FDD Morning Brief

Headlines: On Wednesday, the State Department sanctioned three targets involved in smuggling man portable air defense systems, or “MANPADS,” to Iran.  Yemen’s internationally recognized government is reportedly embarking on an economic campaign of its own, targeting the Houthis’ finances.  Yesterday, Israel and Germany extended an existing energy cooperation agreement for another year.  Since Sund...

Headlines: Yemen’s internationally recognized government said yesterday that 21 Iranian and Hezbollah operatives are in Yemen overseeing Houthi military operations. Yesterday, Syria announced that it foiled a plot to sabotage the country’s only functioning oil refinery. Israeli forces arrested six members of a West Bank terror cell that was building rockets for attacks against Israel. The Sultan o...

Headlines: Qatar continues to try and prevent a return to fighting between the U.S. and Iran.  British police arrested 139 people over the weekend as hundreds of protestors gathered outside the US embassy in support of a group called Palestine Action.  More action on the Syria-Jordan border.  -- FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a con...

Headlines: Qatar is reportedly hard at work trying to avert renewed fighting between the U.S. and Iran after the midterm elections next week.  The Houthis may be lacing their munitions with illegal chemical substances.  Australia wants to build out its missile defense shield and is reportedly interested in Israel’s Iron Dome technology. The IDF is expanding its counterterrorism missions in the Wes...

Headlines: Russia is reportedly helping the Houthis and Iran-backed militias in Iraq target Saudi Arabia’s military and energy infrastructure. Last week, Libya and Turkey finalized a maritime border agreement that gives Ankara a larger than legal slice of the eastern Mediterranean.  Albania is officially joining the International Stabilization Force for Gaza. The Jordanian Air Force launched airst...

Headlines: The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is reeling from an attack on a Greek Orthodox church on Friday afternoon.  Hamas appears to be issuing threats that it likely cant back up.  Leaders of Hezbollah have reportedly informed parliament speaker and ally Nabih Berri that the group will not join forces with the Islamic Republic of Iran against Israel and the United States if war resumes.  -- FDD...

Headlines: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney arrived in Ankara yesterday on the first-ever bilateral visit to Turkey for a Canadian prime minister.  UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ term is almost up, which means the succession race is heating up. New reports out of Israel: Hamas has no intention to disarm. Shocker, right?  The city of Hebron is in lock down. -- FDD Executive Director Jon...

Headlines: The UK is sending fighter jets to support Saudi Arabia in its fight against the Houthis. Pakistan’s military chief Field Marshal Asim Munir was in Tehran yesterday for meetings with Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi and other top regime officials. The parliament of Libya’s Islamist-aligned eastern government approved a maritime border agreement with Turkey. -- FDD Executive Direct...

Headlines: Egypt’s National Defense Council agrees to provide Saudi Arabia with all necessary support in its war against the Houthis. Saudi Arabia on Saturday announced that five Saudi nationals had been executed for committing acts of terror against the Saudi state and its people.  Some wild news stories circulating out there, purportedly showing how the Netanyahu government was steering Qatari c...

Headlines: The U.S. is allegedly considering dropping the “mother of all bombs” on Iran. Technically, it’s called the Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb, or MOAB, and it’s the largest non-nuclear bomb the U.S. has.  Terrible news out of Ukraine. It looks like the Ukrainians have run out of Patriot missile interceptors, leaving their country more vulnerable to Russian drone and ballistic missile attac...

Headlines: Yesterday, the Saudi-led coalition struck a Yemeni oil facility in Sanaa. The Iranian regime is using the pause in fighting to get ready for the next round.  Well, we covered it last week. Iran allegedly sending $200 million to Hezbollah ? And yes, I cast doubt on the report. But I stand corrected. Hezbollah confirmed it yesterday — saying it will now pay up to $14,000 to Lebanese famil...

Headlines: Yemen’s armed forces, the ones loyal to the internationally recognized government in Southern Yemen, said they carried out 1,732 strikes against positions held by the Houthis on Sunday. The documentary film called Naza, which alleges all sorts of terrible things against the Israel Defense Forces continues to make waves.  Lebanese authorities actually did their job on Thursday. Security...

