: Iran’s regime ends the cease-fire Putin, Zelenskiy proclaim rival ceasefires around Russia's Victory day commemorations Lebanon's most senior Shi'ite politician says no to negotiations with Israel until war stops US, Gulf Arab nations draft new UN resolution on Strait of Hormuz U.S. warns China over Iranian oil as sanctions fight intensifies Europe fears Putin’s ‘window of opportunity’ is now International Centre for Counter-Terrorism’s Adrian Shtuni: Deniable, disposable, disruptive: Iran’s hybrid warfare in Europe demands a proactive responseIn The News
Israel
The European Union will soon launch a program to support Palestinians facing Israeli extremist settler violence in the West Bank, the Palestinian Authority and the EU office in Jerusalem said Monday. – Agence France-Presse
Ukraine’s Ambassador to Israel, Yevgen Korniychuk laid out in a Tuesday interview with The Jerusalem Post Kyiv’s growing frustration over the alleged import of grain taken from Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories – and the diplomatic and legal battle now unfolding in Israel. – Jerusalem Post
The IDF is increasing its use of advanced technology to fight threats from the Hezbollah terrorist organization in Lebanon. Using an armed drone, IDF soldiers of the 226th Brigade identified two armed Hezbollah terrorists operating near IDF soldiers in southern Lebanon. – Arutz Sheva
Israel is bracing for a potential collapse of the ceasefire and even the possibility of missile fire from Iran, as regional tensions reach a new peak following the American “Project Freedom” to break the blockade in the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s latest attack on the UAE. – Arutz Sheva
IDF soldiers from the 226th Brigade, in cooperation with the Yahalom Unit, destroyed an approximately 30-meter-long underground tunnel route used by the Hezbollah terrorist organization to advance attacks against IDF soldiers and Israeli civilians. – Arutz Sheva
The District Court announced Monday morning that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s testimony in, which had been scheduled for Monday, has been canceled. The decision followed an update submitted overnight by Netanyahu’s defense attorney, Amit Hadad, and is apparently due to security-related reasons. – Arutz Sheva
Khalil al-Hayya has been elected Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon’s Al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Monday, in an internal vote that left the terror group’s leadership structure largely unchanged ahead of an upcoming election for its top political post. – Jewish News Syndicate
Yaron Buskila writes: In addition, it is essential to reinforce a sense of purpose among soldiers, to remind them why they fight and what distinguishes the IDF as a military that strives to act morally even against a ruthless enemy. Ultimately, the IDF is not morally disintegrating. Moral principles are not a constraint but a guiding track. The IDF operates in a complex reality in which the tension between operational necessity and values is constant. The very existence of this tension, and the ongoing effort to navigate it, is the clearest proof that the moral compass is alive and functioning, even if it requires periodic recalibration. – Jerusalem Post
Iran
This time around, in addition to its earlier playbook, Iran has a legion of attack drones which are serving as a significant force multiplier. And the U.S. Navy has so far decided not to send warships to escort tankers and other vessels trapped in the Persian Gulf. – Wall Street Journal
President Trump’s desire to end the Iran war is being put to the test after Tehran fired at American warships on Monday and violently disrupted a U.S. effort to revive shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. – Wall Street Journal
Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of the military’s Central Command, said on Monday that U.S. warships shot down cruise missiles and drones that Iran fired at the ships and commercial vessels the Navy was guiding through the Strait of Hormuz. – New York Times
U.S. intelligence assessments indicate that the time Iran would need to build a nuclear weapon has not changed since last summer, when analysts estimated that a U.S.-Israeli attack had pushed back the timeline to up to a year, according to three sources familiar with the matter. – Reuters
Imprisoned Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, who was taken from jail to hospital last week, requires urgent specialised medical care to treat a life-threatening heart condition, her brother told Reuters on Monday. – Reuters
There were no signs of increased vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, a day after President Donald Trump said the U.S. would begin efforts to free up shipping. – Reuters
Iran’s navy said on Monday it had prevented the entry of enemy warships into the Strait of Hormuz by issuing a “swift and decisive warning”, according to state TV. – Reuters
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards navy issued a new map of the area of the Strait of Hormuz under its control on Monday, state media reported. – Reuters
The US denied a report by Iranian media on Monday that the country had struck an American naval vessel with missiles, Axios reported citing a senior official. Oil prices and stocks pared back some of their earlier moves. – Bloomberg
According to the report, Pezeshkian has voiced sharp criticism of actions attributed to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), led by Ahmad Vahidi. Sources cited by Iran International said the president described reported missile and drone attacks on the United Arab Emirates as irresponsible and conducted without coordination with the government. – Arutz Sheva
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi commented on Monday’s events in the Strait of Hormuz, saying they show that there is no military solution to the crisis. – Arutz Sheva
Editorial: But the U.S. and Israel will have to lead. The U.S. blockade of Iran’s ports has been succeeding, and if Hormuz reopens, the regime will have been outmaneuvered. The U.S. can do more than wait for Iran to shut-in oil wells, while both sides suffer. Give the President credit for showing the resolve that others lacked to keep pushing. Mr. Trump wields the military advantage, and he can use it to pry open Hormuz and strike to shorten the timeline to those oil-well shut-ins. The Iranians have fired the first shots to end the cease-fire, which is all the reason Mr. Trump needs to use the force to stop them from getting away with it again. – Wall Street Journal
Faezeh Alavi writes: The current pressure is making the IRGC extremely weak, but still, we are not in the phase of economic improvement that a regime change in Iran entails. Thanks to Trump’s historic action, the elimination of Khamenei and other top figures dealt a huge blow to the Islamic Republic. However, the current leadership continues to operate according to the same old 47-year playbook. Until the minimum conditions listed are met, we are not witnessing transformation – we are only seeing a new form of IRGC control. – Jerusalem Post
Ron Jager writes: Since 1952, when diplomatic relations were established between the Federal Republic of Germany and Iranian Islamic Republic, diplomatic relations were close and resulted in numerous technological, cultural, and industrial bi-lateral agreements. However, the volume of trade has decreased significantly in recent years as a result of the sanctions against Iran, primarily from the United States’ withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and the sanctions unilaterally imposed by the United States. Nevertheless, there is still considerable interest in bilateral cultural and academic exchange between the two countries’ civil societies. One can only conclude that had Germany not been forced to end their close bi-lateral relations with Iran due to American sanctions, not only Israel but the whole of Western societies would be under the existential threat posed by Iran on the world. – Arutz Sheva
Alex Vatanka writes: The ultra-hardliners can disrupt, delay, and even poison the atmosphere. But what they cannot easily do is stop a diplomatic track that has the backing of the core state, especially if the leadership concludes that talks are necessary for survival. It must be noted that Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei appears to be aligned with, or at least permissive of, the current diplomatic track with Washington—an important signal in a system where even passive consent at the top can be decisive. This is the key point Washington should understand. Iran’s factions fight fiercely, but usually with a shared commitment to regime survival. When the system believes that resistance serves survival, it resists. When it believes that talking serves survival, it talks. The argument is over the price and presentation, not the basic instinct to preserve the system. – Al Majalla
Russia and Ukraine
A Ukrainian drone struck an elite residential complex in Moscow on Monday, highlighting the Russian capital’s vulnerability to Ukrainian strikes just days ahead of a military parade that authorities have been forced to scale down for the first time in years. – Wall Street Journal
Ukraine is intensifying drone strikes on Russian oil facilities, hitting a key Black Sea refinery four times in two weeks and setting off a days-long carcinogenic blaze that environmentalists say represents one of the country’s worst ecological disasters since the fall of the Soviet Union. – Washington Post
Before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Lee delivered parcels in Taiwan for a living, hung out with friends or played video games after work. He knew of Ukraine only from S.T.A.L.K.E.R., a game set in the Chernobyl nuclear zone. – New York Times
President Vladimir Putin on Monday declared a two-day ceasefire in the conflict with Ukraine on May 8-9 to mark Russia’s World War Two victory, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy countered with his own proposed pause in fighting starting earlier, on the night of May 5‑6. – Reuters
The International Atomic Energy Agency said on Monday meteorological monitoring equipment at the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine had been damaged by a drone. – Reuters
A midmorning Russian missile attack on the town of Merefa, in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, killed seven people and wounded more than 30, including a 2-year-old boy, Ukrainian officials said on Monday. – Reuters
Ukraine sought to attack one of Russia’s biggest oil refineries on Tuesday, sparking a fire in an industrial area of the Russian town of Kirishi in the Leningrad region, Governor Alexander Drozdenko said. – Reuters
Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal maintained his backing for Kyiv’s campaign of attacks against Russian port facilities in the Baltic region after Ukrainian drones again strayed into Estonian and Finnish territory. – Bloomberg
Ukraine estimates that Russia has lost 1,335,150 soldiers since Moscow launched its war in February 2022. The report by Ukraine’s General Staff of the Armed Forces said the Russian losses also included 11,914 tanks, 41,306 artillery systems, 1,767 multiple launch rocket systems, 24,507 armored combat vehicles, 93,824 vehicles and fuel tanks, 1,357 air defense systems, 272,062 drones, 33 ships and boats, 435 aircraft, 352 helicopters, and two submarines. – New York Sun
