In recent weeks, following the collapse of the memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran has fired dozens of times on Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

At the same time, it has sustained fire from the U.S., whose military bases across the region have been targeted by the Islamic Republic, with several service members killed. And all the while, Tehran has targeted commercial ships transiting through the strait.

But as focus on the conflict with Iran has shifted from addressing the Islamic Republic’s nuclear ambitions to the Strait of Hormuz, Israel has stayed out of the fighting — despite Iranian threats earlier this month to target the Jewish state if the U.S. attacks did not cease.

There is no upside for Israel to reenter the fight, especially when the issue of the Strait of Hormuz falls outside of the objectives set by Israel at the start of the war earlier this year. (This, despite the widespread sentiment among Israelis that this year’s war did not improve Israel’s security situation, according to polling last month from the Israel Democracy Institute.)

Key among the goals laid out by Israel was degrading Iran’s ballistic missile program and setting back elements of its nuclear program. Reopening Hormuz is an American objective, not an Israeli one. With Israel having made the calculus that the most immediate Iranian threats have been blunted — at least in the short term — the current mission has become an American one.

“Israel’s best move is to not move — yet,” Mark Dubowitz, the CEO of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Jewish Insider this morning. “Washington does the striking. Israel keeps its fire and its threats in reserve, waiting for one of two triggers: a U.S. request to join, or an Iranian regime foolish enough to hit Israel and invite the reprisal that has been promised.”

Despite Iran’s threats to target Israel, such a move would likely be a strategic misstep for the Islamic Republic. Iran’s blockade of the strait and its attacks on Arab and Gulf states are an attempt to reassert its dominance over the region and demonstrate its ability to impact the global energy market. Tehran also appears to be betting that sustained attacks across the region will push Arab states to pressure the U.S. to accept an agreement to reopen the strait, handing the Islamic Republic a win.

In that sense, Tehran is calibrating its escalation according to the expected retaliation, knowing that Arab states are, unlike Israel, hesitant to respond with military action.

One week ago, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking in Dimona, drew a line in the sand. “I have one message for Iran’s leaders: Do not count on there being calm if you attack us,” Netanyahu said. “Do not expect a repeat of what happened before, because there will be no repeat. The previous response was powerful enough, but any further attempt to harm us will be met with a different response — far more powerful.”

Thus far, the Arab states have shown little indication that they intend to escalate to match Iran’s attacks, and will not retaliate with a proportional response (or even a disproportionate response). But with the intermittent fire, Iran keeps the region on edge and Hormuz closed for business.

The question many Israelis are asking is how much longer the domestic quiet will continue. But unless Iran directly strikes Israel or acts in a way that compromises Jerusalem’s interests, there is little appetite in Israel to transform what has become a U.S. effort to reopen shipping routes into another round of intensive fighting between Iran and Israel. For now, Israel’s restraint is less about hesitation, and more of a calculation that deterrence, rather than direct military engagement, will serve Jerusalem’s interests in the long term.

Democrats on Monday slammed President Donald Trump’s resumption of hostilities against Iran, as well as the notion, implicit in Trump’s notification, that the operations mark a new conflict and therefore reset the 60-day window for military operations launched by the executive branch without congressional approval.

In a letter to congressional leaders on Friday notifying them that the war had resumed, Trump said that Iran repeatedly violated the memorandum of understanding by attacking commercial vessels on July 6 and 7, and that the U.S. had, as of July 7, commenced “defensive strikes against targets within Iran including missile launch sites, air defenses, military maritime assets, military support infrastructure, and command and control capabilities.”

Trump said that ground forces are not involved in the operations and are focused on protecting the U.S., but American forces “remain postured to take further action.” He added that he was notifying Congress pursuant to his obligation under the War Powers Act, the statute that lays out the 60-day timeline.

Critics of the war have argued consistently that the operations that began in February never actually concluded during the since-terminated ceasefire, despite the administration’s assertions otherwise.

“Trump’s rinse and repeat approach to the Iran war isn’t a strategy, it’s a recipe for utter disaster,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said Monday. “It’s incredible what a fiasco this war is. Trump’s so-called understanding — lot of bull — with Iran fell apart faster than the ink could dry.”

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), who has led war powers efforts in the Senate to end the conflict, said the U.S. has been at war, and argued that the administration is obligated to withdraw U.S. forces in response to the war powers resolution that Congress passed last month.

“The notion that [the 60-day clock] was paused before, I think, was sort of laughed out of the room. This has been an ongoing conflict, even during the midst of a ceasefire,” Kaine said. “There were still hostilities underway. So this is not a war that paused and restarted.”

He said he will continue to support war powers efforts but believes that Congress has already definitively declared the war illegal. The resolution that Congress passed came in the form of a concurrent resolution, which is not presented to the president, and its legal force is disputed.

Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) filed a new war powers resolution on Monday to oppose the war, which likewise argues that combat operations never ceased. 

“We were promised the war would be over for months. And now in a matter of days we’ve gone from a bad U.S.-Iran deal to more strikes, another blockade, and added turmoil that will only drive prices higher,” Schiff said in a statement. “Any assertion by the Trump administration that he gets 60 more days to act without Congress has no foundation in law.”

Kaine and Sens. Andy Kim (D-NJ), Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) cosponsored the resolution.

Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, “wholeheartedly condemn[ed]” Trump’s plans to take control of the Strait of Hormuz, arguing that it is impossible without significant escalation and would be “frankly, just wrong.”

“Iran has gained greater leverage, continues to destabilize the region, and has a younger and more hardline leadership than when this war started,” Smith said. “It is past time for [Republicans] to work with us to ensure the president finds a diplomatic solution to ending a war he never should have started and that threatens our national security and defense as well as that of our partners.”

