FDD Morning Brief

Headlines:

• Israel decided to downgrade the UK’s consulate in Jerusalem, but stopped short of fully closing the diplomatic post. 
• Taiwan has its sights on $130 billion worth of domestic infrastructure projects and the government in Taipei wants Saudi Arabia to pitch in. 
• Rumors are swirling that Syria may be gearing up to help Saudi Arabia fight the Houthis. 
• Iran allegedly transferred $200 million to Hezbollah last month to distribute to Lebanese families displaced during the war with Israel. I am not sure I buy it. 

--

FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with FDD Senior Fellow Lt. Col. (Ret.) Jonathan Conricus.

Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief

Headlines:

• The Houthis aren’t slowing down their offensive and continue to do damage in Saudi Arabia. 
• Representatives from the Mecca pact — Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan — met in Riyadh.
• The Norwegian Parliament is considering a proposal to create an independent list of designated terrorist organizations.
• Iran’s interior minister was in Doha yesterday for meetings with Qatari officials.

--

FDD Senior Research Analyst Natalie Ecanow fills in for Jonathan Schanzer, providing timely situational updates and analysis ahead of a pre-recorded conversation between Jon and Karni Guez, a former IDF commander who led her all-female tank unit into battle on October 7.

Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief

Headlines:

• Members of the Mecca defense pact are planning to meet in Riyadh today.
• Yesterday, Yemeni forces launched a military campaign to retake territory seized by the Houthis.
• The IDF went after another Hamas leader over the weekend. 
• The U.S. Treasury Department took action against a Hamas financing network that’s funneled over $2 million to the terror group through sham charities and cryptocurrency channels.

--

FDD Senior Research Analyst Natalie Ecanow fills in for Jonathan Schanzer, providing timely situational updates and analysis ahead of a pre-recorded conversation between Jon and Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA).

Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief

Headlines:

• The Trump administration overrode the human rights conditions on $320 million worth of military aid to Egypt. 
• American troops are officially out of Iraq.
• The Trump administration is going after a Russia-linked shadow banking network that helps Iran evade sanctions.
• Syria is now eligible to purchase American weaponry.

--

FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with Ronnie Chatah, host of The Beirut Banyan.

Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief

Headlines:

• Iran’s currency plummeted to a new low yesterday. We’re talking over 2.5 million rials to the U.S. dollar. 
• Iran is reportedly offering cash rewards for anyone who captures or kills an American soldier.
• Israel eliminated the leader of Hamas’s Northern Gaza Brigade yesterday. 
• The U.S. is set to withdraw all remaining forces from Iraq today and hand security over to Baghdad.
• A flydubai flight headed to Israel from Dubai was emergency diverted to Saudi Arabia due to a violent incident in the cockpit which is now being investigated as a potential terror attack.

--

FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with Ambassador Jeff Bartos, the U.S. representative for UN management and reform.

Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief

Headlines:

• The internationally recognized government in Aden says it killed or injured 2,316 Houthis over the last 72 hours.
• Iran’s Rev Guards said yesterday that they seized an American submarine drone in the Strait of Hormuz. 
• Turkey continues to explore ways to get back into the F-35 club.
• Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said this weekend that Israel cannot break the resistance in Lebanon. 

--

FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with Bilal Saab, senior managing director of TRENDS US.

Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief

Headlines:

• China has reportedly sent tons of dual-use components to Iran for use in missiles and drones.
• Iran is once again threatening to attack its neighbors, this time going after regional airports.
• Turkey agreed to withdraw from a military base in northern Iraq, handing control back to Baghdad. In exchange, Iraq committed to crack down on armed groups that Ankara considers a threat — namely, groups connected to the Kurdistan Workers Party, otherwise known as the PKK.
• I mentioned the Saudis just a few minutes ago. And those missiles that were shot down. As it turns out, it was the Greeks who shot down at least one ballistic missile and one drone over Saudi Arabia. And guess what? They did so using the American-made Patriot air defense system. 

--

FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with FDD Research Fellow Ben Cohen.

Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief

Headlines:

• The UK has agreed to help Saudi Arabia fight the Houthis by providing aerial refueling services to Saudi planes for the next few weeks. 
• The Trump administration is reportedly setting up a multi-billion dollar investment fund to help repair the energy infrastructure destroyed by Iran in the Persian Gulf. 
• In an exclusive for The New York Times, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi laid out his plan to disarm Iran-backed Iraqi militias. 
• Israeli troops conducted multiple counterterrorism operations in Judea and Samariah during the Yom Kippur holiday on Monday. 

--

FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with FDD Senior Fellow Edmund Fitton-Brown.

Learn more at: fdd.org/fddmorningbrief

Headlines:

• The State Department approved the potential sale of dozens of F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia yesterday. 
• French President Emmanuel Macron met with Jordan’s King Abdullah and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun yesterday as part of a broader effort to raise funds for the Lebanese Armed Forces, or “LAF.”
• The Trump administration sanctioned members of the Palestinian Liberation Organization and Palestinian Authority, including Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, denying them visas to attend the UN General Assembly in New York next week. 
• Israel and Morocco agreed to upgrade diplomatic ties following a meeting between their foreign ministers on Wednesday.

--

FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with FDD AI Fellow Leah Siskind.

Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief

Headlines:

• Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi is in Beijing today to meet with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi.
• A Russian bank just got dinged by the US Treasury for laundering dirty Iranian money.
• Malaysia seized three shipping containers headed for Israel as they transited through a major Malaysian port.

--

FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with FDD Senior Fellow Bernard Haykel.

Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief