Today In Issues:
FDD Research & Analysis
The Must-Reads
U.N. Security Council approves Trump’s 20-point peace plan for Gaza Hamas rejects UN Gaza resolution, says international force would become party to conflict Berlin to lift suspension of Israel weapons sales, but says ceasefire must hold WSJ Editorial: Trump rallies the security council on Gaza Crew of tanker seized by Iran make contact, are safe, vessel manager says JP Editorial: Destroying Iran’s nuclear ambition didn’t end threat, but expanded it throughout region Dassault aviation rises after Ukraine agrees to buy 100 Rafale fighter jets Iraqi PM-led coalition tops Iraq election with 46 seats, commission says WINEP’s James Jeffrey and David Schenker: Iraq’s election: Outcomes and next steps Trump says U.S. intends to sell F-35 jet fighters to Saudi Arabia North Korea says US-South Korea deal to set off 'nuclear domino' effect Hudson Institute’s Walter Russell Mead: Why China is picking a fight with JapanIn The News
Israel
A U.S.-drafted U.N. resolution endorsing President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan passed overwhelmingly in the Security Council on Monday, a major victory for administration diplomacy as it struggles to implement its blueprint for what Trump has said would be “a new dawn” for the Middle East. – Washington Post
Gazans said they paid $2,000 per seat to fly their families to South Africa on a trip arranged by a group offering a way out of the devastated enclave, in what South Africa alleged on Monday appeared to be part of a bid to displace Palestinians. – Reuters
Palestinian Foreign Minister Varsen Aghabekian Shahin said on Tuesday the U.N. Security Council’s adoption of a resolution endorsing U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza was a necessary first step on a long road toward peace. – Reuters
The Palestinian Resistance Committees (PRC), an allied faction of Hamas, said on Monday that one of its local armed leaders was killed by what it described as an Israeli undercover force near Deir Al-Balah city in the central Gaza Strip. – Reuters
Hamas rejected the United Nations Security Council passing a U.S.-drafted resolution endorsing U.S. President Donald Trump’s Gaza plan, saying it fails to meet Palestinians’ rights and demands and seeks to impose an international trusteeship on the enclave that Palestinians and resistance factions oppose. – Reuters
Germany on Monday moved to resume weapons sales to Israel that had been suspended since August over the war in Gaza, but said the decision is subject to the observance of the ceasefire and the large-scale provision of humanitarian aid. – Reuters
Indonesia welcomes the UN Security Council’s adoption of a U.S.-drafted resolution endorsing President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza and establish an international stabilisation force, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday. – Reuters
The IDF submitted a formal position paper to Israel’s political echelon on Sunday, in which the Israeli Air Force presented an explicit objection to the US’s sale of advanced F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia. – Times of Israel
Troops from the 80th Division have been operating continuously and in a targeted manner in recent weeks to thwart smuggling attempts using UAVs. Attempts to smuggle weapons, drugs, and various criminal items into Israeli territory have increased significantly in recent months. – Arutz Sheva
Editorial: Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu and Mr. Trump are no longer the only ones insisting on that. By not disarming, Hamas is in continuing breach of the agreement, holding up the reconstruction of Gaza and the rest. The question is what Mr. Trump is willing to do about it. If “Phase Two” of his plan isn’t working, he’ll need the bravery to call it quits—as the “peace processors” of old never could. – Wall Street Journal
Seth Mandel writes: It turns out that those two principles amount to the same thing. The only countries in Europe subject to full-on Russian ground invasions are states that aren’t part of NATO, such as Ukraine. Those states are being aided by European countries and Israeli weapons technology. The Russian war effort, meanwhile, is aided by Iran—which has been greatly weakened by Israel, a state whose No. 2 weapons supplier is… Germany. This is the alliance of democracies acting in defense of freedom. Outside the U.S., it is Germany and Israel leading the way. There’s a lesson there for the rest of the West. – Commentary Magazine
Iran
The crew of an oil products tanker are safe and the vessel is anchored off Iran’s Bandar Abbas port, its manager said on Monday, after Tehran said it seized the ship in open Gulf waters last week. – Reuters
Rainfall caused floods in parts of western Iran on Monday, after months of drought led to the worst water crisis in decades and pushed authorities to begin cloud seeding over the weekend. – Reuters
Editorial: The lesson from Iran’s nuclear failure is not that the threat is gone. Firm action, clear redlines, and support from other countries in the region can all affect Tehran’s decisions. The same Iranian missile threat now faces both Israel and the Sunni Arab states. The sooner they act like it, the better chance they have of stopping the next war, which would be much worse. – Jerusalem Post
Russia and Ukraine
Ukraine agreed to buy 100 Rafale fighter jets as part of a larger military equipment deal that triggered a jump in the share price of the French aerospace and defense manufacturer Dassault Aviation – Wall Street Journal
Russian drones damaged a building housing the Dnipro newsroom of public broadcaster Suspilne and Ukrainian Radio Dnipro in a major overnight attack on the city, Suspilne said early on Tuesday. – Reuters
President Donald Trump is willing to sign legislation to impose sanctions on Russia as long as he retains ultimate decision-making authority over any such measures, a senior White House official said on Monday. – Reuters
It is vital to use frozen Russian assets to help fund Ukraine, Finland’s President Alexander Stubb told reporters in Brussels on Monday. – Reuters
A drone struck a Turkish-flagged tanker and set it ablaze on Monday in southern Ukraine’s Odesa region, officials said, a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a deal to import U.S. liquefied natural gas through the area. – Associated Press
The fighting in Ukraine no longer resembles the trench warfare of World War I — instead, drones have erased the solid front line by creating a killing zone. – Politico
Mick Ryan writes: Russia’s newfound lead in tactical innovation is by no means assured to last. Ukraine has out-thought Russian tactical leaders and methods for much of the war. There is no reason why they cannot continue to do this to reduce Russian advantages. Support to Ukraine in the military, intelligence, economic, information, and diplomatic domains remains a crucial element of this war. These endeavors are a critical aspect of preventing Russia from achieving its objectives in Ukraine, forcing a just war termination agreement, and deterring future Russian aggression against other parts of Eastern Europe. – Center for Strategic and International Studies
Iraq
Iraq’s government is discussing seeking a six-month sanctions waiver from the U.S. Treasury Department for Lukoil to have more time to sell its stake in the giant West Qurna-2 oilfield, three Iraqi energy officials told Reuters on Monday. – Reuters
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani’s political bloc won the most seats in Iraq’s election, final election results showed on Monday, but a new government could still be months away due to wrangling to build a majority. – Reuters
James Jeffrey and David Schenker write: Relatively speaking, the past three years were good ones for Iraq and its relationship with the United States. Although Sudani was often solicitous of his Iran-backed coalition partners, he also sought to balance some of their most problematic behavior and improve ties with Washington. Regrettably, if the CF asserts its will in the government formation process and tilts Baghdad back toward Tehran, relations could revert to the bad old days of the first Trump administration, when Iraq was a literal battleground between Iran and the United States, and American companies wanted little to do with the country. – Washington Institute
Saudi Arabia
President Trump said Monday that the U.S. would sell advanced F-35 jet fighters to Saudi Arabia, announcing his decision the day before he meets at the White House with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. – Wall Street Journal
Karen Elliott House writes: In this transition period from crown prince to king, MBS has extra reason to be reflective and cautious. Recognizing Israel or making concessions on Gaza that his youthful supporters oppose wouldn’t be prudent. […] All this has to be done with Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declaring last month that Iran and its regional allies “will not back down” in the face of confrontation with Israel, raising the risk that Iran might lash out at Saudi Arabia’s oil or its huge development projects. That risk is more reason to solidify Saudi’s relationship with its U.S. protector. – Wall Street Journal
Michael Ratney writes: The crown prince will also likely want to reinforce Saudi Arabia’s role as a leading player — globally, not just regionally — in emerging technology and artificial intelligence, a key to the successful diversification of its economy. That means he will probably seek an agreement ensuring Saudi access to the most advanced U.S. chips. And because part of the Saudis’ plans for a post-oil future involves civil nuclear power, Prince Mohammed will probably ask Mr. Trump to support those ambitions as well. It’s true that people can never erase their pasts. But the world will soon see Prince Mohammed at a White House dinner — for many, the ultimate emblem of diplomatic acceptance — and that was something almost unimaginable even seven years ago. – New York Times