Headlines: Israel decided to downgrade the UK’s consulate in Jerusalem, but stopped short of fully closing the diplomatic post.  Taiwan has its sights on $130 billion worth of domestic infrastructure projects and the government in Taipei wants Saudi Arabia to pitch in.  Rumors are swirling that Syria may be gearing up to help Saudi Arabia fight the Houthis.  Iran allegedly transferred $200 million...

Headlines: The Houthis aren’t slowing down their offensive and continue to do damage in Saudi Arabia.  Representatives from the Mecca pact — Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan — met in Riyadh. The Norwegian Parliament is considering a proposal to create an independent list of designated terrorist organizations. Iran’s interior minister was in Doha yesterday for meetings with Qatari officials. -- F...

Headlines: Members of the Mecca defense pact are planning to meet in Riyadh today. Yesterday, Yemeni forces launched a military campaign to retake territory seized by the Houthis. The IDF went after another Hamas leader over the weekend.  The U.S. Treasury Department took action against a Hamas financing network that’s funneled over $2 million to the terror group through sham charities and cryptoc...

Headlines: The Trump administration overrode the human rights conditions on $320 million worth of military aid to Egypt.  American troops are officially out of Iraq. The Trump administration is going after a Russia-linked shadow banking network that helps Iran evade sanctions. Syria is now eligible to purchase American weaponry. -- FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational up...

Headlines: Iran’s currency plummeted to a new low yesterday. We’re talking over 2.5 million rials to the U.S. dollar.  Iran is reportedly offering cash rewards for anyone who captures or kills an American soldier. Israel eliminated the leader of Hamas’s Northern Gaza Brigade yesterday.  The U.S. is set to withdraw all remaining forces from Iraq today and hand security over to Baghdad. A flydubai f...

Headlines: The internationally recognized government in Aden says it killed or injured 2,316 Houthis over the last 72 hours. Iran’s Rev Guards said yesterday that they seized an American submarine drone in the Strait of Hormuz.  Turkey continues to explore ways to get back into the F-35 club. Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said this weekend that Israel cannot break the resistance in Lebanon.  -- FDD...

Headlines: China has reportedly sent tons of dual-use components to Iran for use in missiles and drones. Iran is once again threatening to attack its neighbors, this time going after regional airports. Turkey agreed to withdraw from a military base in northern Iraq, handing control back to Baghdad. In exchange, Iraq committed to crack down on armed groups that Ankara considers a threat — namely, g...

Headlines: The UK has agreed to help Saudi Arabia fight the Houthis by providing aerial refueling services to Saudi planes for the next few weeks.  The Trump administration is reportedly setting up a multi-billion dollar investment fund to help repair the energy infrastructure destroyed by Iran in the Persian Gulf.  In an exclusive for The New York Times, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi laid out...

Headlines: The State Department approved the potential sale of dozens of F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia yesterday.  French President Emmanuel Macron met with Jordan’s King Abdullah and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun yesterday as part of a broader effort to raise funds for the Lebanese Armed Forces, or “LAF.” The Trump administration sanctioned members of the Palestinian Liberation Organization...

Headlines: Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi is in Beijing today to meet with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi. A Russian bank just got dinged by the US Treasury for laundering dirty Iranian money. Malaysia seized three shipping containers headed for Israel as they transited through a major Malaysian port. -- FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and analysi...

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 Mark Cancian, senior adviser with the Defense and Security Department at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief

Headlines: The Houthis seized the Yemeni port of Mokha yesterday, days after launching a combinedballistic missile and drone attack in Saudi Arabia. President Trump warned that the U.S. could strike Pickaxe Mountain — the deeply buried, hard-to-reach nuclear facility in central Iran near Natanz. Algeria severed diplomatic ties with the UAE, citing quote “provocative or hostile” actions. Iran’s Bas...

Headlines: Yesterday, the Houthis attacked Saudi Arabia, setting oil facilities on fire and wounding at least 73 people.  The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency has just sounded the alarm on Iran's nuclear program. Rafael Grossi says Tehran still won't cooperate with inspectors and has cut off access to all its declared nuclear sites.   London has just announced that it is bann...