HEADLINE 1: Even with talks this weekend, Iran continues to escalate in the Middle East.

HEADLINE 2: Israel continues to even the score from October 7.

HEADLINE 3: And I really don’t like this: Egypt and Turkey signed a military cooperation agreement in Cairo.

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FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with Ghaith Al-Omari, senior fellow at The Washington Institute and former senior advisor to the Palestinian Authority.

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

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Featured FDD Pieces:

"Should Western Tech Giants Partner With Pro-Hamas Network Al Jazeera?" - Toby Dershowitz and Asher Boiskin, The Cipher Brief

"Why Is the Trump Administration Wiring Venezuelan Oil Revenue to Qatar?" - Natalie Ecanow, The Dispatch

"Sudanese Army Breaks Key Siege as U.S. Leads Humanitarian Aid Push" - Mariam Wahba, FDD Policy Brief

HEADLINE 1: UNRWA is back in the news. And that’s generally not a good thing for the UN’s most corrupt agency.

HEADLINE 2: Earlier this week, the IDF dropped some sort of non-toxic chemical substance near the Blue Line. The Israelis have been consistently clearing greenery to ensure unhindered lines of sight. UNIFIL was outraged.

HEADLINE 3: Lebanon’s army chief headed to Florida this week for meetings with his American counterparts.

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FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer delivers timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with Israeli journalist and "The War of Return" co-author Adi Schwartz.

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

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Featured FDD Pieces:

"After Erdogan: Who Will Control Turkey?" - Sinan Ciddi and William Doran, FDD Memo

"Reimagining Mediterranean Security with Greek Minister for National Defense Nikos Dendias" - FDD Event

"Trump Administration Foreign Policy Tracker: February" - FDD Experts

IS THIS THE END OF UNRWA?

HEADLINE 1: The Islamic Republic of Iran has designated every European military as a terrorist organization. 

HEADLINE 2: Looks like the EU Commission has fired a senior official after a scandal involving Qatari influence and lavish gifts.

HEADLINE 3: Hamas claims that it has killed several members of Israel-backed paramilitary groups operating in Gaza.

HEADLINE 4: The Israelis have opened up the Rafah crossing in southern Gaza after a year of keeping it closed.

HEADLINE 5: The government of South Africa and Israel are engaged in a nasty diplomatic spat right now. 

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FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer delivers timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with Asaf Romirowsky, executive director of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East (SPME) and the Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa (ASMEA).

Learn more at: fdd.org/fddmorningbrief

HEADLINE 1: Turkish authorities detained six people suspected of spying for Iran.

HEADLINE 2: The Saudis are in town, led by the crown prince’s brother.

HEADLINE 3: South Africa reportedly is moving ahead with investigations into naval drills that took place in early January.

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FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with FDD Senior Research Analyst Ahmad Sharawi.

For all past episodes: https://bit.ly/3LENwPr

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Featured FDD Pieces:

"Iran Protests Highlight South Africa’s Broken Moral Compass" - David May, The Algemeiner

"Two Bad Apples Threaten to Spoil the Gaza Board of Peace" - Natalie Ecanow and Sinan Ciddi, National Review

"In the Eye of the Storm" - Mark Dubowitz and Rich Goldberg, The Iran Breakdown

HEADLINE 1: A delegation of Hamas officials arrived on Monday in…wait for it…Turkey.

HEADLINE 2: This is not a parody: Hamas wants to be part of Gaza’s new government.

HEADLINE 3: The USS Abraham Lincoln arrived in Middle Eastern waters yesterday.

AND BONUS HEADLINE 4: The IDF is still hammering Hezbollah in Lebanon.

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FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer delivers timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with Council on Foreign Relations Senior Fellow Elliott Abrams, who formerly served as U.S. Special Representative for Iran and Venezuela.

For all past episodes: https://bit.ly/3LENwPr

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Featured FDD Pieces:

"Israel’s hostage agony finally ends — but its Gaza mission is far from over" - Mark Dubowitz, New York Post

"Iranian Influence Operation Floods X With Anti-Protest Messaging" - Max Lesser and Maria Riofrio, FDD Policy Brief

"Why Is Saudi Arabia Abandoning Peace?" - Hussain Abdul-Hussain, The National Interest

FDD Senior Research Analyst Natalie Ecanow timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a pre-recorded conversation between Jonathan Schanzer and Michael Rubin, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and director of policy analysis at the Middle East Forum.

For all episodes: https://bit.ly/4qHfzNp

IS VENEZUELA CHINA'S REALITY CHECK?

HEADLINE 1: Israel banned 29 Turkish individuals from entering the country.

HEADLINE 2: Iran is reportedly turning to cryptocurrency to resuscitate its economy.

HEADLINE 3: The Treasury Department slapped sanctions on a network of nonprofits tied to Hamas.

HEADLINE 4: Israel is still schwacking Hezbollah in Lebanon.

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FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with Craig Singleton, senior director of FDD’s China Program.

Learn more at: fdd.org/fddmorningbrief

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Featured FDD Pieces:

"Over the Barrel of a Gun: Syria’s Deal With the SDF" - Ahmad Sharawi, Real Clear World

"The mission behind Trump’s Board of Peace is simple — and critics keep getting it wrong" - Jonathan Schanzer, New York Post

"Assessing the China-Russia Threat Nexus in Technology and Information Warfare" - Craig Singleton, David Shedd, Ivana Stradner, and William Evanina, FDD Event

HEADLINE 1: Israel began demolishing UNRWA’s headquarters in East Jerusalem.

HEADLINE 2:  U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, who also serves as Trump’s Syria envoy, thinks that things are going well in Damascus.

HEADLINE 3: The IDF began a sweeping counterterrorism operation in the West Bank city of Hebron.

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FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with Israeli American journalist Emily Schrader.

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

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Featured FDD Pieces:

"Persian Puzzles" - FDD's Foreign Podicy

"As Iran’s uprising intensifies, Israel cannot afford to sit this one out" - Saeed Ghasseminejad and Navid Mohebbi, Ynetnews

"Canada’s Bet on Beijing Puts USMCA at Risk" - Elaine Dezenski and Susan Soh

FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with Steven A. Cook, the Eni Enrico Mattei Senior Fellow for MENA at the Council on Foreign Relations.

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

THE NEW SYRIA AND ISRAEL'S SECURITY

HEADLINE 1: Argentina is going after the Muslim Brotherhood.

HEADLINE 2: The U.S. Treasury Department rolled out a new sanctions package in support of the Iranian people. 

HEADLINE 3: It’s official. Phase two of the Gaza ceasefire has begun.

HEADLINE 4: Things are still going boom in Lebanon.

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FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer delivers timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with FDD Senior Advisor Jonathan Hessen.

Learn more at: fdd.org/fddmorningbrief

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FDD Featured Pieces:

"The quiet way AI normalizes foreign influence" - Leah Siskind, Cyberscoop

"Egypt Sentences Christian Researcher Under Blasphemy Law, Underscoring a Recurrent Breach in U.S.-Egypt Relations" - Mariam Wahba, FDD

"Made in China, Paid by Seniors: Stopping the Surge of International Scams" - Nathan Picarsic, U.S. Senate Testimony