Middle East & North Africa
The International Monetary Fund said on Monday it planned an “intensive program of engagement” with Syria to help it rebuild its economy, but a statement issued at the end of an IMF staff visit to Damascus did not mention any discussions of financial assistance for the country. – Reuters
Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Guler said on Monday it would take at least two months to reach initial findings and analyse the black box of a Turkish cargo plane that crashed in Georgia last week and left 20 soldiers dead. – Reuters
The United States administration has canceled all scheduled meetings with Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) Commander General Rodolphe Haykal, according to a report by Lebanon’s MTV. The report states that the Lebanese Embassy in Washington also canceled a reception that was planned in his honor. – Arutz Sheva
Korean Peninsula
South Korean technology stocks rose after the nation’s largest conglomerates pledged billions of dollars in new domestic investments, in a push to shore up the country’s manufacturing base as Seoul works to ease trade frictions with Washington. – Wall Street Journal
North Korea said on Tuesday the joint fact sheet that the United States and South Korea announced last week cements the two countries’ confrontational stance against North Korea, and North Korea will take countermeasures, according to state media KCNA. – Reuters
South Korea’s defence ministry said on Monday that it has proposed talks with North Korea’s military to discuss setting a clearer boundary along the military demarcation line between the two Koreas to avoid the risk of potential military clashes. – Reuters
China
Chinese financial institutions have lent more than $200 billion to the United States over the past 25 years — more than they have advanced to any other country — as part of a vast global spending spree to take control of Western companies working on sensitive technologies, according to new research released Tuesday. – Washington Post
President Donald Trump’s announcement this month that the United States would restart nuclear weapons testing on an “equal basis” with other nations — alluding to unverified claims that Moscow and Beijing are conducting secret tests and suggesting the U.S. will revive programs abandoned in the early 1990s — has sowed confusion among the world’s nuclear powers and revived echoes of the Cold War arms race. – Washington Post
Taiwan said on Tuesday it had detained a Chinese citizen on suspicion of espionage after breaking up a plot to entice serving and retired military personal to collect classified information. – Reuters
China defence ministry said on Monday it has lodged representations with the United States over its arms sale to Taiwan, vowing to take “all necessary” measures to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity. – Reuters
Germany’s finance minister became the first representative of the new coalition government to visit China on Monday, with Berlin under pressure to show it has a handle on China policy as a record trade gap widens and supply chains wobble. – Reuters
The European Union’s new pollution-cutting targets are insufficient, China’s climate envoy told POLITICO on the sidelines of this year’s COP30 conference while also condemning the “bad example” set by the absent United States. – Politico
Walter Russell Mead writes: Many powerful figures in Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party have close ties to these companies. Others represent constituencies where China-linked businesses are major employers, or where tourism is a major source of income. Many of Ms. Takaichi’s parliamentary colleagues are skeptical of the first female prime minister in Japanese history. Focused economic pressure from China just might persuade the party barons to deliver a strong behind-the-scenes message to their leader. Ms. Takaichi says Margaret Thatcher is her role model. Let’s hope that this Iron Lady is as tough and resourceful as the first. – Wall Street Journal
Asia
The prime minister of tiny Tuvalu said on Tuesday that his country treasures its “special relationship” with Taiwan, making a visit to Taipei at a time of growing geopolitical competition in the Pacific between China and the United States. – Reuters
Police in Vietnam are prosecuting a Berlin-based journalist and news website editor known for critical reports about the leaders of the Southeast Asian nation, accusing him of anti-state activities, authorities said. – Reuters