Editorial: Dressing that up as “burden-sharing” is false advertising given that Europe is now sharing more of the military burden. Americans may be tired of Europe, but U.S. leadership is still essential to making NATO a credible deterrent in the coming years as Mr. Putin (and perhaps a successor) seeks to push Russia’s sphere of dominance to the west. Russia is also helping Iran bedevil the U.S. in the Strait of Hormuz, including intel on U.S. targeting. This is another reason not to send a message of appeasement to Mr. Putin, who wants nothing more than dividing the U.S. from Europe and blowing up NATO. – Wall Street Journal
Walter Russell Mead writes: If the ideology of Russian national revival that Mr. Putin has propounded is seen to have decisively failed, his successors may struggle to hold what remains of the empire together. Under the circumstances, reports that Mr. Putin is tightening his security and spending more time in underground bunkers seem credible. Russia’s wily president shouldn’t be written off. Whatever one thinks of his morals, Mr. Putin has frequently demonstrated uncanny daring and skill. But unless he can summon the energy and creativity to extricate himself from this predicament, he may be remembered by history as the leader on whose watch Russia’s standing as a serious great power was finally and fatally lost. – Wall Street Journal
Lebanon
Lebanon’s parliament speaker, who is the most senior Shi‘ite politician and a close ally of Hezbollah, said on Monday there could be no negotiations with Israel without a halt to the war that has raged on in southern Lebanon in spite of a ceasefire. – Reuters
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun clarified his nation’s diplomatic stance on Monday, indicating that a high-level summit with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is currently out of the question, the Xinhua news agency reported. – Arutz Sheva
Israel has a major problem on its hands in Lebanon. Hezbollah has made an unmistakable leap in its drone capabilities and tactics in recent weeks, and is using explosive-laden unmanned aerial vehicles to deadly effect against IDF troops in southern Lebanon. – Times of Israel
Editorial: This is not a call for endless war. It is a recognition that a fake peace is more dangerous than an honest conflict. Perhaps in the future, when the balance of power has shifted so significantly that Hezbollah or the Lebanese state is forced to seek terms out of genuine desperation, talks can resume. Until then, Israel must stop pretending that words can replace a strong military posture. There was never really a ceasefire, just fighting while Israel had its hands tied behind its back. It’s time to untie them. – Jerusalem Post
Gulf States
Abu Dhabi’s Adnoc said it will accelerate a plan to boost the United Arab Emirates’ domestic manufacturing capabilities with $55 billion of spending across its operations. – Wall Street Journal
Violence flared anew in and around the Persian Gulf on Monday, as the United Arab Emirates said Iran had fired missiles and drones at its territory and the U.S. military said it sank several Iranian military boats, straining the fragile cease-fire in the Middle East. – New York Times
The United Arab Emirates said its air defences were engaging missile and drone threats on Monday evening as firefighters battled a blaze at a major oil industry zone following a drone attack which authorities said had originated from Iran. – Reuters
The United States and Gulf Arab nations are drafting a U.N. Security Council resolution designed to condemn Iran for blocking the Strait of Hormuz in response to a U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz said on Monday. – Reuters
The United Arab Emirates owes it to its investment partners to produce what global oil markets require without restrictions, while cooperating with other crude producers, its energy minister said on Monday after the Gulf state left OPEC. – Reuters
The United Arab Emirates is discussing a currency swap line with the United States, its trade minister said on Monday. – Reuters
Hundreds of vessels were seen clustering near Dubai on Tuesday, as more ships moved away from a still-empty Strait of Hormuz in response to Iran’s efforts to widen its area of control. – Bloomberg
Victoria Coates writes: All of which makes for an extraordinary trifecta of geopolitical energy wins for America in the course of about two months. While clearing the Strait of Hormuz remains a necessary challenge for President Trump, and the world needs that energy to flow freely again, he can approach this action from a position of strength rather than of desperation. Throughout Operation Epic Fury, the powerful energy might of the United States has been on full display, and we have the potential to come through the conflict in a much stronger position, in coordination with Gulf partners and allies, to continue to supply the global energy needs that Iran has tried to hold hostage. – Fox News
Middle East & North Africa
The head of the International Monetary Fund on Monday warned that inflation was already picking up and the global economy could face a “much worse outcome” if the war in the Middle East drags into 2027 and oil prices hit around $125 per barrel. – Reuters
Tensions between Turkey and Israel are rising to a dramatic new level, as 20 ships and boats are currently organizing in Turkey to launch a new flotilla after Israel’s interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla last week. – Jerusalem Post
Organizers of the biennial SAHA defense expo plan to take the funds from what is expected to be an all-time attendance and funnel them back into creating drone production facilities in each of Turkey’s 81 provinces, officials said ahead of the show, which opens May 5. – Breaking Defense
Michael Rubin writes: Herein lies the irony. While Trump is right to crack down on Iranian-backed militias in Iraq, his own State Department is doubling down on policies inherited from Secretaries of State Hillary Clinton and John Kerry to empower militias in Libya. By any criteria — security, energy, or local legitimacy — Boulos and the State Department’s embrace of Dbeibeh and the Mufti makes no sense. By all means, unity in Libya should be the goal, but to achieve it, Washington should respect both power and principle and work toward the integration of the armed forces, not the empowerment of imposed politicians and the militias and terrorists they protect. – Washington Examiner
