Trump says Kamala Harris 'hates' Israel as she calls for end to Gaza war In their first and perhaps only debate, neither Harris nor Trump offered a substantive plan to secure a cease-fire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas. Washington Connection
USS Georgia guided missile submarine arrives in Middle East The Georgia's arsenal multiplies the US Navy's precision-strike capabilities near Iranian shores as Israel awaits retaliation for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh at an IRGC guest house in Tehran last month. United States
US-Turkish dual citizen shot dead in Israeli-occupied West Bank Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 26, was killed while taking part in a march against the expansion of settlements in the West Bank. Palestine
Analysis Can US broker Israel-Hezbollah deal in Lebanon absent a Gaza cease-fire? With talks between Israel and Hamas stalled, the Biden administration hopes to delink the Gaza war from the Lebanese border escalation, but the Israeli prime minister may be more focused on the US presidential election. By Ben Caspit In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense
Analysis Philadelphi Corridor: Hamas lifeline or Netanyahu’s cease-fire poison pill? By Elizabeth Hagedorn In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights
Intel: Timeline of CIA contractor Robert Levinson missing for 13 years in Iran The family of Robert Levinson, a CIA contractor who disappeared on Iran’s Kish Island in 2007, confirmed Thursday that the US government informed them that the former FBI agent had died at some point prior to the coronavirus pandemic. United States
US coalition transfers another base to Iraqi security forces The US-led coalition against the Islamic State has announced the transfer of another military base to Iraqi security forces as a temporary precaution against the coronavirus outbreak. Iraq
Intel: How the US is relying on Riyadh to reassure global markets In a phone call with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged Saudi Arabia to “rise to the occasion” as the escalating coronavirus crisis and the kingdom’s standoff with Russia continue to hammer global markets. Saudi Arabia
Intel: Pompeo urges Europe to join Iran pressure campaign in G-7 teleconference Secretary of State Mike Pompeo used a teleconference of leading industrialized nations' foreign ministers to urge tougher international action on Iran and its regional proxies in line with the US maximum pressure campaign. United States
Intel: US provides aid to help Iraq fight coronavirus The US Embassy in Baghdad announced today that is providing $670,000 to help Iraq fight the novel coronavirus pandemic. Iraq
Trans-Atlantic official slams US for forcing Turkish broadcaster to register as foreign agent The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's media freedom representative said TRT's registration under a Nazi-era anti-propaganda law had a “restrictive & negative impact on media freedom.” Turkey
Iran expert says corruption 'No. 1 national security threat in Iran' Al-Monitor contributor Bijan Khajehpour discusses impact of coronavirus on Iran’s economy. United States
Intel: US conducts separate military drills with UAE, Israel despite coronavirus United Arab Emirates
Intel: Coronavirus forces partial US troop drawdown in Iraq The US-led global coalition to defeat the Islamic State announced today that the coronavirus pandemic has forced “temporary adjustments” in the mission against the terrorist group. Iraq
Impacts of US withdrawal from Qaim base in Iraqi border with Syria US forces pulled out of the strategic Qaim area on the Iraqi-Syrian border in mid-March, citing success in preventing IS resurgence; locals agree that the Islamic State presence has been significantly weakened but warn the move may lead to nonstate actors gaining more power over official Iraqi security forces. Iraq
US urges Iraq to step up protection of US, coalition personnel The State Department said Iraq is not doing its part to protect US and coalition forces in the country. Iraq
American detained in Syria moved to undisclosed location, family says An American psychotherapist's family is more worried than ever about the dual US-Syrian citizen who disappeared in Damascus in 2017 as a potential coronavirus outbreak looms over Syria’s prisons. Syria