Even some Republicans have expressed skepticism of the administration’s strategy, including over Trump’s plan to impose a toll on the Strait of Hormuz.

“I recall Secretary [of State Marco] Rubio saying that would not be proper for any country. … Am I wrong?” Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) told reporters.

Additionally, given the recent sudden death of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and the extended medical absence of Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Democrats may be able to more consistently pass war powers resolutions to oppose the war in Iran.

Many Democrats also say they plan to oppose a procedural vote this week to advance the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act in protest of the continued operations against Iran.

The battle for three Democratic congressional primaries in New York City has been defined by a conflict more than 5,000 miles away, with candidates spending the final days before Tuesday’s primary echoing the fiercely anti-Israel rhetoric that helped elevate Mayor Zohran Mamdani to power.

All three of the mayor’s favored contenders for the House — former City Comptroller Brad Lander, Assemblymember Claire Valdez and doctoral student Darializa Avila Chevalier —  underscored their criticism of Israel and its U.S. supporters as early voting began in the contested districts. 

Avila Chevalier took time in a televised debate on Tuesday to accuse the country of “apartheid” while seeming to compare the actions of Jewish settlers in the West Bank and the IDF in the Gaza Strip to gentrification in the district where she hopes to unseat Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) and other majority-minority areas.

“I saw so many connections between what was happening to Palestinians there in Palestine and what was happening to so many communities across the U.S., particularly Black and Latino communities, who have been priced out and pushed out of our homes,” said Avila Chevalier, who — like most candidates affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America — draws her strongest support from predominantly white and highly educated residents of the district. 

“When we talk about displacement in the West Bank and Gaza, it is a very similar, visually similar situation, where people who have been in a place for generations, are being displaced because of corporate interests, because of folks who are coming in, claiming the land over, and buying it up and kicking the people who live there out.”

Avila Chevalier, who has come under fire for attending an anti-Israel demonstration one day after the Oct. 7 attacks, added during the debate that the “very institutions” involved in both the Holy Land and urban America are the same.

Valdez, vying against Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso for the seat of retiring Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY), has similarly brought Middle Eastern issues into the race for the district spanning parts of Brooklyn and Queens. As a new PAC, Real Fight NYC, began spending hundreds of thousands on ads attacking her record and boosting that of her opponent, the sculptor-turned-socialist lawmaker inaccurately suggested pro-Israel interests were behind the effort.

“Is it actually AIPAC?” Valdez speculated in a thread on X. “This is a well-established pattern from AIPAC and its affiliates, especially when there’s only one candidate who’s been clear and consistent against the genocide.”

Reynoso in fact has been a fierce critic of Israeli policy during the race, and the American Federation of Teachers subsequently identified itself as the main sponsor of the ad campaign. Valdez has neither apologized for nor retracted her remarks.

Even former City Comptroller Brad Lander, the lone self-described progressive Zionist among the mayor’s endorsees, spent his final TV face-off against Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) on Monday criticizing the incumbent for his past support for aid packages to Israel and his refusal to call the military campaign in the Gaza Strip “a genocide.” The day before, Lander held a rally with Mamdani and a bevy of left-wing Jewish and Muslim activist groups, which he took as another occasion to condemn Israel.

“We’re united around a belief that a better world is possible — one in which we don’t compromise on anyone’s humanity. One in which we are not complicit in occupation and genocide,” he wrote on X. “One in which everyone has a home they can afford, with no bombs falling on it, in a place where they are both safe and free.”

Mamdani, for his part, vowed at a rally for the trio Thursday evening that they would help combat “monsters” that he claimed dominate the political process. The only such quarry he called out by name, though, was AIPAC.

“AIPAC, for whom the only thing more frightening than democracy being allowed to run its course is an end to genocide and [Israeli Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu’s wars,” the mayor told the roaring crowd.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that the U.S. would not forbid Iran from possessing ballistic missiles, downplaying the threat despite it being a key war aim in the onset of the conflict. Speaking at the G7 summit in France, the president asserted that the majority of Iran’s missile capabilities have been destroyed and that he could not enforce the provision since other countries also “have some.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio asserted in March that a key U.S. aim in the war would be “the destruction of Iran’s ballistic missile capabilities and their ability to manufacture them.”

“I mean, they have to have some, because other people have some … It doesn’t work that way. And missiles aren’t the problem,” Trump explained. “Missiles are, they hurt a little location, but they don’t blow up the planet.”

When asked whether it would be acceptable for the administration to allow Iran to keep its ballistic missiles, Trump argued that Tehran’s capacity has been significantly depleted over the course of the conflict. 

“What are they keeping?” Trump responded. “We knocked out probably 84%-85% of their missiles. The rest are underground, they can’t even get them out. On the first night we knocked out hundreds of their missiles.”

Trump also asserted that Iran does not “want to be firing missiles right now,” noting that instead Tehran is likely focused on rebuilding what has been damaged during the war. 

WATCH: When asked whether it would be acceptable for the administration to allow Iran to keep its ballistic missiles, Trump argued that their capacity has been significantly depleted over the course of the conflict.

“What are they keeping?” Trump responded. “We knocked out… pic.twitter.com/Ysu5MfiZjt

— Jewish Insider (@jewishinsider) June 17, 2026

The president also praised Israel as a “good partner” in the conflict and argued that the nuclear restrictions laid out in the U.S.’ agreement with Tehran are the ultimate victory for Jerusalem. According to Trump, if Iran were to acquire a nuclear weapon, “Israel would have been blown away.”

“Look, think of what Israel’s getting, they’re not going to be nuked, very simple,” Trump said. “I told [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu], ‘Your biggest risk was that they [Iran] drop a nuclear weapon into the middle of Israel. They’d only need one, and there would be no more Israel. Think of it, Bibi, you got the best, the most important thing that you were asking for is that. So, I think they’re happy.”

