FDD Morning Brief

WILL ISRAEL’S STRIKE ON HAMAS IN DOHA AFFECT THE ABRAHAM PEACE ACCORDS?HEADLINE 1: The Pentagon approved a new security assistance package for Lebanon.HEADLINE 2: Speaking of Hezbollah, guess who busted a Hezbollah cell? The Syrian army.HEADLINE 3: The Treasury Department rolled out fresh sanctions targeting Houthi financial networks.--FDD Senior Research Analyst Natalie Ecanow, filling in for Jonathan Schanzer, provides timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with Hussain Abdul-Hussain, an FDD research fellow who specializes in the Gulf region and Yemen. Learn more at: https://fdd.org/fddmorningbrief--Featured FDD Articles:"Turkey Could Be Next in Israel’s Cross-hairs After Qatar. The Consequences? Catastrophic" - Sinan Ciddi, Haaretz"Baghdad Has an Opportunity To Counter Illicit Iranian Activity in Iraq. Will the Government Take It?" - Bridget Toomey, FDD Policy Brief"From Playground to Classroom: The Spread of Antisemitism in K-12 Schools" - Brandy Shufutinsky, Congressional Testimony

WHAT LIES AHEAD FOR LEBANON?HEADLINE 1: Qatar isn’t the only target for the Israel in the last 48 hours — Syria was hit, too. HEADLINE 2: Israel ordered the full evacuation of Gaza City.HEADLINE 3: Tensions are soaring between Israel and Spain.--FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with Ambassador Edward Gabriel, president and CEO of the American Task Force on Lebanon.Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief--Featured FDD Articles:"Building the Future U.S. Cyber Force" - RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery and Dr. Erica Lonergan, FDD Monograph"China’s money launderers are bankrolling America’s fentanyl epidemic" - Max Meizlish and Elaine Dezenski, The Hill"Why Israel Shouldn’t Celebrate Lebanon’s Promise to Disarm Hezbollah Just Yet" - David Daoud, Haaretz"Hamas’ Chief Negotiator Is a Terrorist, Not a Peacemaker" - Jonathan Schanzer and Ahmad Sharawi, The Dispatch

IS GAZA ISRAEL'S VIETNAM? HEADLINE 1: Some major weekend action from the Houthis. Yesterday, the Iran-backed terrorists launched an explosive drone at Israel, and it made impact.HEADLINE 2: In some more Houthi news, the government in Southern Yemen accused Iran of helping their enemies in the north of Yemen, the Houthis, produce chemical weapons.HEADLINE 3: Saudi Arabia is expanding its role in post-Assad Syria.--FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with Aaron MacLean, an FDD Senior Advisor and host of the "School of War" podcast. --Featured FDD Articles:"China Won’t Get Addicted to America’s Chips" - Craig Singleton, The Wall Street Journal"How the U.N. Became Hamas’s Partner" - Cliff May and Richard Goldberg, FDD's Foreign Podicy"FDD's Trump Administration Foreign Policy Tracker: September" - John Hardie

IS IRAN'S "RING OF FIRE" STRATEGY BURNING BRIGHT — OR BURNING OUT?HEADLINE 1: Israel launched a satellite into space.HEADLINE 2: Apparently, Tehran had increased its stockpile of enriched uranium in the weeks before Israel launched its first preemptive strike on the program in June.HEADLINE 3: The Shin Bet thwarted a plot to assassinate Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.--FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with Emily Schrader, an Israeli journalist, author, and activist who serves as a news anchor at ILTV News Israel.--Featured FDD Articles:"Turkey’s Quiet Relationship with ISIS" — Sinan Ciddi in The Jerusalem Strategic Tribune"Xi’s military parade showed just how dangerous China has become" — Bradley Bowman in The New York Post"10 Takeaways From Simulated Attacks on Taiwan’s Energy Sector" — RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery, Craig Singleton, Johanna Yang, and Jack Burnham, FDD Insight

WHAT LESSONS CAN BE LEARNED FROM ISRAELI INTELLIGENCE FAILURES ON OCTOBER 7?HEADLINE 1: The Trump administration dialed up the pressure on Iran.HEADLINE 2: The Houthis took a beating. And then they raided UN offices in Yemen over the weekend.HEADLINE 3: Another European country plans to recognize a state of Palestine.BONUS HEADLINE 4: Purported environmentalist Greta Thunberg is trying to send another flotilla to Gaza.--FDD Executive Director Jonathan Schanzer provides timely updates and in-depth analysis of the latest Middle East headlines, followed by a conversation with Yaakov Katz, former editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post.Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief/--Featured FDD Articles:"What if Israel Was Right and the Arabs Were Wrong?" — Hussain Abdul-Hussain, This Is Beirut"By Tying Ukraine’s Hands, the Pentagon Undermines Trump" — RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery and John Hardie, The Wall Street Journal"The Shadows Moscow Casts Over Historian Mark Galeotti" — Cliff May and Mark Galeotti, FDD's Foreign Podicy

