FDD Morning Brief

HOUTHIS, HAMAS, AND THE HOSTAGES HEADLINE 1: Israel prepares for “Operation Gideon’s Chariots” — a new, expanded ground offensive in Gaza. HEADLINE 2: The United States and Iran are set to resume nuclear talks. HEADLINE 3: Things are heating up a little in Lebanon. -- FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer delivers timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with FDD Senior Fe...

DOCUMENTING THE TRUTH ABOUT THE OCTOBER 7 MASSACRE HEADLINE 1:  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on Qatar to stop playing games. HEADLINE 2:   The UK  arrested  8 men on suspected terror offenses. HEADLINE 3:  Israel  carried  out a strike near the presidential palace in Damascus, Syria. -- FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely updates and analysis, followed by a conv...

THE IMPACT OF FOREIGN FUNDING TO AMERICAN UNIVERSITIES HEADLINE 1: On Wednesday, two Israeli reservists were wounded in a roadside bomb attack in the northern West Bank. HEADLINE 2: Seven Iranian entities were slapped with U.S. sanctions on Wednesday. HEADLINE 3: Reuters published details from a 33-page document its reporters found in Damascus after the Assad regime was toppled. -- FDD Executive D...

ABRAHAM ACCORDS, TWO-STATE PARADIGM, AND U.S.-IRAN NUCLEAR TALKS HEADLINE 1: The Navy lost a $60 million fighter jet because of a Houthi missile attack. HEADLINE 2: An Israeli district court sentenced an Israeli citizen to 10 years in prison for treason. HEADLINE 3: Sectarian clashes broke out near Damascus in what people are still calling the new Syria. -- FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer prov...

TARIFFS, TRUMP DOCTRINE, AND WHITE HOUSE DIVISIONS HEADLINE 1: The Palestinian Liberation Organization has a new vice president. HEADLINE 2: The Houthis launched yet another ballistic missile at Israel on Saturday morning. HEADLINE 3: Qatar and Saudi Arabia are settling Syria’s debt to the World Bank. -- FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer delivers timely situational updates and analysis, followed...

SOCIOECONOMIC AND POLITICAL REALITIES IN ISRAEL POST-OCTOBER 7 HEADLINE 1: The Palestinian Liberation Organization Central Council held a two-day meeting this week. HEADLINE 2: Iran may be operating a new, deeply buried tunnel and an expanded security perimeter near the Natanz nuclear site. HEADLINE 3: Interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa says he is open to normalizing ties with Israel. -- FDD...

SANCTIONS, ILLICIT FINANCE, AND THE IRANIAN PEOPLE HEADLINE 1 : Egypt and Qatar reportedly tabled a new ceasefire proposal. HEADLINE 2: Another day, another round of Iran sanctions. HEADLINE 3: Egypt and China kicked off their first-ever joint air force exercise. -- FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer delivers timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with Saeed Ghassemin...

SANCTIONS, TARIFFS, AND MORE HEADLINE 1: Turkish Intelligence Chief Ibrahim Kalin met with Hamas leaders over the weekend.  HEADLINE 2: The U.S. and Iran held a second round of nuclear talks in Rome. HEADLINE 3: Hamas launched a deadly attack against Israeli troops in northern Gaza. -- FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with Juan Za...

MORAL COURAGE IN THE WAKE OF OCTOBER 7 HEADLINE 1: Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani arrived in Moscow yesterday for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. HEADLINE 2: Hamas is on the verge of bankruptcy. HEADLINE 3: The U.S. Treasury sanctioned the International Bank of Yemen. HEADLINE 4: Lebanese forces detained multiple people who fired rockets into Israel last month. -- FDD Exec...

CAN THE UNITED STATES SUSTAIN SIMULTANEOUS MILITARY SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL, UKRAINE, AND TAIWAN? HEADLINE 1: Jordan arrested 16 people linked to the Muslim Brotherhood who were involved in a plot to undermine Jordan with targeted attacks. HEADLINE 2: The European Union announced a new aid package for the Palestinian Authority. HEADLINE 3: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun says 2025 is the year that the L...

IRAN, OMAN, AND THE UNITED STATES HEADLINE 1: The IDF struck a Hamas command center inside Gaza’s al-Ahli hospital. HEADLINE 2: Syrian President Abu Mohammed Al-Jolani was on a charm offensive this weekend. Yes, I still called him by the name he used when he was openly leading an Al-Qaeda affiliate group. HEADLINE 3: The U.S. and Saudi Arabia are reportedly planning to sign a nuclear energy cooper...

LEBANON, ISRAEL, AND THE FUTURE OF THE MIDDLE EAST HEADLINE 1: The Trump administration rolled out another round of Iran sanctions. HEADLINE 2: Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is a wanted man in Argentina. HEADLINE 3: Israeli and Turkish officials met in Azerbaijan to discuss Syria. -- FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer delivers timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a...

JERUSALEM, ANKARA, AND WASHINGTON HEADLINE 1: Hezbollah may be using maritime routes to smuggle weapons into Lebanon. HEADLINE 2: Iran has been recruiting Swedish criminal gangs to target Jews and Israelis. HEADLINE 3: Protests erupted in Egypt against President Trump’s plan to relocate Palestinians from Gaza. -- FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and analysis,...

A VISION FOR YEMEN'S FUTURE HEADLINE 1: In June 2021, Hamas asked Iran for $500 million to help fund the destruction of Israel. HEADLINE 2: On Saturday, The Washington Post reported that the regime in Iran hired a Georgian drug trafficker to assassinate a rabbi in Azerbaijan. HEADLINE 3: The United States has sent another THAAD air defense system to Israel. -- FDD Executive Director Jon Schanz...

MAXIMUM PRESSURE ON THE REGIME IN IRAN + MAXIMUM SUPPORT FOR THE IRANIAN PEOPLE HEADLINE 1: On Wednesday, the IDF struck what it described as “remaining military capabilities” that belonged to the former Bashar al-Assad regime. HEADLINE 2: The IDF is establishing a new security corridor in southern Gaza. HEADLINE 3: Russia and Iran’s deputy foreign ministers spoke with each other about Iran’s nucl...

ISRAEL, QATAR, AND TURKEY HEADLINE 1: Israel eliminated a top Hezbollah terrorist in Beirut. HEADLINE 2: Israeli security forces foiled a terror cell in the West Bank city of Nablus. HEADLINE 3: The Houthis said they shot down an American MQ-9 Reaper drone. -- FDD Senior Research Analyst Natalie Ecanow provides timely situational updates and analysis ahead of a conversation between Jon Schanzer an...

TURKEY, GAZA, AND IRAQ HEADLINE 1: Erdogan’s Hamas clients are also dealing with popular unrest. HEADLINE 2: The regime in Iran replied to President Trump’s letter to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. HEADLINE 3: The United States military continues to hammer the Houthis. -- FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with M...

U.S. INVOLVEMENT IN MOUNTING GLOBAL THREATS HEADLINE 1: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps unveiled another so-called missile city. HEADLINE 2: Those Houthi ballistic missile attacks keep on coming. HEADLINE 3: The U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit for the forfeiture of $47 million in proceeds from the sale of Iranian oil. -- FDD Senior Research Analyst Natalie Ecanow provides timely s...

EXPOSING TWO-FACED QATAR HEADLINE 1: The U.S. Treasury Department issued another round of Iran sanctions. HEADLINE 2: The Trump administration handed Syria’s new rulers a list of conditions they must meet to finally see some of those sanctions lifted. HEADLINE 3: Anti-Hamas protests erupted in Gaza yesterday. -- FDD Senior Research Analyst Natalie Ecanow provides timely situational updates and ana...

TURKEY: AUTHORITARIANS, BAD ACTORS, AND PROTESTS HEADLINE 1: The U.S. military is beefing up its naval presence in the Middle East. HEADLINE 2: The debate over the credibility of the Lebanese government is heating up again. AND HEADLINE 3: Protests are still raging in Turkey following the arrest of Istanbul’s mayor last week – Turkey’s top opposition leader. -- FDD Senior Vice President Jonathan S...

REVERSING KISSINGER HEADLINE 1: The Trump administration issued a new round of Iran-related sanctions yesterday. HEADLINE 2: Hamas popped off a handful of rockets at Israel yesterday. HEADLINE 3: Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei delivered a speech yesterday to mark the start of the Iranian New Year, Nowruz. -- FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and ana...

THE SHIFTING DYNAMICS OF THE MIDDLE EAST: A SPECIAL SITREP EPISODE -- FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer is joined by former IDF International Spokesperson Jonathan Conricus and U.S. Middle East policy expert John Hannah for a special edition of the FDD Morning Brief. The two will provide Middle East situational updates and analyze the U.S. response to them as the region undergoes tumultuous shi...

CHINA, RUSSIA, AND THE MIDDLE EAST HEADLINE 1: The Shin Bet and Israel police foiled a plot to carry out a terrorist attack in Jerusalem. HEADLINE 2: A former Islamic Revolutionary Guard from Iran gave a rare interview with Israeli media. HEADLINE 3: Former Israeli hostage Tal Shoham gave an exclusive interview to Fox News. BONUS HEADLINE 4: A Syrian soldier was killed yesterday by a Hezbollah roc...

LEBANON, ISRAEL, AND THE GULF HEADLINE 1: The IDF carried out a strike in Damascus yesterday. HEADLINE 2: Qatar is preparing to supply natural gas to Syria. HEADLINE 3: The United Nations published a report accusing Israel of perpetrating “genocidal acts” in Gaza. -- FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with Hussain Abdul-...

A SECURE FUTURE FOR THE MIDDLE EAST HEADLINE 1: The IDF conducted a series of strikes in Syria. HEADLINE 2: The IDF has been busy dismantling terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank city of Jenin. HEADLINE 3: Iran, Russia, and China conducted joint naval exercises. HEADLINE 4: Israel and Lebanon are launching a series of talks to resolve outstanding issues. -- FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer...