FDD Morning Brief

FDD Senior Fellow Lt. Col. (Ret.) Jonathan Conricus fills in for Jonathan Schanzer, providing timely situational updates and analysis ahead of a conversation with documentary filmmaker and "Operation Arnon" producer Hannah Puder. Learn more at: fdd.org/fddmorningbrief

Bradley Bowman, senior director of FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power (CMPP), fills in for Jonathan Schanzer, providing timely situational updates and analysis ahead of a conversation with CMPP Senior Research Analyst Cam McMillan. Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief

RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery,  senior director of FDD’s Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation (CCTI), fills in for Jonathan Schanzer, providing timely situational updates and analysis ahead of a conversation with Celeste Wallander, former Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs of the United States. Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief

Headlines: Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi is giving the Iran-backed Iraqi militias until September 30 to give up their weapons. Iraq and Syria agreed on Monday to strengthen cooperation across a number of sectors, including energy and border security, but also water, agricultuare and transport. Israeli forces eliminated three senior Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives in Gaza. The In...

Headlines: Israel and Lebanon, under the auspices of the United States have entered into a new diplomatic agreement. Reports out of Israel suggest that Hamas may be making some sort of a comeback. Egypt and Iran played soccer against eachother on Friday in Seattle. That’s not really news. The World Cup match, which ended in a 1-1 draw was overshadowed by the fact that both countries were outraged...

Headlines: Remember the Gaza Board of Peace? Yeah. It’s been pretty quiet lately. Well, presentatives from the Board are planning to meet in Cyprus next week. OPEC, the oil cartel for oil-producing nations, is in danger of losing another member. Secretary of State Marco Rubio just wrapped up a three-day tour of the Gulf. Confusion continues over the state of affairs in Lebanon. -- FDD Executive Di...

Headlines: Saudi media reported that Hamas leaders recently met with French officials on an undisclosed date in an unspecified location in the Middle East. Really informative, right? So now, for something more specific. This is the first reported meeting between Hamas and European officials since October 7. Turkey just concluded joint military drills with Qatari land forces. Iran and Oman agreed t...

FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer hosts a special SITREP featuring the Free Press columnist Eli Lake and FDD expert Janatan Sayeh. Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief

Does the MOU play Strait into Tehran's hands? | feat. Bernard Haykel and Jonathan HessenFDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer hosts a special SITREP featuring FDD experts Bernard Haykel and Jonathan Hessen. Learn more at: fdd.org/fddmorningbrief

Headlines: President Trump suggested that Syria should fight Hezbollah instead of Israel. Sources told the Wall Street Journal that the U.S. is going to allow Iran to begin selling oil and fuel as soon as the ceasefire deal is signed. France and Britain are planning to deploy a multinational coalition to the Strait of Hormuz if and when the ceasefire with Iran comes into effect. We spend a lot of...

FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer delivers timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with Haviv Rettig Gur, host of the Ask Haviv Anything podcast and Middle East Analyst at The Free Press . Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief

FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer hosts a special SITREP episode of the FDD Morning Brief featuring FDD experts Miad Maleki, Bradley Bowman, and Ahmad Sharawi. Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief

FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer hosts a special SITREP featuring FDD experts Lt. Col. (Ret.) Jonathan Conricus, RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery, and Behnam Ben Taleblu. Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief

Headlines: Yesterday, Iran launched missiles at Israel for the first time since the April ceasefire took effect. President Trump urged Netanyahu not to strike back at Iran — to no avail. Israel doubles down on its efforts to disarm Hamas in Gaza. -- FDD Research Analyst Mariam Wahba fills in for Jonathan Schanzer, providing timely situational updates and analysis ahead of a conversation with Rafae...

Headlines: The duplicitous, conniving, and corrupt state of Qatar is going to provide 6 billion dollars to Iran’s collapsing economy. The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, or UNIFIL, is going to pack up and go home come December 31st. Yesterday, Hezbollah rejected the latest ceasefire agreement, despite both the Israeli and Lebanese governments agreeing to move forward. The rump of t...

Headlines: US President Donald Trump said on Monday that Israel and Hezbollah agreed to stop shooting — basically, a sort-of ceasefire under which Israel would stop striking Beirut and Hezbollah would stop attacking Israel. However, to no one’s surprise, the shooting has continued. The Iranian regime is planning a three-day funeral for the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which will reportedly take pl...

Headlines: The Israeli military is on the move in Lebanon. The IDF is set to move further north to do more damage to Hezbollah. We’ll keep with Lebanon and note here that the Europeans are nudging their way into this theater. The Brits are saying that they want the Israeli advance to end. The French have done the same. Ahmad al-Sharaa, the newish leader of Syria, says he wants all the remaining sa...

Headlines: The Sultanate of Oman committed to increase trade and economic relations with Iran. The Treasury Department slapped sanctions on the Persian Gulf Strait Authority, which is the body that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard stood up to extort vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz. The IDF carried out a strike in Beirut yesterday — it was the first Israeli strike in Beirut in three weeks...

Headlines: Israeli media reported that Shin Bet chief David Zini met with former Palestinian Authority security official Mohammad Dahlan in the United Arab Emirates. The regime in Iran executed a man accused of spying on behalf of the Mossad. The IDF expanded operations in Lebanon, pushing past the ceasefire line delineated in April — the so-called “Yellow Line.  Iranian hackers were responsible...

FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer hosts a special SITREP featuring FDD experts Lt. Col. (Ret.) Jonathan Conricus and Behnam Ben Taleblu. They dissect the latest on the Iran deal: what we know, what we don't, and what we're watching. Learn more at: fdd.org/fddmorningbrief

Headlines Treasury sanctioned nine Hezbollah enablers who help preserve the terrorist group’s chokehold on Lebanon by obstructing peace or disarmament efforts.  German federal prosecutors brought criminal charges against two individuals suspected of helping Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps plot the murder of Jewish leaders in Germany.  The Trump administration is threatening to revoke the...

Headlines: The Trump administration rolled out another batch of Iran sanctions , as well as a second package targeting four individuals associated with Palestinian terror groups and the Gaza flotilla. It’s official. Hamas has a new leader in Gaza. The world’s largest cable-laying company suspended work in the Persian Gulf after Iran demanded that the company obtain permits and pay fees to continue...

Headlines: Iranian drone attacks, whether launched by the regime or its Iraqi proxies, continue to plague the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Remember the yellow zone in Gaza? You know, the territory that Israel controls and that surrounds the red zone that is still controlled by Hamas? Looks like Israel is slowly gaining ground on the terror group. The outrage continues over...

Headlines We’ve got another flotilla on the way to Israel. Just what we all needed, right? A Hezbollah drone attack wounded four Israeli civilians in northern Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Wednesday that Netanyahu secretly visited the United Arab Emirates during the war with Iran to meet with Emirati Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed. Fatah, the Palestinian Autho...

Headlines: The UAE and Saudi Arabia both struck Iran during the latest round of conflict. Operation Economic Fury continues apace. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with Qatar’s Minister of State for Defense Affairs in Doha. Israel’s Iron Dome and Arrow defense systems have been working overtime but, after weeks — if not months — of speculation, the chair of Israel’s Rafael defense firm ass...