Japan has warned its citizens in China to step up safety precautions and avoid crowded places amid a deepening dispute between Asia’s two largest economies over Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comments on Taiwan. – Reuters
Taiwan will tighten its export controls for potential dual-use civilian-military technology to include quantum computers and advanced semiconductor equipment to fulfil its obligations to stop weapons proliferation, its economy ministry said. – Reuters
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday that Australia would not co-host the COP31 climate summit with Turkey amid an ongoing stalemate between the two countries over which one should stage the conference next year. – Reuters
The Japan Self-Defense Force recently tested the deployment of a developing hypersonic missile system that is designed to defend Tokyo’s islands from foreign warships. – USNI News
Andrew Nachemson and Pyae Sone Aung write: Though conscription may have pushed some more young men to join the resistance, manpower for those fighting the junta has never been a problem: Since the coup, rebel leaders have reported having far more soldiers than guns. Indeed, many groups are suffering from a shortage of weapons and ammunition. Wary of the resistance movement and growing instability, Beijing has heaped pressure on the armed groups along its border with Myanmar to distance themselves from the pro-democracy groups. In Myanmar, forced recruitment has therefore replenished the military’s ranks while it fights an enemy with one hand now tied behind its back. – Foreign Policy
Europe
The European Union raised its expectations for economic growth in the eurozone this year amid resilient activity, though higher-than-forecast tariffs are expected to weigh on the bloc in 2026. – Wall Street Journal
France is touting a plan to reinforce Ukraine’s air power over the next decade with new jet fighters and missile-defense systems, but a major question remains unsettled: Who will pay for it? – Wall Street Journal
The U.K. government on Monday announced an overhaul of its immigration policy to deter asylum seekers from arriving on British shores, the latest European nation to tighten rules in response to growing dissatisfaction from voters at levels of illegal immigration. – Wall Street Journal
Saboteurs tried to “blow up a train” on a Polish railway that is important for delivering aid to Ukraine, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Monday after the authorities identified blast damage on tracks in the country’s east. – New York Times
Belgium will buy defensive kamikaze drones from a Latvian company, the defence ministry said, after a string of incursions that have disrupted airports, military bases and a nuclear plant. – Reuters
The German Navy will purchase Lockheed Martin Canada’s combat management system CMS 330 for more than C$1 billion, Canadian trade minister Maninder Sidhu announced Monday. – Reuter
The German government said Monday that it’s lifting its restrictions on exports of military equipment to Israel, weeks after the ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas militant group. – Associated Press
Gerard Baker writes: Self-deprecation isn’t much in evidence at the BBC these days as its staff take to their airwaves to insist how unbiased they are. Irony has clearly died there too. We can trace its death to Nov. 7, 2017. That was the day the BBC unveiled a statue of George Orwell outside its headquarters. The great writer also worked for the BBC. He would recognize better than anyone the ethos that controls his former workplace: “At any given moment,” he once wrote, “there is an orthodoxy, a body of ideas of which it is assumed that all right-thinking people will accept without question.” – Wall Street Journal
Can Kasapoglu and Peter Rough write: Such a decision cannot and will not be taken in the European Quarter of Brussels, however. While NATO’s response to Russia’s drone incursion into Poland followed an imperfect script, it nonetheless reflected a plan. […] The challenge of Russian hybrid aggression is real—and precisely the type of problem for which NATO exists in the post-Cold War era. To duplicate NATO’s efforts through a multi-year EU initiative makes little sense. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization should take the lead in defending Europe from Russian drones and take a page from Ukraine’s playbook in the process. – National Interest
Africa
Nigerian authorities were searching Monday for 25 students who were abducted from a girls’ secondary school by a group of armed assailants during the overnight hours in the country’s northwestern Kebbi state. The school’s vice principal was killed in the attack, officials said. – Washington Post
