FDD Morning Brief

IS LEBANON'S FUTURE BRIGHT OR BLEAK?

HEADLINE 1: Saudi Arabia announced $6.4 billion worth of investments in Syria.

HEADLINE 2: Another country is poised to join South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.

HEADLINE 3: 8 Israeli soldiers were injured yesterday.

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FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with David Daoud, FDD Senior Fellow and expert on Lebanon and Hezbollah.

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

IRAN, ISRAEL, AND THE UNITED STATES

HEADLINE 1: The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned a petroleum smuggling and sanctions evasion network that generates cash for the Houthis.

HEADLINE 2: A round of nuclear talks is scheduled to take place on Friday between Iran, Britain, France, and Germany – the E3.

HEADLINE 3: The U.S. pulled out of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization.

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FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer delivers timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ).

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

GAZA, SYRIA, AND THE ISRAELI PEOPLE

HEADLINE 1: The Israeli army is moving into Deir al-Balah in central Gaza.

HEADLINE 2: Hostage families slammed IDF’s Deir al-Balah ground op — fearing for their loved ones’ lives.

HEADLINE 3: More allegations of Israeli brutality in Gaza. And more denials from Israel.

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FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer delivers timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with Einat Wilf, author, former Israeli Knesset member, and foreign policy advisor to the late Shimon Peres.

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

THE UN ISN'T JUST A FEW BAD APPLES — IT'S ROTTEN TO THE CORE

HEADLINE 1: Israel launched a national awareness campaign warning Israelis of Iranian recruitment attempts.

HEADLINE 2: The Yemeni National Resistance Forces intercepted a shipment of Iranian weapons.

HEADLINE 3: President Trump met with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani at the White House on Wednesday.

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FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer delivers timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer.

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

WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH HUMANITARIAN AID IN GAZA?

HEADLINE 1: Lebanon’s central bank banned banks from interacting with a Hezbollah-linked financial institution called Al-Qard Al-Hassan.

HEADLINE 2: Sectarian clashes erupted between Sunni Bedouin tribes and Druze militias in Syria.

HEADLINE 3: The UN Human Rights Council is imploding.

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FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer delivers timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with Reverend Johnnie Moore, chairman of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.

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

ISRAEL, GAZA, IRAN ... AND MORE

HEADLINE 1: The IDF’s Gaza war tempo is picking up.

HEADLINE 2: Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly supports a potential nuclear deal that prevents Iran from enriching uranium.

HEADLINE 3: New details are emerging about the 12-day war between Iran and Israel.

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FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer delivers timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with FDD Adjunct Fellow Seth J. Frantzman, who serves as a senior Middle East correspondent and analyst at The Jerusalem Post.

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

WHAT'S GOING ON INSIDE IRAN RIGHT NOW?

HEADLINE 1: The Trump administration continues to escalate its maximum pressure campaign against Iran.

HEADLINE 2: Francesca Albanese got sanctioned.

HEADLINE 3: Hamas tried to abduct an Israeli soldier.

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FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer delivers timely updates and expert analysis, followed by a conversation with Meir Javedanfar, an Iranian-born Israeli lecturer, author, and expert on Iranian politics.

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

HAMAS, HEZBOLLAH, AND HTS

HEADLINE 1: The Houthis are have resumed attacking ships in the Red Sea.

HEADLINE 2: The Trump administration revoked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s designation as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.

HEADLINE 3: Five Israeli soldiers were killed and 14 more were wounded in an ambush in Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza.

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FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer delivers timely updates and expert analysis, followed by a conversation with Roi Kais, Arab affairs correspondent for Israel's Channel 11.

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

FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer delivers timely updates and expert analysis, followed by a conversation with Col. Richard Kemp, a retired British Army officer who has been on the ground in Israel and Gaza following the Hamas-led atrocities of October 7, 2023.

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

THE IRANIAN PEOPLE VERSUS THE REGIME

HEADLINE 1: President Trump signed an executive order lifting sanctions on Syria.

HEADLINE 2: Iranian threats against Donald Trump and his administration keep on coming.

HEADLINE 3: While we’re on the topic of suspicious Iranian activity…Danish authorities arrested a man suspected of collecting intel on Jewish targets in Germany.

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FDD Senior Research Analyst Natalie Ecanow delivers timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation between Jonathan Schanzer and award-winning investigative journalist Lisa Daftari, who serves as the editor-in-chief for The Foreign Desk.

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