Korean Peninsula
Seoul said on Tuesday that authorities will investigate the cause of an explosion and fire on a South Korean-operated ship in the Strait of Hormuz in an incident U.S. President Donald Trump blamed on an Iranian attack. – Reuters
President Donald Trump said on Monday that South Korea should join U.S. efforts to protect ship movements near Iran, and added that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth would hold a news conference on Tuesday with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine. – Reuters
Free speech is in jeopardy in South Korea under the left-leaning government that took power in Seoul nearly a year ago. A former American air force intelligence officer and a member of the academic council of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, Tara O, described the loss of freedom in Korea at a congressional hearing recently conducted by the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission on rights in both North and South Korea. – New York Sun
Jonathan Corrado writes: North Korea no doubt fears that the United States will do the same, offering “reversible” concessions to induce North Korea’s disarmament, just to ratchet those levers of pressure later. That’s why this approach begins with an externally observable series of exchanges. That builds trust while establishing positive patterns of interaction and channels for hashing out disagreements. For four decades, the United States and South Korea have strived to first prevent North Korea’s nuclear breakout and next to convince its leaders to abandon the program. The status quo has become indefensible. It’s time for a fresh approach that creates conditions for rapprochement and risk reduction, while also preparing for a dance partner who doesn’t like the music. War on the Rocks
China
The United States on Monday urged China to push Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz and said that its purchases of Iranian oil amounted to funding global terrorism, delivering a stern rebuke ahead of President Trump’s meeting in Beijing this month with the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping. – New York Times
As the war in Iran threatens to choke off oil and gas supplies from the Persian Gulf, China is seizing the moment to extend its dominance in wind power. – New York Times
President Donald Trump said on Monday he looks forward to seeing China’s Xi Jinping later this month, saying he will remind his rival that the United States is leading in artificial intelligence as the two sides navigate tensions over trade and technology. – Reuters
China is slowing its efforts to repatriate Chinese nationals who are in the U.S. illegally, a senior Trump administration official told Reuters, warning that Washington was prepared to increase travel restrictions on the country if Beijing didn’t reverse course. – Reuters
US President Donald Trump said he will raise the case of Hong Kong’s imprisoned former media tycoon Jimmy Lai in his upcoming summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, adding a potential friction point to an agenda already complicated by the Iran war. – Bloomberg
China has ordered its companies to ignore US sanctions, an unprecedented act of defiance that threatens to trap a vast banking sector in the crossfire as tension rises between the world’s largest economies. – Bloomberg
Michael Kovrig writes: The true measure of success for leaders traveling to China is not the monetary value of the deals they sign or the illusory displays of respect they may receive. It is whether they constrain China’s behavior, blunt its mercantilism, and preserve their own policy autonomy. This wave of visits to China has shown democratic leaders that normalization and fragmented concessions can purchase fragile stability with Beijing. But it comes at the cost of collective strength and erodes the resilience that countries urgently need to build. The better approach is to treat any accommodation of Beijing’s demands as a delaying tactic—and to use the time it buys to harden deterrence against further coercion. – Foreign Affairs
South Asia
Pakistan said Monday that it had helped transfer 22 crew members from an Iranian ship, describing the move as a “confidence-building measure” coordinated with the United States and Iran. – New York Times
The Hindu nationalist party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India broke new ground Monday in its decades-long campaign to remake the world’s largest democracy, winning legislative elections in one of the country’s most populous states, where it has never before come close to ruling. – New York Times
Three Indian citizens were moderately wounded in an Iranian drone attack on Fujairah’s oil industry complex in the United Arab Emirates, Fujairah’s media office said on Monday. – Jerusalem Post
Andy Mukherjee writes; As the south anxiously waits for a reorganization of parliament that will dim its political voice, the warning from West Bengal remains: If future elections must be fought against the institutional sway of New Delhi rather than a mere political party, even industrial powerhouses like Tamil Nadu may find it impossible to preserve their multi-religious, secular identities. Modi’s biggest centenary gift to the RSS is to present it with a country that — at least in the north, west, and now the east — is a functional, single-party reality. In this new India, either the opposition is erased from the picture, or their voters are. Indira Gandhi’s emergency was a temporary fever. It’s too early to say whether what follows is a deeper malaise. – Bloomberg
Asia
Gauges of Asia factory activity showed more evidence of supply-chain disruptions from the Middle East war, with stockpiling buoying production as cost pressures intensify. – Wall Street Journal
Indonesia and Japan signed a defence cooperation agreement on Monday, officials said, which includes cooperation in the defence industry, human development and disaster mitigation measures. – Reuters
President Lai Ching-te arrived home on Tuesday from Eswatini saying Taiwan would not give in to pressure, having taken a circuitous route over the southern part of the Indian Ocean to avoid airspace controlled by close friends of China. – Reuters
The leaders of Singapore and New Zealand signed an agreement to keep their supply chains open during times of crisis on Monday, and said they hoped the agreement would be a model for other countries to create a network of trusted partners. – Reuters
Christopher Hernandez-Roy, Joseph Ruelas, and Isabel Teran write: Finally, regional approaches can enhance scale and efficiency, particularly in early warning systems and technical training. However, such initiatives should aim to preserve equity among participating countries and avoid concentrating benefits in only a few states. Taiwan has the background and expertise to be a leader in climate change adaptation practices that will make a difference for Caribbean states. Through its technical expertise, Taiwan can develop projects that have high social impact without requiring large human and monetary investments. Well-designed Taiwan-Caribbean cooperation can simultaneously strengthen climate resilience, reinforce diplomatic partnerships, and contribute to stability and sustainable development in the Western Hemisphere. – Center for Strategic and International Studies
Europe
The European Union’s top trade negotiator is expected to meet his U.S. counterpart in Paris on Tuesday after U.S. President Trump said he would raise tariffs on cars from the bloc. – Wall Street Journal
The civilian training sessions are part of a new and ambitious plan by Poland’s government to ready its 38 million or so people for the possibility of a military attack from Russia. – New York Times
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will convene leaders from across society on Tuesday to tackle antisemitism in the wake of the stabbing of two Jewish men and a string of other assaults, his office said. – Reuters
In the Labour stronghold of Hackney in east London, human rights lawyer Nadeshda Jayakody is one of many voters switching to the Green Party, a trend among urban progressives that could cost British Prime Minister Keir Starmer dearly in the capital. – Reuters
Austria declared three Russian diplomats personae non gratae over an “antenna forest” on the roofs of diplomatic buildings that could be used for spying, the government said on Monday. – Reuters
European nations have “gotten the message” from U.S. President Donald Trump and are now ensuring that agreements on the use of military bases are being implemented, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Monday. – Reuters
The German defence ministry said on Monday that there had been no “definitive cancellation” by the United States of a plan devised under former president Joe Biden to deploy a battalion with long-range Tomahawk missiles to Germany. – Reuters
Armenia hosts its first bilateral summit with the European Union on Tuesday, a landmark diplomatic moment for the Caucasus mountains nation that has formally declared its ambition to join the bloc and is cautiously loosening its ties with longtime ally Russia. – Associated Press
Romanian lawmakers will vote on ousting Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan in a move that could plunge the country into a renewed political crisis and imperil efforts to narrow the widest budget deficit in the European Union. – Bloomberg
Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni vowed closer cooperation with Azerbaijan as part of a broader energy diplomacy effort to address the supply squeeze caused by the Iran war. – Bloomberg
Jean-Luc Melenchon said he will run for French president for a fourth time, positioning himself as the most established left-wing contender in the race to succeed Emmanuel Macron in 2027. – Bloomberg
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warned European leaders that US President Donald Trump is disappointed with their reluctance to assist with the war in Iran. – Bloomberg
One of the top officials in the European External Action Service is set to leave her post after just over a year in office. Belén Martínez Carbonell is to stand down as secretary general of the EEAS, according to eight diplomats and officials with knowledge of the plans, all granted anonymity to speak freely. – Politico
European governments worry Vladimir Putin will see this as his moment to strike. Defense officials and lawmakers fear the Kremlin will consider the next year or two, while Donald Trump is still in the White House and the EU hasn’t yet reinforced its military capacity, as the time to test the West’s commitment to NATO, according to three EU politicians with direct knowledge of the discussions, interviewed for this article. – Politico
An extensive investigation published yesterday in the British The Times reveals that Iran is systematically operating antisemitic terror networks across Europe, using social media platforms and recruiting local extremists to carry out attacks. – Arutz Sheva
The Royal Navy will use its hybrid fleet, enhanced with autonomous and uncrewed vessels, to keep pace with Russia in the High North and North Atlantic, according to the service’s transformation plan. – USNI News