The U.N. official, Tom Fletcher, came to negotiate with leaders of the Rapid Support Forces, or R.S.F., a group that has been a focus of global outrage since late October, when its fighters seized the famine-stricken city of El Fasher amid a wave of violence against civilians. – New York Times
Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan on Monday named the East African country’s ambassador to China, Khamis Mussa Omar, as the finance minister in her new cabinet after last month’s disputed election. – Reuters
The Democratic Republic of Congo has extended for six months a ban on the trading of minerals from dozens of artisanal mining sites in conflict-hit North and South Kivu provinces, the mines ministry said. – Reuters
Prosecutors sought a life sentence for a Janjaweed militia leader convicted of atrocities in Sudan’s Darfur region, telling the International Criminal Court on Monday he was guilty of murder and ordering others to commit mass crimes. – Reuters
Militants from Islamic State West Africa Province said on Monday they had executed a senior Nigerian army officer captured during a deadly ambush on a military convoy, in what would mark an unprecedented escalation in the 16-year insurgency. – Reuters
Gordon G. Chang writes: A strike on Fulani militants in Nigeria fits this pattern, although such an action, unlike the two others, would not appear to be related to a core interest of the United States, at least as Trump has so far defined them. Trump, however, is full of surprises, which makes him especially scary to hostile elements around the world. Second, the American president has been going after China’s friends in the Global South when they have been engaging in abhorrent conduct. Those moves put Beijing, which criticizes everything America does, on the wrong side of so many issues around the world. That looks like an important win in itself. – Newsweek
The Americas
Argentina’s Economy Minister Luis Caputo has all the swagger of the brash Wall Street trader that he once was, first for JPMorgan and then at Deutsche Bank. His co-workers have called him the Lionel Messi of finance. – Wall Street Journal
The United States is imposing visa restrictions on people in Nicaragua who have enabled illegal immigration to the country, the State Department said on Monday, including the owners of transportation companies, travel agencies and tour operators. – Reuters
Peru’s Foreign Trade and Tourism Minister Teresa Mera said on Monday that a new U.S. tariff exemption includes more than 100 products from the Andean country’s agricultural export basket that were worth about $1.2 billion last year. – Reuters
President Donald Trump said Monday he supports aggressive action against drug cartels and narcotics production in Mexico and Colombia, his latest saber-rattling in the region after a series of strikes on small boats in the Caribbean and Pacific. – Reuters
Editorial: It only took one generation for socialism to ruin Venezuela and impoverish most of its people. The damage caused by Maduro and Hugo Chávez before him won’t be quickly undone, but it’s possible. Machado envisions Venezuela becoming “a pillar of democratic and energy security in the western hemisphere, and the unwavering promoter of liberty around the world.” Of course, there’s no guarantee that a post-Maduro Venezuela immediately becomes a thriving, free-market democracy, but we commend Machado for imagining a better future for Venezuelans to rally around. This manifesto is a great starting point. It’s meant to precede what will hopefully become a new constitution for a truly democratic Venezuela. The document imagines the country emerging from the ashes “like a phoenix reborn — fierce, radiant, and unstoppable.” – Washington Post
Francisco Rodriguez writes: The potential upside to the current U.S. military buildup off the coast of Venezuela may lie precisely in the uncertainty it has generated. In classic Art of the Deal style, Trump has single-handedly raised the stakes of Venezuela’s political conflict. The risks are now high not just for the Maduro government, which faces the real prospect of a massive military attack, but also for the opposition, whose near-total dependence on U.S. support has been laid bare. Trump’s threat of fire and fury could presage violence. But it could just as easily create an opening for a negotiated transition—one that breaks a catastrophic stalemate and allows Venezuelans to reclaim their future. – Foreign Affairs
Peter Suciu writes: Beijing began its Harmony missions in 2010 and has deployed naval ships to Southeast Asia, Africa, the South Pacific, and both North and South America, according to Newsweek. The Type 920 hospital ship (NATO reporting name “Anwei”) is one of three built for the PLAN, and it provided its first medical mission last year. A video of the ship’s arrival in Latin America was shared on social media. CNS Silk Road Ark previously visited Nauru, Fiji, and Tonga. A planned port visit to Mexico is planned for later this month. – National Interest
