FDD Morning Brief

FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with Robert Satloff, the Segal Executive Director of The Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

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

WITH FRIENDS LIKE QATAR, WHO NEEDS ENEMIES?

HEADLINE 1: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wrapped up his tour of the Gulf with a trip to Oman.

HEADLINE 2: The warring Hamas and Fatah factions convened for discussions in Egypt yesterday to talk unity.

HEADLINE 3: Back to Turkey, where the country has renewed military deployment mandates for Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq. 

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FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with writer and Middle East analyst Eitan Fischberger.

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

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Featured FDD Pieces:

"Georgian Dream’s Power Grab Sets Stage to Outlaw Opposition" - Keti Korkiya, FDD Policy Brief

"The UN Cybercrime Treaty: A Trojan Horse for Suppressing Dissent" - Ivana Stradner and Emily Hester, FDD Memo

"To Preserve the Gaza Deal, Keep Qatar at Arm’s Length" - Natalie Ecanow, FDD Policy Brief

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 for Near East Policy who previously held various positions within the Palestinian Authority.

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

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HEADLINE 1: Hamas’s base of operations in Turkey is reportedly growing.

HEADLINE 2: Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani slammed Israel for committing genocide and violating the ceasefire in Gaza. Did he mention Hamas’s October 7 massacre? Nope.

HEADLINE 3: The new Syrian regime seized a massive haul of captagon pills.

BONUS HEADLINE 4: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hosted Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad yesterday.

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Featured FDD Pieces:

"5 Ways the United States and Europe Must Help Ukraine Now" - RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery, FDD Insight

"How the Muslim Brotherhood Built a Media Empire" - Mariam Wahba, The Free Press

"The New Middle East and the Challenges to Israel" - Jonathan Schanzer, Commentary

WHAT ARE THE TALKING POINTS OF THE NEW REGIME IN SYRIA?

FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with Michael Rubin, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and director of policy analysis at the Middle East Forum.

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

DO THE HOUTHIS STILL POSE A CONSIDERABLE THREAT TO ISRAEL AND THE REGION?

HEADLINE 1: The Houthis announced the untimely passing of their military chief of staff, Muhammed al-Ghamari.

HEADLINE 2: Iranian oil tankers briefly came back online this week.

HEADLINE 3: Iran convicted two French citizens of espionage.

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FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer delivers timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with FDD Research Analyst Bridget Toomey, whose research focuses on the Houthis and Iran-backed militias in Iraq.

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

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Featured FDD Pieces:

"50 Years of Anti-Zionist Propaganda: Why the UN’s ‘Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People’ Must Be Dismantled" - Ben Cohen and David May, FDD Memo

"The news from Gaza" - Cliff May, The Washington Times

"Buying the Hatchet" - Ahmad Sharawi, Foreign Policy

IS THE GAZA WAR OVER?

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FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer delivers timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with Nadav Eyal, an award-winning Israeli journalist affiliated with Yedioth Ahronoth and Ynetnews.

Learn more at: fdd.org/fddmorningbrief 

THE HOSTAGES ARE HOME.

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FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with Lt. Col. (Ret.) Jonathan Conricus, FDD senior fellow and former IDF international spokesperson, and Ariel Oseran, senior Middle East correspondent for i24 News English.

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

A CONVERSATION WITH HOSTAGE FAMILIES AT THE SUKKAH OF HOPE

FDD Executive Director Jonathan Schanzer sits down with the families of hostages held in Gaza for a conversation recorded at the Kennedy Center on October 8, 2025 — just hours before details of the hostage deal began to emerge.

Recording credit: Production Management One (https://www.instagram.com/pm1pro/)

Learn more at: fdd.org/fddmorningbrief

A DEAL HAS BEEN MADE. NOW WHAT?

HEADLINE 1: The Treasury Department rolled out a fresh round of Iran sanctions. 

HEADLINE 2: The U.S. Department of Commerce added over a dozen Chinese companies to a restricted trade list. 

HEADLINE 3: Israel disrupted a major arms smuggling operation into the West Bank. 

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FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with former Israeli National Security Advisor Eyal Hulata.

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

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Featured FDD Pieces:

"Israel Moves To Counter Drone Threat on Egyptian Border" - Mariam Wahba, FDD

"Hamasniks in fox holes" - Cliff May, The Washington Times

"Recipe for Success: Guidance Based on the Experience of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission" - Sophie McDowall, FDD

HOW HAS THE WAR RESHAPED THE MIDDLE EAST TWO YEARS AFTER OCTOBER 7?

HEADLINE 1: A prisoner exchange deal between Iran and France is in the works.

HEADLINE 2: Some interesting stuff coming out of Lebanon and Syria.

HEADLINE 3: Speaking of Syria, Syria and Kurdish Forces in the country agreed to a ceasefire yesterday.

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FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with New York Times bestselling author Yossi Klein Halevi.

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

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Featured FDD Pieces:

"Combatting PRC Illegal, Coercive, Aggressive, and Deceptive Behavior in the Indo-Pacific" - Craig Singleton, Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee

"America must stop aiding our enemies by enabling the shadowy world of dirty cash" - Josh Birenbaum, New York Post

"Is Qatar Finally Ready to Split With Hamas?" - Natalie Ecanow, Wall Street Journal