Editorial: Granted, there’s a mitigating element. Under the EU’s proposal, which must still be approved by member states and the European Parliament, foreign trade partners can be treated as local so long as they provide the same access to EU firms. Wielded wisely, this could actually encourage greater openness between Europe and nations such as Japan, Korea and the UK — albeit in a more piecemeal and interventionist way than in the past. One can sympathize. The EU didn’t choose this chaotic new reality, in which long-standing, mutually beneficial rules of free and fair trade are being eroded. Yet a costly foray into protectionism will only make matters worse. – Bloomberg
Martin Ivens writes: The wider culture is in danger of being poisoned by antisemitic tropes; a March poll commissioned by the Union of Jewish Students found that 20% of UK university students would be reluctant to, or never, share a house with a Jewish student. In the 1980s, popular movements such as Rock Against Racism made discrimination against racial minorities desperately uncool among the young. Similar grassroots action is required today to make antisemitism as socially unacceptable. And yet the culture wars seem to be condoning it because of the actions of Israel in Gaza. Politicians of all denominations and persuasions should unite behind a shared platform that calls out antisemitism and challenges the left-wing populists who find weasel words to excuse it. – Bloomberg
Adrian Shtuni writes: The campaign’s persistence in Europe has already exposed critical vulnerabilities in government efforts to harden soft targets, curb online recruitment (particularly of minors), and protect Jewish communities amid spillover from Middle East conflicts. HAYI’s operations generate widespread fear and divert resources at minimal cost to its Iranian sponsor. The campaign’s effectiveness raises the risk of replication in the United States, where large Jewish communities, abundant soft targets, and similar recruitment vectors make for a highly attractive second theater. U.S. intelligence already noted an elevated domestic threat level from Iranian proxies soon after the war broke out, and that assessment does not appear to have changed. – Washington Institute
Africa
The World Health Organization said it was investigating how the virus, which is transmitted by rodents, spread on the Dutch-flagged vessel currently off the coast of Cape Verde. The passenger-cruise ship called MV Hondius was traveling in the Atlantic Ocean, said Oceanwide Expeditions, the vessel’s operator. – Wall Street Journal
James Kamau Ndungu told only a few friends that he was heading to Russia. He told them he had been promised a job as a day laborer there. He was 32, unemployed in Kenya and needed the work. – New York Times
At least 130 Nigerian citizens in South Africa have asked to be flown home following protests targeting foreigners, Nigerian Foreign Minister Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu said. – Reuters
Sudan’s armed forces blamed a drone attack on Monday that targeted Khartoum airport on the United Arab Emirates and Ethiopia, the latest in a barrage of assaults in recent days that has shattered months of relative calm in Sudan’s capital, three years into its civil war. – Reuters
The leader of Mali’s military government, Assimi Goita, has taken over as defence minister after the military officer who previously filled the role was killed in coordinated attacks on April 25 by al Qaeda-linked militants and Tuareg separatists, state television reported on Monday. – Reuters
Zambia’s government said on Monday that it opposed a U.S. attempt to tie health funding to access to critical minerals, giving details for the first time about why negotiations with Washington over two proposed agreements have stalled. – Reuters
Two female opposition lawmakers in Mauritania were sentenced Monday to four years in prison after insulting the president and making claims of racial bias, their lawyers told The Associated Press, in the West African nation long criticized by rights groups for human rights abuses and the persistence of slavery. – Associated Press
Israel’s Ambassador to Kenya has announced an initiative to deploy a mobile climate laboratory to grow data collection in the African nation, an effort to provide real-time information so policymakers can pursue solutions as temperatures continue to rise across the continent. – Algemeiner
Zineb Riboua writes: African governments have seen what Russian reliability looks like. Moscow abandoned Syria’s Bashar al-Assad the moment rebel forces reached Damascus in December 2024, accepting his exile over any serious effort to sustain him. It is now doing the same in Mali. No government on the continent weighing its options can miss the pattern. The U.S. should seek to make that reversal permanent — knowing, as ever, that a Sahel in free fall won’t be contained. – Washington Post
Miles Pollard and Payton Kleidon write: When a foreign power, especially of Beijing’s stature, holds sizable portions of a nation’s public debt, that relationship naturally deserves closer attention from policymakers, especially given the recent ownership transfer of a Sri Lankan port back to its Chinese builders. Ethiopia is a vital case study in how Chinese capital and construction capacity are becoming embedded in vital commercial sectors. Sustained foreign investments in a country’s logistics backbone can create commercial advantages, deepen institutional familiarity, and generate long-term influence that may matter later, especially in a strategically sensitive region like the Horn of Africa. As Ethiopia relies on foreign-funded infrastructure for growth, Washington should closely monitor Beijing’s expanding influence. – The National Interest