North America
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday said he would launch strikes against Mexico if it would stop drugs from being trafficked into the United States. “Okay with me, whatever we have to do to stop drugs,” he told reporters in the Oval Office. – Reuters
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Monday that Mexican airlines had agreed to hand over some flight slots at the nation’s busy capital airport to U.S. carriers, amid an ongoing spat between the countries over flight distribution. – Reuters
The Canadian Parliament on Monday narrowly voted in favor of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first budget, staving off the threat of a second election in less than a year. – Reuters
The German Navy will purchase Lockheed Martin Canada’s combat management system CMS 330 for more than C$1 billion, Canadian trade minister Maninder Sidhu announced Monday. – Reuters
Anti-government protests in Mexico City turned openly antisemitic over the weekend, with demonstrators chanting and scrawling graffiti attacking President Claudia Sheinbaum’s Jewish heritage — sparking outrage from Jewish leaders and politicians nationwide. – Algemeiner
United States
The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to review the question of when a migrant actually arrives in the United States, in a case that could determine whether migrants intercepted before crossing U.S. borders can apply for asylum. – Washington Post
President Donald Trump said Monday that he will not rule out the possibility of sending U.S. troops into Venezuela, as a buildup of U.S. forces in the region — and his increasingly combustible rhetoric — raises the prospect of military action there. – Washington Post
Saab shares gained Monday after the company received a 3.1 billion-euro ($3.6 billion) order for 17 Gripen fighter jets from Colombia. – Wall Street Journal
Months before the U.S. military began launching airstrikes against suspected drug vessels, former Justice Department No. 2 official Emil Bove told employees the government should just “sink the boats” rather than prosecute the people on board, three witnesses told Reuters. – Reuters
The Trump administration on Monday proposed giving immigration officers authority to deny permanent residency to lawfully present immigrants who use Medicaid or other food and housing assistance programs, arguing that “government benefits should not incentivize immigration” and that immigrants should be “self-reliant.” – Politico
President Donald Trump is unleashing his anger at Indiana Senate Republicans for not backing the GOP redistricting effort, posting his displeasure three times to Truth Social in the last 24 hours and calling President Pro Tempore Rod Bray a “Total RINO.”- Politico
Cybersecurity
Australia’s remote Indian Ocean outpost of Christmas Island has enough power to support a new Google data centre without depriving locals, but its arrival could spur a push to renewable energy, the island’s biggest employer and the tech giant said. – Reuters
China banned LGBT dating apps Blued and Finka this week, the latest targets of a yearslong effort to curb the promotion of homosexual culture in the country. Apple confirmed the removal of the apps from its platform, citing pressure from the CCP. – Washington Examiner
On Monday, more than 60 digital commerce and trade groups called on governments around the globe to reject efforts or requests to weaken or bypass encryption, saying strong encrypted communications provides critical protections for user privacy, secure data protection and trust that underpin some of society’s most important interactions. – Cyberscoop
Kevin Malone writes: While I recognize the irony of asking AI if it’s dangerous, there’s something to be said when even AI is “self-aware” of its role in perpetuating harm to children. And if AI is aware—there’s no reason why we shouldn’t wake up and sound the alarms. – Newsweek
Defense
Archer Aviation said on Monday it will supply its electric powertrain for the Omen autonomous air vehicle, being co-developed by U.S. defense technology firm Anduril Industries and UAE-based EDGE group. – Reuters
Despite U.S. interest in deeper military ties with Vietnam, the Nov. 2 visit by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, during which he met Communist Party leader To Lam and Defense Minister Phan Van Giang, did not yield an expected announcement on arms sales. – Defense News
The bills passed last week as part of the deal that ended the longest U.S. government shutdown in history include billions of dollars for major Air Force and Navy programs. This includes funds to build new aircraft carriers and submarines, facilities needed for new stealth bombers and nuclear missiles and research and development spending to keep a major airborne command and control program alive. – Defense News