Regarding the technical specifics of the deal, Trump stated that Iran has agreed to work with the U.S. to “turn over” its enriched material. He noted that while the material is secured “deep in the bowels of the earth” and monitored by cameras, technical discussions to remove the stockpiles would begin immediately. He insisted that, unlike the Obama administration’s implementation of the JCPOA, any relief Iran receives under this framework would be strictly “based on merit.”

Additionally, while Trump maintained that the U.S. did not enter the conflict seeking “regime change,” he argued that the war’s casualties effectively accomplished that by wiping out multiple tiers of Iranian leadership.

“They have a new group of leaders that I think is actually very smart, I think they’re far less radicalized, and I think they’re really good. They love their country,” Trump said. “You talk about regime change, nobody will say that, but … one set of leaders is all gone, the second set of leaders is all gone, their third set of leaders a little bit gone, but for the most part, I think that’s regime change.”

Trump also returned to vocalizing his frustrations with Israel’s military approach against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

“Israel, by the way, they’ve been a good partner again. I love them as a partner. They were terrific, but they could do a much better job with Hezbollah. On that, I don’t think they’re doing well, and I feel very bad for Lebanon,” Trump said. “I’m not saying they shouldn’t protect themselves. I’m saying, when two drones are shot into the desert and drop harmlessly, you don’t have to knock down buildings in Beirut. [Israel] could behave better, and frankly, they could do a better job.”

Trump characterized the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah as a “very small piece of the puzzle” compared to the agreement with Iran, though he said it “makes a lot of noise,” adding that he has urged Netanyahu to use a “softer touch” when conducting strikes.

“He happens to be a very good man. We’ve had an amazing partnership,” Trump said of Netanyahu. “We have a little dispute over Lebanon. I say you can do a little softer touch, maybe you don’t have to knock down a building every time somebody walks into it that’s from Hezbollah … but he will say we’re the big partner, he’s the very small partner, that’s true.”

The president contrasted the situation in Lebanon with what he described as major progress in the Gaza Strip, claiming that “Hamas has been very silent” as the U.S. attempts to disarm the group.

“Look at the job we’ve done in Gaza. Look at Hamas. Hamas has been very silent. You haven’t read anything about Hamas. We’re trying to get them unarmed,” Trump remarked. “They grew up with a machine gun in their hand … but they’ve actually behaved pretty well, considering this was not the lifestyle that they were taught to have.”

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the agreement reached between the U.S. and Iran earlier this week to end the conflict has not been finalized, warning that the U.S. would “go right back to dropping bombs” if he is dissatisfied with the final deal or if Iran fails to “behave.”

“No, it’s not final. It’s a memorandum of understanding, and if I don’t like it, we’ll go back to shooting at them, dropping bombs on their head,” Trump said during a bilateral meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains, France. “If I don’t like it, if they don’t behave, we’ll go right back to dropping bombs right smack in the middle of their head, because they have misbehaved for 47 years.”

Reports indicate that the memorandum of understanding announced this week could release $24 billion in Iranian frozen assets and provide $300 billion in reconstruction relief. Senior administration officials have stated that while the U.S. is open to these terms, they have denied reports that the funds would automatically be released, instead arguing that it would remain strictly conditioned on Iran fulfilling its obligations within the agreement. 

WATCH: Trump warns he’ll go back to military operations if the Iran deal falls apart.

“If I don’t like it, if they don’t behave, we’ll go right back to dropping bombs right smack in the middle of their head.”

Read the full story from @MatthewShea__: https://t.co/JXdeZk63DY pic.twitter.com/QRQCU3UQZe

— Jewish Insider (@jewishinsider) June 17, 2026

When asked whether the money would be released, Trump stated: “That’s false.” 

“That’s a false story that got picked up incorrectly,” he said. 

The president also said that while the U.S. would not invest in Iran, Washington will not stop other countries from doing so. 

“People can decide to do that, but that’s up to them. I would say they won’t be doing it for a while until they find out [whether Iran has changed] the behavior. It’s a behavior thing,” Trump said. “Do you want me to say that nobody’s ever allowed to invest in a country? We are not investing in it [Iran], we do not have a fund.”

Trump also touted U.S. military accomplishments, saying that Iran’s navy, military and air force have been “wiped out.” He argued that operations to guide and protect ships through the Strait of Hormuz have been successful and are keeping oil prices down. 

“They have no anti-aircraft, they have no radar,” Trump said. “The reason oil stayed low is because we were taking ships out every night…We averaged 15 to 25 ships a night. Nobody knew that our navy did a great job, nobody knew that was happening. That’s why oil didn’t go to $300 million a barrel, it went to $125, $115, now it’s at $72-$73.”

The president also renewed his sharp criticism of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the nuclear deal signed with Iran in 2015 under former President Barack Obama. Trump argued that the fundamental flaw of that agreement was the transfer of cash to “bribe” the Iranian government.

“Nobody could have made this deal. The JCPOA done by Obama… he gave them $1.7 billion in green cash from banks into a Boeing 757 and flew it into Iran,” Trump said. “They [the Iranians] stood at the plane, I have pictures of it, like, ‘Oh my, look at this money he’s giving us.’ He [Obama] tried to bribe his way out. I didn’t do that… and you know what the Iranians did, they laughed at Obama and they said he’s a stupid son of a b****.”

There will be a number of items on the agenda when the two most powerful men in the world — President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping — meet in Beijing tomorrow, chief among them tech and AI. The president is bringing with him a roster of top business leaders, including Elon Musk, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, Apple’s Tim Cook, Goldman Sachs’ David Solomon, Meta’s Dina Powell McCormick, BlackRock’s Larry Fink and Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman.