Howard W. French writes: Another cheap trick is facile nationalism. Mali and its Sahel allies, Burkina Faso and Niger, have fetishized France’s past misdeeds of exploitation and intervention. But as much as their citizens have a right to be unhappy about erstwhile French domination, this is no policy menu. Things seem bound to get much worse in the Sahel before they get any better. The road ahead, if there is one, will require institution-building national leaders who are obsessively driven to meet the real needs of their people and international partners who understand it is in their own deep interest to help them do so. Mali’s president warned in 1995 that without serious help, his country would not make it. The West was already running short of will then. It has even less now. – Foreign Policy
The Americas
On Saturday, the U.S. State Department barred most of La Nación’s executives from traveling to the United States, the newspaper said in a statement. La Nación said the Trump administration had revoked the U.S. visas of five of its seven board members without an official explanation. – New York Times
When potential providers and financiers for Venezuela’s electric industry, including Siemens Energy and GE Vernova, held meetings with officials in Caracas in April, questions of how they might get paid to shore up the country’s deteriorated grid were top of mind, two sources involved in the talks said. – Reuters
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will travel to the United States in the coming days to meet with his counterpart Donald Trump, two sources in the Brazilian government told Reuters on Monday. – Reuters
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was discharged from hospital on Monday after undergoing surgery on his right shoulder on Friday, his doctor Brasil Caiado told reporters in Brasilia. – Reuters
The Dominican Republic’s President Luis Abinader ordered on Monday the suspension of any activity related to GoldQuest Mining’s, gold and copper project, after thousands of people protested over environmental concerns. – Reuters
Argentina’s President Javier Milei restored journalists’ access to his government headquarters Monday, more than a week after the decision to block credentialed reporters from the building — accompanied by a volley of online insults — triggered backlash from lawmakers and press freedom advocates. – Associated Press
The U.S. military said it launched another strike on a boat accused of ferrying drugs in the Caribbean Sea, killing two people Monday. – Associated Press
Guyana told the United Nations’ highest court on Monday that 70% of its territory is at stake in a historic border dispute with Venezuela over a swath of jungle that is rich in resources. – Associated Press
Colombians face a hard, familiar choice in this month’s presidential election: negotiate with violent criminals, or go back to war against them. – Bloomberg
Argentine Jews are on edge after Jewish institutions in Buenos Aires were targeted in Molotov cocktail attacks in two separate incidents in less than a week, deepening security concerns within the local Jewish community. – Algemeiner
North America
Canada and the European Union are turning commiseration and anxiety over their turbulent relationships with the United States under President Trump into a deepening bond. – New York Times
A Canadian mining company that is among Cuba’s largest foreign investors is consulting with advisers and stakeholders after President Donald Trump expanded US sanctions against the struggling Caribbean nation. – Bloomberg
Editorial: In recent years, hundreds of politicians, journalists, police officers, and everyday citizens have been murdered. There are parts of the land where cartels, not governments, rule. The problem has become particularly acute with the rise of synthetic drugs that are easily manufactured and more profitable. The cartels couldn’t exist without an ecosystem in which corruption dominates. To restore Mexico’s sovereignty and tackle the illicit narcotics trade into the U.S., Mexico must tackle its corruption. If it refuses to act, the U.S. will have to do so instead. – Washington Examiner
United States
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told European Union and German trade officials over the weekend that the U.S. will move forward with President Donald Trump’s plan to raise EU car import tariffs to 25%, according to a statement made Monday on CNBC. – Reuters
The Trump administration lifted a visa processing freeze for foreign physicians, ending a months-long halt that had sidelined thousands of doctors and exacerbated staffing shortages at hospitals across the country. – Bloomberg
The US Supreme Court temporarily restored the ability of patients to get a widely used abortion pill by mail, pausing a ruling that required people to visit a healthcare provider. – Bloomberg
US President Donald Trump on Monday issued a proclamation marking May 2026 as Jewish American Heritage Month, highlighting the contributions of Jewish Americans throughout the nation’s history and announcing a national Sabbath to be observed later this month. – Arutz Sheva
Frank DiFulvio writes: Meloni acted as a steady, responsible, and reliable partner between the U.S. and Europe over the past two years. It was a mutually beneficial relationship defined by a shared populist ideology that European leaders on the political left could never replicate. Meloni also worked closely with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, to keep the NATO alliance together during President Trump’s constant demands for America’s European allies to assume a greater financial and military role within the alliance. This unexpected and sudden transatlantic divorce between Trump and Meloni will likely contribute to the further deterioration of this once close generational partnership between the U.S. and its longtime European allies, putting the future of NATO and the long-term security of Europe at risk. – The Hill
