Israel’s War Cabinet Weighs Response to Iranian Attack as United States Urges Restraint |
Israel’s war cabinet reconvened (FT) today for a second day of meetings in response to Iran’s attack on Israel over the weekend. With support from countries including the United States, France, Jordan, and the United Kingdom, Israel shot down many of the more than three hundred drones and missiles fired by Iran. U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby called (CBS) the Iranian offensive “utterly unsuccessful.” World leaders including U.S. President Joe Biden urged Israel to carefully calibrate its response, and U.S. officials have said (WaPo) Washington will not participate in any retaliatory strikes.
Iran’s weekend barrage also prompted (Reuters) an emergency UN Security Council meeting and a Group of Seven (G7) condemnation of Iran’s attack “in the strongest terms.” On Sunday, Israel’s war cabinet minister Benny Gantz said Israel would respond “in a way and at the time that suits us.” In the United States, House Speaker Mike Johnson said after the attack that he would move forward (CNN) with a vote on military aid to Israel.
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“Though Israel has asked for a special session of the UN Security Council on the attacks, the chamber is unlikely to prove an effective venue for resolving this conflict given divisions among the chambers’ veto-wielding members. And if Iran and Israel ratchet up their conflict, they may not be entirely restrained in the early stages,” CFR Expert Ray Takeyh writes in this In Brief.
“For years, [Iran’s] approach toward Israel and the United States largely revolved around what Iranian officials describe as ‘strategic patience,’ a long-term approach that entails reinforcing proxy groups without resorting to immediate, provocative retaliations,” the International Crisis Group’s Ali Vaez writes for Foreign Affairs. “But the regime’s hard-liners, who are now ascendant, increasingly thought of such patience as a sign of weakness.”
Read the full suite of Foreign Affairs and CFR.org resources on Israel and the current conflict.
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Singapore Prime Minister to Step Down After Twenty Years |
Lee Hsien Loong will pass (Nikkei) the country’s leadership to his deputy Lawrence Wong on May 15. Singapore has been governed by just three prime ministers since its independence in 1965.
China/Germany: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is on a three-day trip (SCMP) to China, where he is due to discuss economic relations and meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Scholz is also expected (AFP) to urge Beijing to use its influence with Moscow to rein in the war in Ukraine.
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Modi’s Party Backs Common Civil Code in Election Platform |
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party endorsed (AFP) a national civil code that would standardize laws on matters such as marriage, divorce, and inheritance. Proponents say it is a step forward for women’s rights, while critics say it would be a blow to religious plurality.
Afghanistan/Pakistan: Heavy rains have killed (AP) at least thirty-six people in Pakistan and thirty-three people in Afghanistan in the last few days, officials from both countries said.
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Middle East and North Africa |
Trial of Former Syrian General Begins in Switzerland |
Former General Mohammed Hamo became (AFP) the highest-ranking Syrian official to go on trial in Europe today for actions carried out during the Syrian government’s crackdown on pro-democracy protests in 2011. He is accused of aiding and abetting war crimes. |
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France Hosts Humanitarian Aid Conference to Mark One Year of War in Sudan |
Donors including the United States, France, and Germany were expected to pledge (Reuters) more than $1 billion dollars for Sudan at today’s aid conference. The United Nations has called for $2.7 billion in aid to Sudan and $1.4 billion in aid to neighboring countries that are hosting refugees. At least twenty-five million people, or half of Sudan’s population, are in need of aid.
For the Africa in Transition blog, CFR expert Michelle Gavin looks at the U.S. strategy on Sudan.
Niger: Thousands of demonstrators called (NYT) for a U.S. military exit from the country at protests on Saturday. Russia delivered arms and military instructors to Niger just days earlier. The United States suspended military cooperation with Niger last summer, leaving American troops in the country inactive. Last month, Niger ordered the troops to leave.
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New EU Report Says Bloc Should Better Integrate Financial, Energy Markets |
The European Union (EU) risks losing “economic security” and lagging further behind the United States and China without more integration of financial, energy, and telecommunications markets, former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta, who led the report, told the Financial Times.
Georgia: Hundreds of people demonstrated (Euronews, AP) yesterday against a proposed law that would require media and noncommercial entities that receive more than 20 percent of their budget from abroad to register as foreign agents. The bill was withdrawn a year ago due to public opposition, but Georgia’s governing party has since redrafted and resurfaced it.
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Former U.S. Diplomat Given Fifteen-Year Sentence for Spying for Cuba |
Former U.S. diplomat Victor Manuel Rocha was sentenced (WaPo) on Friday after being convicted of decades of spying for Cuba. The Department of Justice said his infiltration of the government was one of the most serious in U.S history. This timeline traces U.S.-Cuba relations.
Ecuador: Former Vice President Jorge Glas must remain in jail (Reuters) despite the fact that his arrest at the Mexican embassy in Quito was illegal, a court ruled Friday. Glas has been convicted of corruption and had been granted diplomatic asylum by Mexico before the arrest.
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Samsung to Make Latest Generation of Chips in Texas, Receive Government Benefit Package |
South Korean manufacturer Samsung Electronics will produce (FT) two-nanometer chips at a Texas plant by 2026 and receive as much as $6.4 billion in funding under the Chips and Science Act, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo announced today.
This Backgrounder by Anshu Siripurapu and CFR’s Noah Berman explores the return of U.S. industrial policy.
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