And while emerging technologies will be a major topic of conversation during the three-day trip, most eyes — and markets — are on the tenuous ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran.

“We have a lot of things to discuss,” Trump told reporters before departing for China. “I wouldn’t say Iran is one of them, to be honest with you, because we have Iran very much under control.” Nonetheless, the president said, “We’re going to have a long talk about [Iran]. I think he’s been relatively good, to be honest with you.”

Beijing has, after all, been playing a major role in the U.S.-Iran conflict — even if it has done so from the margins: serving as the largest importer of oil from the Islamic Republic in violation of U.S. sanctions, meeting with top Iranian officials (including last week’s sit-down between Xi and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi) and transferring weapons to Iran through third countries.

Indeed, the summit, delayed from earlier this year due to the war, comes amid reports of a U.S. intelligence assessment that Iran has restored access to 30 of its nearly three dozen missile sites, and days after Washington rejected an Iranian response to a U.S. proposal that fell short of the Trump administration’s demands.


China’s interest isn’t purely power-driven: it’s also economic. Being able to purchase Iranian oil at steeply discounted prices — owing to Tehran’s global economic isolation — has meant that China has not felt the same financial pressures as the West.

Trump, who has spent much of his second term welcoming leaders to Washington, will be on Xi’s home turf, face-to-face with a leader who is opting not to use his leverage to push Iran into making concessions. The longer the uncertainty continues, the more restless even the president’s most fervent supporters will get — especially with the midterms approaching.

That dynamic is already beginning to play out on Capitol Hill. Yesterday, JI reported on divisions among Republican senators over whether the U.S. should reengage militarily with Iran, while last week, Rep. Tom Barrett (R-MI), who is facing a tough reelection battle in his swing district, became the first GOP lawmaker to introduce an authorization for use of military force in Iran.

All of that is good for Xi, and gives him little incentive to use China’s economic and diplomatic leverage over the Islamic Republic, which while knocked down a few pegs, has managed to maintain control despite the severe blows it has been dealt.

The Iranian regime has been able to survive in large part because it knows how to play the long game: to drag out negotiations, give breadcrumbs instead of the whole loaf and wreak just enough havoc to serve as a disruptor without prompting massive retaliation. It has enough to survive, for now.

Xi finds himself in a similar dynamic: unbound by pending elections, unaffected by rising energy costs and distanced from military action in the Middle East, Beijing is — unlike Trump — does not need a quick resolution to the conflict. 

The tenuous ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran came close to collapsing overnight after the Islamic Republic fired 15 missiles and four drones at the United Arab Emirates. The question now is whether hostilities will resume in the coming days — just before next week’s major summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, slated to take place in Beijing.

Monday’s Iranian missile fire came amid ramped-up rhetoric from both Tehran and Washington over the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and as the U.S. launched “Project Freedom” to assist vessels attempting to transit through the waterway. One of the drones fired yesterday by Iran hit the UAE’s Fujairah Oil Industry Zone, sparking a fire that injured three Indian workers. 

Iran’s attack on the UAE was widely condemned, with Saudi, Qatari, British and Indian officials denouncing the renewed strikes.

CENTCOM head Adm. Brad Cooper touted the initial success of the Project Freedom naval effort, which on its first day protected two U.S.-flagged ships traveling through the strait. It’s unclear the degree to which the endeavor will help with the resumption of normal activities in the waterway, which normally sees some 120 vessels passing through each day.

Later Monday, two U.S. naval ships came under heavy fire from Iran as they navigated through the passage. Iran claimed to have hit a warship, which CENTCOM denied. Trump told Fox News’ Trey Yingst that Iran would be “wipe[d] off the face of the earth” if it targeted ships being escorted through the strait. The Wall Street Journal reported that the president “for days has toggled between two competing impulses: severely punishing Iran for failing to abandon its nuclear work, and avoiding a significant escalation that could draw the U.S. deeper into a Middle East conflict.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, for his part, criticized Project Freedom — which he referred to as “Project Deadlock” — claiming that Pakistan-brokered talks between Washington and Tehran “are making progress” and warning that the U.S. and the UAE “should be wary of being dragged back into quagmire by ill-wishers.”


Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the strikes on the UAE — albeit without mentioning Iran. “It is absolutely essential that the ceasefire be upheld and respected,” Sharif posted on X, “to allow necessary diplomatic space for dialogue leading to enduring peace and stability in the region.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to address the situation with Iran when he speaks to reporters from the White House briefing room at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, the first press briefing since White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt went on maternity leave.

Later this week, Rubio is set to head to the Vatican to meet with Pope Leo XIV amid tensions between the Holy See and the Trump administration over the pontiff’s comments on the war in Iran. It’s unclear if the trip will still happen if the situation in the Gulf further devolves.

The bigger question is what will happen next week, when Trump is slated to meet with China’s Xi Jinping in Beijing — a summit already delayed once due to the war. Over the weekend, Beijing told Chinese firms to ignore U.S. sanctions on five Iran-linked oil refiners in the country.Beijing has attempted to play both sides of the conflict, encouraging Iran to pursue diplomacy while also providing the Islamic Republic with commercial support for use in the event of a resumption of hostilities. Should the summit take place, all eyes will be on Xi to see if he attempts to play Trump, as well.

The Senate rejected for the sixth time an effort from Democrats to force the Trump administration to halt the war in Iran — with the vote once again falling largely along party lines. 

The vote was the last before the conflict approaches the 60-day mark outlined in the War Powers Resolution of 1973, which requires the executive to seek congressional approval for continuing hostilities or draw down U.S. forces. 

“After 60 days of war, it is long past time for Republicans to hold Donald Trump accountable,” Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) said in a statement released prior to the vote. “Some of my colleagues have indicated that the War Powers Act’s 60-day mark is the moment they may join our efforts to bring this war to its conclusion. That time has come.” 