WHAT CAN BE DONE TO EMPOWER JEWISH STUDENTS FACING ANTISEMITISM ON CAMPUS?HEADLINE 1: It’s official. France, Britain, and Germany are planning to reimpose sanctions on Iran.HEADLINE 2: UNIFIL’s days are officially numbered. HEADLINE 3: Israeli officials issued an arrest warrant for an American who was lobbying for Qatar in the country.--FDD Executive Director Jonathan Schanzer provides timely updates and in-depth analysis of the latest Middle East headlines, followed by a conversation with Jacob Baime, CEO of the Israel on Campus Coalition (ICC).Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief/--Featured FDD Articles:"5 Urgent Tasks for the New National Cyber Director" — RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery and Annie Fixler, FDD Insight"A Year of Meming Dangerously: Iranian Influence Operations Targeting Israel Since October 7" — Ari Ben Am, FDD Memo"Qatar’s growing footprint in Africa" — Natalie Ecanow, FDD's Long War Journal

WHAT LESSONS CAN BE LEARNED FROM PAST MIDDLE EAST PEACE EFFORTS? HEADLINE 1: Australia and Iran are engaged in a heavyweight diplomatic spat.HEADLINE 2: The IDF conducted a rare daytime raid in Ramallah yesterday.HEADLINE 3: Officials from France, Britain, and Germany met with an Iranian delegation in Geneva yesterday to discuss the looming snapback sanctions.--FDD Executive Director Jonathan Schanzer provides timely updates and in-depth analysis of the latest Middle East headlines, followed by a conversation with Ambassador Dennis Ross, The Washington Institute's William Davidson Distinguished Fellow and a former Israeli-Palestinian peace process negotiator under Presidents H. W. Bush and Clinton.Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief/--Featured FDD Articles: "Iran faces a perfect storm of domestic failures" - Janatan Sayeh and Navid Mohebbi, JNS"Oil holds the key to Ukraine war’s end — if Trump plays hardball" - Rich Goldberg and John Hardie, New York Post"Reexamining the U.S.-South Africa Relationship" - FDD Virtual Event

WHY IS ISRAEL INVESTED IN THE FATE OF SYRIA'S DRUZE? HEADLINE 1: Iran just might limit its uranium enrichment to avoid further punishment from Israel and the West.HEADLINE 2: Egypt is reportedly bolstering its military presence along the border with Gaza.HEADLINE 3: U.S. envoy to Syria Thomas Barrack and deputy special envoy Morgan Ortagus arrived in Israel yesterday.--FDD Executive Director Jonathan Schanzer provides timely updates and in-depth analysis of the latest Middle East headlines, followed by a conversation with Jonathan Hessen, nonresident senior fellow at the Hudson Institute's Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East.Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief/--Featured FDD Articles:"For the First Time in 25 Years, Syria Acknowledges Direct Talks With Israel" - Ahmad Sharawi, FDD Policy Brief"Behind Khamenei's post-war shake up: Salvaging the remains of the 'Axis of Resistance'" - Saeed Ghasseminejad, The Jerusalem Post "Exodus or Endurance: The Plight of Egypt’s Christians" - Cliff May and Mariam Wahba, FDD's Foreign Podicy

QATAR, TURKEY, IRAN, AND GAZAHEADLINE 1: The Trump administration just went scorched earth on the International Criminal Court with fresh sanctions.HEADLINE 2: An Israeli imprisoned in Lebanon for over a year has quietly been freed — no prisoner swap needed.HEADLINE 3: Tensions are running high in the West Bank.--FDD Executive Director Jonathan Schanzer provides timely updates and in-depth analysis of the latest Middle East headlines, followed by a conversation with Rep. Greg Landsman (D-OH). Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief/--Featured FDD Articles:"The single negotiation goal with Iran should be complete dismantlement of nuclear program" - Mark Dubowitz and Brig. Gen. (Res.) Jacob Nagel "Israeli operations in Lebanon against Hezbollah: August 4–17, 2025" - David Daoud "The Iran Breakdown: American Economic and Financial Power and the Iran File" - Mark Dubowitz and Juan Zarate

WHY ARE LEGACY MEDIA OUTLETS AMPLIFYING HAMAS' NARRATIVE? HEADLINE 1: Hamas has possibly agreed to a 60-day ceasefire with Israel. But don’t hold your breath. The terms are 10 living hostages and 18 bodies in exchange for 150 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences. HEADLINE 2: Yesterday, the families of the “Beautiful Six” commemorated one year since Hamas murdered their loved ones in cold blood. HEADLINE 3: Israel and Australia are locking horns — and things are only getting worse.--FDD Executive Director Jonathan Schanzer provides timely updates and in-depth analysis of the latest Middle East headlines, followed by a conversation with Jonas Du, a fellow at The Free Press. Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief/--Featured FDD Articles: "Donald Trump Set a Nuclear Precedent. Now He Must Enforce It" - Andrea Stricker and Henry Sokolski in The National Interest"The urgent need to procure more THAAD interceptors" - Bradley Bowman and Ryan Brobst in Defense News"Top US teachers’ union supports Palestinian counterpart with terror-linked leader" - Brandy Shufutinsky in JNS