The Spectator Index Scary times again

#Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh and the deputy leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah Naim Qassem attend the ongoing funeral ceremony for #Iran ’s late President Raisi and Foreign Minister Amirabdollahian in Tehran.

Compare this to China's response to the ICC's arrest warrants against Putin in March of this year:

'The ICC needs to take an objective and just position, respect the jurisdictional immunity of a head of state under international law, prudently exercise its mandate in accordance

As the US-GCC defense working groups meet today in Riyadh, I offer thoughts on why progress toward operational integration is more urgent in the post 4/13 Middle East, what the US should bring to the table, and what steps Gulf partners can take to advance the regional security

Nicole’s analysis is always worth reading. Case in point 👇🏽

Disappointing and outrageous. The EU abandons all hope or pretension of playing a constructive role in the Israeli-Palestinian issue when it calls on its member states to arrest Israel’s prime minister and defense minister.

The 92-year-old Ayatollah Kermani replaces the 97-year-old Ayatollah Jannati

Tracking State reactions to the arrest warrants issued by the ICC OTP against Israeli and Hamas leaders, a thread 🧵

Disappointing and outrageous. The EU abandons all hope or pretension of playing a constructive role in the Israeli-Palestinian issue when it calls on its member states to arrest Israel’s prime minister and defense minister.

'The 'golden hour' is the critical period that is missing in #Gaza planning.' Wise advice from Dana Stroul, my Washington Institute colleague and until recently the top civilian #MiddleEast policy official in the Department of Defense 🇺🇸. #Israel #Hamas Foreign Affairs
foreignaffairs.com/israel/dangers…

As per Saudi News agency , Jake Sullivan & MBS reviewed during their meeting today in Dahran “the semi-final version of the draft strategic agreements between the 2 countries”..

Malaysian leader Anwar Ibrahim yesterday met with top Hamas leaders in Qatar, just days after American officials visited the country to discuss concerns that Iran was raising funds for regional proxies in the country. buff.ly/44LUG9G

Finally

Defenders of Biden’s decision to halt weapons shipments to Israel have invoked a Washington “gotcha”—Biden is simply doing what Reagan did on more than one occasion. But the comparison doesn’t hold up, writes Michael Singh
on.wsj.com/4akeK47

Going a bit further than his comments from a few days ago.

Also a pretty clear sign that these positions (expressed with great frequency over the last few weeks) are part of an official, semi-coordinated effort to express the changed conditions of #Iran 's nuclear strategy.

Biden’s action could prevent Israel from taking Rafah or even applying meaningful military pressure on Hamas in hopes of securing a hostage deal—which may prolong the war further, writes Michael Singh on.wsj.com/3UA1oLe

Defenders of Biden’s decision to halt weapons shipments to Israel have invoked a Washington “gotcha”—Biden is simply doing what Reagan did on more than one occasion. But the comparison doesn’t hold up, writes Michael Singh
on.wsj.com/44CXw0s

In the The New York Times, Peter Baker compares Biden's decision to withhold arms from Israel to similar holds enacted by Reagan (nytimes.com/2024/05/10/us/…); In the The Wall Street Journal, I explain why that comparison does not hold up under scrutiny. wsj.com/articles/on-is…

In the The New York Times, Peter Baker compares Biden's decision to withhold arms from Israel to similar holds enacted by Reagan (nytimes.com/2024/05/10/us/…); In the The Wall Street Journal, I explain why that comparison does not hold up under scrutiny. wsj.com/articles/on-is…

#Israel may not have a 'day after' plan for #Gaza but #Hamas certainly does -- and, according to my Washington Institute colleague Matthew Levitt, it is to apply the #Hezbollah model. See his insightful (and worrisome) new article in Foreign Affairs foreignaffairs.com/israel/what-ha…