The latest resolution, sponsored by Schiff and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), failed by a measure of 50-47. Sens. Jerry Moran (R-KS), Patty Murray (D-WA) and Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) did not vote. 

Sens. John Fetterman (D-PA), Rand Paul (R-KY) and Susan Collins (R-ME) voted with the opposition party. This was the first time in which Collins sided with the Democrats on the war powers votes.

“As I have said since these hostilities with Iran began, the President’s authority as Commander-in-Chief is not without limits,” Collins said in a statement following the vote. “Further military action against Iran must have a clear mission, achievable goals, and a defined strategy for bringing the conflict to a close. I voted to end the continuation of these military hostilities at this time until such a case is made.”

Collins added that the 60-day war powers deadline is “not a suggestion; it is a requirement.”

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) said he was not surprised by Collins, noting that “she has been saying the 60-day clock is significant for her.”

He added that for him: “We haven’t reached the 60 days. That’s why I voted the way I voted.” However, Hawley said that he wants “to see an end to the war.”

Senate Republicans have told Jewish Insider they expect the White House to abide by the law and provide notification of a 30-day extension to Congress, which is permitted to ensure a safe withdrawal. However, the administration has not yet indicated publicly whether it will seek that extension or continue offensive operations, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claimed at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Thursday that the 60-day clock was “paused” during the ongoing ceasefire.

As the deadline approaches, a growing rift is emerging among Senate Republicans over whether to support an Authorization of Use of Military Force. 

“I would hope it wouldn’t come to that,” Hawley said of the White House potentially extending the conflict past the 60-day mark. “I think the administration has tried to remain within the statute.” Hawley has said that should the conflict extend past the deadline with no further action from the White House that he would debate an AUMF, but said he would prefer not to support authorizing a war he wants to see “wind down.” 

Hawley said he would “welcome further communication from the White House.”

Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) also said he expects that the White House will “communicate” and “make a very strong legal argument.” He also noted that he believes the administration has “followed the War Powers Act provision so far in a very careful way.”

Young said that should an AUMF be necessary, he could see himself voting for a “properly structured authorization.” 

“That’s been my position throughout this exercise,” Young said, referring to the recent slate of war powers votes. “My hope would be that if we went down that road, we’d work with the administration to draft a properly scoped authorization for the use of military force.”

Meanwhile, Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) said he is “not ready to commit to anything.”

“I want to make sure that we continue to get classified information on a timely basis from the Pentagon,” Rounds said. “I think today we had a very good classified setting with a lot of good information being provided. I think they [the White House] did a good job of sharing their point of view on it. So we’re moving in a good direction.” 

Asked whether he believes anything would change at the 60-day deadline, Rounds replied: “I have no reason to believe that’s the case right now.” 

Rounds said he believes a path forward between the U.S. and Iran will be “extremely difficult without regime change.”

“But that doesn’t mean that there isn’t hope for an agreement with this particular regime under very strict observations by outside forces to make sure that they adhere to any agreements we make,” Rounds added. 

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) said that while he thinks the current war is “unwise” and “illegal,” he said that if Congress “were to pass an AUMF in both houses it would stop being illegal.”

“I would stop critiquing it as an illegal war if they [Congress] passed an AUMF,” Kaine said. 

Kaine said he expects that another war powers vote “will come up right after [Congress adjourns for] recess.” 

“I think the testimony this morning shows they [the White House] know they got a 60-day problem,” Kaine said, referring to Hegseth’s remarks at the hearing.

Rounds, who serves on the Senate Armed Services committee, said that he would need to “go back and do a good review of that particular” remark.

“We’re in the middle of it,” Rounds said. “Once I have a chance to actually go through it myself then I’ll have a comfort level. I’m not going to disagree with him [Hegseth] at this stage.”

Heckled over Gaza at a Turning Point USA event on Tuesday evening, Vice President JD Vance claimed that “the humanitarian situation in Gaza was an absolute catastrophe” when Trump returned to office last January and criticized the Biden administration’s handling of the conflict, though he did not defend Israel against the attack. 

An attendee at the event at the University of Georgia repeatedly shouted that the Trump administration was supporting “genocide” in Gaza by backing Israel’s war against Hamas.

“You know who’s the person who got a peace agreement in Gaza? Donald J. Trump,” Vance told the heckler. “So if you want to complain about what happened in Gaza, why don’t you complain about Joe Biden and the last administration? We’re the administration that solved that problem.”

“Right now, you see more humanitarian aid coming into Gaza than … any time in the past five years because we have taken that situation seriously,” he continued. “That’s one of the things I’m proud of about our administration, whether it’s there or Thailand and Cambodia, we have consistently tried as much as we can to solve these problems.”

Vance also revealed at the event that Theo Von was one of his favorite podcasters and recommended young people listen to his show — despite the influencer’s record of anti-Israel and antisemitic comments.

Vance made the comments after being asked by a child in the audience during a question and answer period who he looked up to in the conservative movement when he was growing up and which current “influencers” he’d recommend young people listen to. 

The vice president responded by pointing to James Dobson, the founder of Focus on the Family, an Evangelical organization aimed at promoting traditional conservative family policies, as an early influence in his life, and encouraged young people to listen to Von, himself and the current hosts of the Charlie Kirk Podcast.

Von has made a series of antisemitic and anti-Israel statements in recent years on his and other podcasts. He claimed to Joe Rogan in a November 2024 appearance on his podcast that Jews control liberal media and “hate White guys.” He referred to neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes as “f***ing brave” during a January episode of his podcast alongside anti-Israel comedian Dave Smith, and warned Israel not to kill him while saying he was “not suicidal” last October amid reports about concerns for his mental health. 

