On Sunday, the CUFI Washington Summit kicks off. Over the next few days,
more than 1,000 pro-Israel activists from across the country will hear
from top leaders, including former Vice President Mike Pence, former
Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
Summit attendees will also hear from several Members of Congress and
Middle East experts. But until then, we wanted to share a number of
policy items that caught our eye and may very well directly impact our
Washington efforts next week.

**Hezbollah and the LAF at it Again**

Longtime readers of the Action Update will recall that several years ago
we sought to end U.S. support for the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF)
because key elements of the Lebanese army are acting as an auxiliary
force to the Iran-backed terrorist army Hezbollah. Unfortunately, due to
intense resistance from entrenched powers at the Department of Defense,
the money (which is your money, by the way) is still flowing to the LAF.

Fast forward to last week when we saw Hezbollah terrorists and Lebanese
soldiers make their way into Israeli territory near a Kibbutz directly
adjacent to the Lebanese border. IDF troops were in the area doing
routine maintenance. Nonetheless, Israel, always seeking to exhaust
peaceful options before engaging militarily, asked the UN peacekeeping
mission focused on the Lebanese border to address the enemy force that
had crossed into sovereign Israeli territory. Twenty minutes after
standing around inside Israeli territory, the band of brigands retreated
into Lebanon.

Taken together, this incursion coupled with Hezbollah's recent attempt
at setting up a small encampment - as we discussed late week - just
inside the Israeli border indicate that Iran is increasingly looking for
weaknesses in Israel's line of defense - both literally and
figuratively.  For now, the Israelis have wisely decided not to take
the bait. But that doesn't mean Iran and its allies won't try next
week to engage in some other provocation in the hopes of drawing Israel
into direct armed conflict.

**Why Does (A little) War Benefit Iran?**

Obviously, Iran generally (albeit theoretically) relishes the prospect
of war with Israel. This might seem irrational as Hezbollah has lost
every battlefield engagement with the Jewish state, yet they are clearly
hankering for more. So... why? Because Tehran would prefer the world
focus on a skirmish along Israel's border with Lebanon rather than
Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons.

In fact, just this week Fox News and others reported that recently
released European intelligence reports "reveal that the Islamic
Republic of Iran sought to bypass U.S. and EU sanctions to secure
technology for its nuclear weapons program with a view toward testing an
atomic bomb."

The most concerning revelation in the intelligence reports involves the
rapid advancement of Iran's nuclear enrichment efforts. According to
the Dutch intelligence report, Iran "continues to increase stocks of
20% and 60% enriched uranium. By means of centrifuges, this can be used
for further enrichment to the 90% enriched uranium needed for a nuclear
weapon." The Dutch report goes on to conclude that the present
situation "brings the option of a possible [Iranian] first nuclear
test closer."

From the Russian invasion of Ukraine (which Iran is involved in via its
weapons deliveries to the Kremlin), to a potential skirmish with Israel,
the more chaos in the world, the better it is for Iran (and, from
Tehran's perspective, if that chaos includes conflict with the Jewish
state, all the better).

** **

**What To Do....**

So, how should the U.S. and Israel, whose shared values compel efforts
to avoid bloodshed, but whose national security requirements demand we
prepare for conflict (in order to minimize the likelihood of it taking
place) react? Well, in our view they should hold a joint military
exercise focusing on attacking Iran.

And, as it turns out, we are not alone in this view, as on Sunday
American and Israeli pilots did exactly that: holding a joint air
exercise that simulated attacking "strategic targets in the depth,"
inside the Islamic Republic.

We, of course, welcome the decision to engage in this joint exercise,
but we understand if it feels a bit like whiplash. Yes, the same
administration that has seemed almost fixated on weakening our position
vis-à-vis Iran, and whose Special Envoy to the Islamic Republic, Robert
Malley, has had his security clearance suspended and is being
investigated for mishandling classified information, made the right call
and held a welcome drill with the Israeli Defense Forces.

Is there a serious and impactful divide inside the Biden administration
concerning how to contend with Iran's ever-progressing nuclear
program? If so, it certainly wouldn't be the first time something like
this has taken place. But the debate doesn't end within the executive
branch.

Congress, and therefore CUFI, have a role to play here. Congress must
demand greater transparency when it comes to the Administration's
actions and plans concerning Iran. And we are grateful to House Foreign
Affairs Committee Chairman Mike McCaul for demanding answers on what on
earth is going on with Mr. Malley.

This said, as much faith as we have (and it's a lot) in Chairman
McCaul, we should not be surprised if the Administration tries to
obscure the facts, stonewall, etc. That too would certainly not be the
first time something like that has happened.

For example, Congress - which knows full well that large swaths of the
LAF are allied with Hezbollah - demanded a report from the Defense
Department on this topic several years ago. Likewise, Congress will
likely be demanding another report this year via an amendment to the
National Defense Authorization Act., And yet, the policy has not
changed.

In time, once the investigation into his actions is concluded, we'll
get answers on Malley. Only then will we know if and what kind of damage
this individual, whose appointment to his current position CUFI
adamantly opposed, may have done to American, Israeli, European, and
moderate Arabian national security interests.

All of this and much more will be discussed at the forthcoming CUFI
Washington Summit. If you're able to join us, we look forward to
seeing you, and if not, next week's Action Update will delve into the
full Summit legislative agenda.

Sincerely,

The CUFI Action Fund Team

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