Israel Vows Retaliation After Iran Attacks With Nearly Two Hundred Missiles |
Israel vowed retaliation after Iran launched nearly two hundred missiles at the country yesterday, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying Iran would “pay for” the attack. Israel intercepted many of those missiles, and the United States, France, and the United Kingdom said their forces helped with interception efforts. As Israel weighs its next step, Iran said it would meet any forceful response with renewed attacks. Israeli officials said they would consult with Washington; U.S. President Joe Biden emphasized after Iran’s attack that Washington was fully in support of Israel.
Meanwhile, Israel has reinforced its military presence in southern Lebanon as it aims to target Hezbollah forces there. Israeli strikes on Tuesday killed fifty-five people across Lebanon, the country’s health ministry said. World leaders condemned Iran’s strikes on Israel, with many also calling for restraint. Israel’s foreign minister said today that UN Secretary-General António Guterres was banned from entering the country after Guterres did not “unequivocally condemn Iran’s criminal attack” during a statement yesterday. (Axios, NYT, France 24, AFP, Politico)
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“The long-feared ‘wider war’ in the Middle East is here,” the New York Times’s David E. Sanger writes. “There is the risk that Iran, frustrated by the failure of its missile force to break through Israeli and American weapons, will convince itself that it is finally time to race for a nuclear weapon, viewing that risky move as the only way to hold off an adversary who has penetrated iPhones and pagers and computer systems.”
“The Israelis are likely to respond in a severe manner,” CFR Senior Fellow Steven A. Cook says in this YouTube Short. “After that response, the ball will be in Iran’s court. The Israeli intention here is to go so far up the escalation ladder that it intimidates the Iranians and their proxies around the region in a way that reestablishes Israel’s deterrence.”
“I think that the interests that the United States and Israel and many other countries in the region share about countering the very real threat that Iran poses is a driving force for U.S. policy as well as Israeli policy. That makes sense,” the University of Virginia’s Mara E. Rudman said at this CFR Meeting. “Tactics without a political horizon are ineffective.”
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Russia Captures Strategic Ukrainian Town of Vuhledar |
Ukraine’s eastern military command said it ordered a pullback from the town, which came under Russian control today. Vuhledar is at the intersection of Ukraine’s eastern and southern battle areas. Separately, Ukraine said yesterday that it is investigating Russia’s alleged shooting of sixteen prisoners of war. (Reuters)
France: In a speech yesterday, New Prime Minister Michel Barnier pledged to introduce temporary tax hikes on large companies and the wealthy and public spending cuts, saying the steps are needed to clean up France’s public finances. (FT)
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Japan’s New Foreign Minister Says No Immediate Plans for ‘Asian NATO’ |
Though newly elected Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru touted the possibility of an Asian North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) while campaigning, new Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi said today that it is “certainly one idea for the future.” India’s foreign minister said yesterday he did not share the vision for such an Asian military alliance, and U.S. officials had previously voiced skepticism. (Japan Times, Reuters)
China: Chinese companies have committed more than $109 billion in outbound foreign direct investments in clean technology since the start of 2023, Sydney-based research group Climate Energy Finance said. Analysts said the upswing may reflect efforts to set up operations abroad in the face of U.S. and European Union (EU) tariffs on Chinese products. (FT)
For the Follow the Money blog, CFR Senior Fellow Brad W. Setser discusses how China’s central government could address its economic slowdown.
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India Introduces Limits on Short-Term Speculative Betting |
Indian officials had previously voiced concerns that the rise in such trading was hurting efforts to direct household savings to more productive investments. The new regulations will be phased in starting on November 20. (Bloomberg)
Myanmar/Thailand: There has been an increase in illegal drugs trafficked from Myanmar amid the country’s civil war, a senior Thai counternarcotics official said. Despite rising seizures at the border, the falling price of methamphetamine pills in Thailand suggests many of the drugs are slipping past authorities, he added. (Reuters)
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Middle East and North Africa |
Houthi Rebels Launch First Attacks on Commercial Shipping in Weeks |
A drone boat loaded with explosives crashed into a ship in the Red Sea yesterday, while a missile exploded against a second ship. The attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis come amid escalating Iran-Israel tensions and after Israel launched air strikes on Sunday against infrastructure in Yemen it said was used by the Houthis. (AP, Times of Israel)
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Uganda Creates State-Owned Mining Company |
The new state mining firm will manage strategic partnerships with young developers in the sector, Uganda’s energy and minerals minister said yesterday. Until now, mining has been conducted by private firms with the government able to take a 15 percent stake in all operations at no cost. (Reuters)
Zambia: Zambia plans to launch a sovereign wealth fund next year to serve as a cushion in times of financial strain and support sectors such as health and education, the head of the country’s Industrial Development Corporation said yesterday. Money will come from the mining sector as well as state-owned enterprises. (Bloomberg)
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Guatemala Arrests Thirty-Six People in Probe of Migrant Trafficking Ring |
The ring bribed police officers to guarantee the passage of migrants, Guatemala’s interior minister posted. A Guatemalan prosecutor said the network had moved migrants from countries including China, Cuba, Ecuador, Haiti, Russia, Venezuela, and Vietnam. (AFP) This photo essay by CFR’s Will Freeman, Steven Holmes, and Sabine Baumgartner explains why six Latin American countries account for most migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Canada/China: China filed a request for a ruling at the World Trade Organization against Canadian tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) and steel and aluminum products, its commerce ministry said today. Canada’s 100 percent levy on EVs from China went into effect yesterday. (Reuters)
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Vance, Walz Talk Foreign Policy in Vice-Presidential Debate |
Ohio Senator JD Vance and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz discussed a range of foreign policy issues at last night’s debate. When asked if the candidates would approve a preemptive Israeli strike on Iran, Vance said he would defer to Israel, while Walz did not answer but criticized former President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal. Vance did not answer when Walz asked him if Trump lost the 2020 election. Both candidates spoke in favor of measures to try to reshore U.S. manufacturing. On energy and climate, both praised efforts for the United States to produce more energy, though Vance did not respond when asked if he agreed with Trump’s statement that climate change was a hoax. (Foreign Policy, CBS)
This Backgrounder by CFR’s Jonathan Masters unpacks the role of the vice president. |
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Council on Foreign Relations |
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