Rebecca Grant writes: Historically, this year has seen the biggest haul of captured enemy vessels since President Franklin D. Roosevelt requisitioned 90 foreign merchant ships idling in American harbors in 1941. Don’t forget how U.S. Southern Command seized seven Venezuelan oil tankers in the Caribbean in January. As for Russia, President Vladimir Putin’s shadow fleet may also be at risk in global seas. Vladimir Putin and his cronies acquired a large, unflagged ghost fleet of tankers to evade sanctions after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The shadow fleet may top 770 vessels, moving 3.7 million barrels of oil per day. Mainly to China, of course. By taking ships on the high seas, Operation Epic Fury is demonstrating that the Russian shadow fleet could be next. – Fox News
Michael Jacobson writes: The administration should also move quickly to fill the job of director of the National Counterterrorism Center with a serious counterterrorism professional. It is a key position that sits vacant after Joe Kent stepped down in March in protest of the Iran war. Publicly highlighting the ongoing U.S. commitment to addressing Iranian terrorist threats would send an important message to the Quds Force and other Iranian leaders that the United States will be closely watching their activities and will hold them accountable. It would also convey an important message to the United States’ allies and partners, who have been struggling to understand the U.S. counterterrorism posture and approach. Although the world may no longer be looking to the United States for counterterrorism leadership in the way it did after 9/11, the United States can still show that it intends to drive the international agenda against terrorism at this moment of heightened danger. – Just Security
Cybersecurity
President Trump, who promoted a hands-off approach to artificial intelligence and gave Silicon Valley free rein to roll out the technology, is considering the introduction of government oversight over new A.I. models, according to U.S. officials and people briefed on the deliberations. – New York Times
Southeast Asian countries should aim to build more semiconductor fabrication plants in the coming decade to help the sector diversify and reduce supply risks, the head of global chip industry group SEMI said on Tuesday. – Reuters
Technical services provider ALS (ALQ.AX), said on Tuesday that unauthorized third-party access to parts of its IT systems caused a ‘temporary disruption’ to some of its operations, but swift containment measures helped restore most services. – Reuters
Apple Inc. has held exploratory discussions about using Intel Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co. to produce the main processors for its devices in the US, a move that would offer a secondary option beyond longtime partner Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. – Bloomberg
The European Commission is blocking EU funding for solar panel inverters from what it considers high-risk vendors like China’s tech giant Huawei, it confirmed on Monday. – Politico
The Department of Labor would lead a federal push to collect data on AI’s effect on the U.S. workforce under a bipartisan Senate bill introduced Thursday. – Fedscoop
A cyber-extortion group said it was responsible for a recent ransomware attack on Hungarian media company Mediaworks that resulted in the publication of large volumes of stolen data online. – The Record
Editorial: Anthropic now finds itself missing out on lucrative business. And the Pentagon’s new agreements with competitors include limitations on the military’s use of their technology for autonomous weapons and surveillance. No one is forced to work at any company that does business they disapprove of. Similarly, Anthropic is within its rights to draw red lines in how its product is used. But markets put a price on every decision, even ones intended to be principled. – Washington Post
Grant Geyer writes: Policies and frameworks such as the National Cybersecurity Strategy, CISA’s Secure by Design principles, and international standards like IEC 62443 all reflect a growing recognition that digital infrastructure is a national security issue. Companies that get ahead of this shift will not only reduce risk, they will build competitive advantage in a world where downtime can become a strategic weapon. In the AI era, data centers are essential infrastructure for modern economies and national security. Their rising importance also makes them attractive targets in cyber and physical conflict. Protecting them is no longer just about safeguarding company operations, it is about protecting the systems society depends on every day. – Cyberscoop
Defense
European leaders on Monday said President Donald Trump’s surprise decision to pull thousands of U.S. troops out of Germany is just the latest signal that Europe must take more responsibility for its security. – Associated Press
The U.S. Air Force approved low-rate initial production of Boeing’s T-7A Red Hawk advanced trainer, setting the stage for the long-awaited replacement of the service’s 60-year-old T-38 Talon. – Defense News
The Army is on the hunt for a readily available, rapidly deployable drone that service officials hope will address “reconnaissance and security gaps” that “severely limit” a battalion’s ability to assess the battlefield, according to a recent call for solutions notice. – Defensescoop
The Army has awarded AeroVironment a prototype agreement for the drone maker’s latest Switchblade variant, the company announced Monday. – Defensescoop
Ted Budd and Jeanne Shaheen write: Third, give better support to the Americans who fight in the air. That means expanding incentives to keep experienced aviators in uniform, including bonuses, career flexibility and quality-of-life programs—practical steps to win the talent competition against our adversaries. America’s war fighters will always be our advantage. Investing in them is investing in winning. For too long, U.S. air dominance has been taken for granted—but it isn’t an American birthright. Given China’s advances, it is time for a renewed bipartisan focus on the skies. – Wall Street Journal