Vance has appeared on Von’s podcast before, sitting down for an interview last June where he defended Israel’s handling of the war in Gaza after Von described it as a “genocide.” Trump also appeared on Von’s podcast in August 2024, during his presidential campaign. In May last year, the White House took Von to speak to U.S. troops at a military base in Qatar, ahead of Trump’s address.

The vice president emphasized his support at another point during the event for continuing to engage with Iranian leadership to reach a negotiated settlement to end the fighting and reshape the two countries’ relationship, and said he was going to keep working toward that outcome. Vance said while detailing the status of negotiations between Washington and Tehran that the U.S. has not agreed to a diplomatic settlement to end the conflict because President Donald Trump “really wants a deal where Iran doesn’t have a nuclear weapon.”

“Fundamentally, the president set a policy: Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, and right now we are negotiating to make sure that very thing happens,” Vance said. 

Trump, Vance argued, “doesn’t want to make … a small deal. He wants to make the grand bargain. And what he’s basically offering to Iran is very simple, and frankly, it’s something that no president, I think, has had the ability to offer. He said that, ‘if you’re willing to act like a normal country, we are willing to treat you economically like a normal country.’”

The comments came following reports that U.S. negotiators asked Iran to agree to not enrich uranium for 20 years as part of a peace deal, which Trump told the New York Post on Tuesday he was displeased about. 

“I’ve been saying they can’t have nuclear weapons, so I don’t like the 20 years,” Trump told the outlet. 

Vance described the president’s offer to improve the U.S.-Iran relationship in exchange for the regime committing to abandoning its efforts to obtain nuclear weapons as a “Trumpian grand bargain” that he was “going to keep on negotiating” toward. 

“What’s interesting about this is that we have this ceasefire that’s in place, I think it’s six or seven days old right now. The ceasefire is holding,” Vance said. “And that’s one of the reasons why I’d say, in Pakistan, we made a ton of progress,” he added, referring to his direct talks with Iranian leadership over the weekend.

“The United States had never had meetings at that level with the Iranian government in 49 years, like it’s a meeting that had never before happened, not Democrat, not Republican,” he continued. 

Tuesday’s event was originally supposed to feature a conversation between the vice president and Erika Kirk, the widow of Turning Point founder Charlie Kirk and his successor as TPUSA’s CEO. Kirk pulled out of appearing at the event late Tuesday after her security team advised her against appearing due to “very serious threats.” Since her husband’s assassination last September, Kirk has been targeted by far-right conspiracy theorists, led by Candace Owens, claiming that she was involved in the assassination of her husband. 

Vance condemned those criticizing Kirk but did not call out Owens or others by name, telling the crowd, “Everybody is attacking her over everything, and they’re lying about her, and it’s one of the most disgraceful things that I’ve ever seen in public life, and I’ve seen a lot of crazy stuff in my life.”

As the conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran nears the one-month mark, experts say the war has diverted diplomatic and military attention away from Gaza, creating a mixed picture: Hamas has used the pause in sustained Israeli military pressure to reassert control in areas it still governs, while the degradation of Iran’s capabilities could ultimately leave the group weaker and more isolated once the conflict subsides.

“I think it’s safe to say that Israeli and American attention has been significantly diverted to the Iran war, and as a corollary to the second front, meaning the war with Hezbollah, at the expense of full time attention to Hamas,” said Matthew Levitt, director of The Washington Institute for Near East Policy’s program on counterterrorism and intelligence. “But it’s not like nothing’s happened in the interim, both for good and for bad.”

Some ceasefire efforts remain ongoing, even as the war continues: Earlier this week, Nickolay Mladenov, the Board of Peace’s high representative for Gaza and a former senior United Nations official, briefed the U.N. Security Council on the board’s progress in implementing elements of President Donald Trump’s 20-point Gaza plan, outlining early reconstruction efforts and a phased proposal for disarmament. 

According to experts familiar with the briefing, those efforts have focused in part on areas of Gaza under Israeli control, where work has begun on clearing debris, addressing unexploded ordnance and laying the groundwork for new housing and infrastructure projects.

Gaza currently remains divided among the Hamas-controlled western part of the enclave, referred to by some experts as the “red zone,” while the IDF controls the eastern side, or “yellow zone.” Levitt said that work is being done to “build what is being described as new Rafah, as well as an Emirati-funded city, so that hopefully in the not too distant future, Gazans who are in the area of the enclave controlled by Hamas can be vetted and moved into these new communities.” 

The National Committee for the Administration of Gaza — a new technocratic Palestinian governing body launched under the peace plan — has also begun vetting thousands of candidates for a new civilian police force, while several countries, including Indonesia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo and Albania, have committed troops to a proposed International Stabilization Force, according to the UN. 

However, experts and former White House officials also noted that the diverted attention from Gaza has had negative effects as well, most notably creating conditions for Hamas to “reassert its very physical presence” in the part of the enclave it controls. 

Elliott Abrams, Iran envoy under the first Trump Administration and a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said the U.S., Israel and Arab states focusing elsewhere “is temporarily an advantage for Hamas. For Gaza, the issue is whether the [Board of Peace] member states, led by the U.S., will insist on Hamas disarmament — without which all the plans for rebuilding Gaza will fail, and no country will send its troops there as a peace force.”

Ghaith al-Omari, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute, also noted that “Hamas has certainly been taking advantage of the shift of attention to the Iran war.”

“Last week, [Mladenov] presented Hamas with a proposal for disarmament. The proposal calls for gradual disarmament but makes it emphatically clear that Hamas needs to fully disarm by the end of the process,” he said. 

“Because of lack of international attention, the tools needed to implement this — namely the creation of a new Palestinian police force — have been stalled,” al-Omari continued. “Hamas itself is unlikely to respond to the disarmament proposal until it sees how the Iran war ends. If Iran is not decisively weakened by the end of the war, Hamas will likely adopt a more hardline position when it comes to disarmament.”

Levitt said that while Hamas’ retrenchment in the enclave may cause concern, “the reality is [Hamas is] not able to expand beyond the less than half [of the enclave] that it controls.” He also noted that the current conflict in Iran may actually create the conditions to further weaken, pressure and isolate the terrorist group when the war subsides. 

“[Hamas is] not getting the money they once did on a regular basis from Iran or from Qatar,” Levitt said. “It has limited resources, and when the war ends I think that authorities will still have a lot of the same leverage that they did before the war, and in a situation where perhaps Iran’s capabilities to fund and arm its proxies are sufficiently degraded.”

He also noted that there could be more “interest” from other countries in aiding in the Gaza peace process once the Iran war dies down. 

“Sure, there’ll be parties who are angry at the United States, who are angry at Israel, and feel this was a war of choice,” Levitt said. “But once the war ends, I think there will be a lot of people who are going to be eager to try and do what they can to try and stabilize the region after these years of severe instability and suffering, and I think there’s going to be a focus on Gaza once the war ends.” 

Daniel Shapiro, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel under President Joe Biden, agreed that the war may weaken Iran’s ability to support Hamas and that “some regional players might be newly committed to seizing the opportunity to disarm this branch of the Iranian axis of resistance.” 

But the assistance of Gulf countries is not guaranteed, he said. “Others may pause their involvement in post-war Gaza for various reasons, ranging from the need to focus on their own recovery from the war, to unhappiness with Israel’s role in starting a war they hoped to avoid, to continuing opposition to Israel’s policies in the West Bank and opposition to a credible pathway to a Palestinian state,” Shapiro said. 

Rachel Brandenburg, a senior policy analyst at Israel Policy Forum, also argued that the war in Iran could impact “regional stakeholders’” involvement in post-war Gaza, “particularly across the Gulf.” She noted that “when the dust settles on this war, it is also likely to detract from the funds and attention Gulf countries had pledged for Gaza and to support the Palestinian Authority.”

“[Gulf countries] will not only have to confront the losses from physical infrastructure destruction but also from a pause on investments, business, tourism, and energy resources,” Brandenburg said. “I expect they will reconsider how much money is left for Gaza and the Palestinian Authority.”

Meanwhile, Jason Greenblatt, former White House envoy to the Middle East under the first Trump administration, argued that the “focus has not shifted” from combating Hamas and has instead “sharpened.” 

“Dismantling the Iranian regime’s capacity to arm, fund and direct Hamas is critical for Gaza’s future,” Greenblatt said. “But in my view, there is a difference between temporary humanitarian relief and meaningful rebuilding. The first can and should continue. The second cannot move forward until Hamas disarms and stops threatening Israel.”

Alexander Gray, former chief of staff to the National Security Council during Trump’s first term and now a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, echoed those sentiments, telling Jewish Insider that the Trump administration is “smartly treating many of the Middle East’s challenges as inherently interconnected.”

“There will never be peace in Gaza without destroying the ability of Iran to fund and deploy proxies like Hamas to destabilize the region,” Gray said. “The president’s focus on dismantlement of the Iranian proxy network is not accidental: without it, peace from Gaza to Lebanon to Syria to Iraq to Yemen will be elusive.”

Rep. Greg Landsman (D-OH), one of the few House Democrats who has supported strikes on Iran and opposed a war powers resolution to bring it to an end earlier this month, now says he wants to see the war wrapped up, and will vote for an upcoming resolution to end the conflict.

“It’s time to finish the operation in Iran. It’s time to be done,” Landsman said in a statement on Friday. “No expansion of the original operation. No ground troops.”

Landsman’s statement comes in advance of an anticipated vote on another war powers resolution to end the conflict next week, led by Rep. Greg Meeks (D-NY). Landsman said he plans to vote for the war powers resolution, and urged colleagues to do the same. 

Reps. Henry Cuellar (D-TX), Jared Golden (D-ME) and Juan Vargas (D-CA) were the only other Democrats to vote against the previous war powers resolution earlier this month.

“The fact is, in three weeks, we have destroyed nearly all of the regime’s missile and drone launch capacity and eliminated their ability, for now, to produce ballistic missiles and drones,” Landsman said. “This means the objective to destroy the weapons shield built to protect their underground nuclear enrichment facilities has been achieved.”

“The cost of inaction was far too high to tolerate. But now it’s time to be done,” he continued, adding that U.S. military officials have successfully executed their mission, so it is “now it is time for the administration to end the operation before we become entangled in a conflict with no strategic logic.”

The Ohio congressman criticized the Trump administration for its communication around the war, while praising military officials for how they have conducted the U.S. operations.

Cuellar, Golden and Vargas did not comment on how they plan to vote on the next war powers resolution. Assuming full attendance, just three other lawmakers who opposed the previous war powers resolution would need to flip to allow the next one to pass.

Landsman, Cuellar, Golden and three other moderate House Democrats are also co-sponsoring an alternative war powers resolution that would limit the duration of the war to 30 days from its inception, which also should be eligible for a vote in the House soon.

That 30-day deadline from the war’s beginning — March 30 — is quickly approaching, raising the likelihood that other Democrats like Cuellar and Golden might support ending the war, based on the timeline they laid out.

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📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, resigned from his role today over opposition to the war in Iran, baselessly alleging that Israel had coerced the United States into what he characterized as a misguided military conflict, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.

In a letter to President Donald Trump, Kent, a former Green Beret who had reported to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, wrote that he “cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran,” claiming that the Islamic Republic “posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.”

Kent, a hard-right former congressional candidate with isolationist foreign policy leanings, has previously promoted conspiracy theories, echoed pro-Russia messaging and associated with white supremacists and neo-Nazis, among other controversies. He’s now expected to appear on the podcast of his ally and friend Tucker Carlson…

After being largely rejected by foreign leaders on his repeated calls to assist in the war with Iran, Trump claimed in a post on Truth Social that, “Because of the fact that we have had such Military Success, we no longer ‘need,’ or desire, the NATO Countries’ assistance — WE NEVER DID! … WE DO NOT NEED THE HELP OF ANYONE!”

Asked about the timeline of the war by reporters in the Oval Office this afternoon, Trump said, “We’re not ready to leave yet, but we will be leaving in the … very near future”…

Reports indicate Iran’s security forces, despite being badly battered by the U.S. and Israel, are conducting renewed crackdowns on the Iranian public and potential dissenters. At least 500 people have been arrested since the start of the war, and new security checkpoints are being deployed for regime oversight…

Major U.S. airlines have extended their suspensions of direct flights to Tel Aviv as the war continues, JI’s Haley Cohen reports, with both United and Delta airlines not offering any direct flights until June.

The first direct flight on United Airlines between Newark Liberty International Airport and Ben Gurion Airport is available on June 16, while the first direct New York to Tel Aviv flight on Delta Airlines is available June 1. United’s direct flights from Israel to Chicago O’Hare and Washington Dulles International Airport are also suspended…

U.S. Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack denied reports that the U.S. is encouraging Syria to deploy forces into eastern Lebanon to help disarm Hezbollah, as the IDF begins to carry out ground incursions in the south of the country…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to post “proof of life” videos on social media amid internet conspiracy theories that he has been killed and replaced by a look-alike…

Trump’s decision to withhold his endorsement in the Texas Senate GOP runoff all but guarantees that Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will both appear on the May 26 runoff ballot, as neither have dropped out of the race ahead of this evening’s deadline…

Maine Gov. Janet Mills released her first attack ad against her Democratic primary rival in the race for U.S. Senate, oyster farmer Graham Platner, highlighting social media comments he made about sexual assault that have marred his campaign. In the ad, several women read disparaging comments made by Platner on Reddit over a decade ago relating to rape, and a picture of Platner’s Nazi tattoo — which he has since had covered — is displayed under a magnifying glass. “The closer you look, the worse it gets,” the ad’s narrator says…

The Wall Street Journal spotlights the gamble being made by Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker as he expends political capital (and actual capital) backing his lieutenant governor, Juliana Stratton, in the state’s Democratic primary for U.S. Senate taking place today. Pritzker’s involvement has drawn the ire of the Congressional Black Caucus, which is backing Rep. Robin Kelly (D-IL), even though both Stratton and Kelly are Black. The race is seen as a test of Pritzker’s political clout in his home state…

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani took the occasion of St. Patrick’s Day and the presence of former Irish President Mary Robinson in New York to accuse Israel of committing genocide and to praise Robinson’s controversial tenure as the United Nations’ high commissioner for human rights, JI’s Will Bredderman reports.

“I think also of how she stood steadfast alongside the people of Palestine,” the mayor said in listing Robinson’s accomplishments. “I say this as over the past few years as we’ve witnessed a genocide unfold before our eyes, there has been deafening silence from so many. For those who have long cared about universal human rights and the extension of them to Palestinians, silence, however, is nothing new. For Palestinians are so often left to weep alone. Yet former President Robinson has never been silent”…

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a rundown of the results of Illinois’ Democratic primaries, where polls close at 8 p.m. ET.

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard is expected to face questions over the departure of her deputy, Joe Kent, at the Senate Intelligence Committee’s hearing on worldwide threats, where she will testify alongside other intelligence agency heads. Gabbard said today after Kent’s resignation that, as commander-in-chief, Trump “concluded that … Iran posed an imminent threat and he took action based on that conclusion,” but did not say whether she agrees herself in that assessment, something she is likely to be pressed on tomorrow.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will receive a classified briefing on the war in Iran from State Department intelligence officials.

The Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee will hold a nomination hearing for Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) to be secretary of homeland security after Trump’s ouster of Secretary Kristi Noem.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom will hold a hearing on rising antisemitism abroad.

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NAMING NAMES

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Israel has a long history of conflict and military operations in Lebanon, and the IDF is now preparing for a broader ground incursion against Hezbollah.

What started with Operation Peace in the Galilee in 1982 to eliminate Palestinian Liberation Organization terrorist cells attacking Israel’s north turned into an 18-year military occupation of southern Lebanon. It ended with a retreat under public pressure and a return to power for the enemy — Hezbollah, which was founded soon after the war began. Six years later, Hezbollah abducted two Israeli soldiers, leading to the Second Lebanon War, and the terrorists attacked Israelis in Israel and abroad periodically over the subsequent 17 years.

After Hezbollah joined Hamas in attacking Israel a day after the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, Israel launched a ground invasion into southern Lebanon and airstrikes against Hezbollah targets throughout the country, most famously killing the terrorist organization’s then-leader Hassan Nasrallah, and conducting its exploding pager operation in the fall of 2024. But a few months after taking out the group’s entire leadership, leaving in place an uncharismatic and apparently flailing Naim Qassem in charge, Israel, at the behest of the Biden administration, reached a ceasefire with Lebanon in November 2024.

According to that ceasefire, the Lebanese government and military were meant to disarm Hezbollah and ensure it stays out of the area south of the Litani River, some 17 miles north of the border with Israel. Late last year, Israel started to voice concerns that Beirut was not keeping its commitments and that Hezbollah was regrouping.

Now, Israelis are experiencing deja vu: Once again, Hezbollah joined an attack on Israel a day later — this time, from its main patron, Iran — and has frequently launched rockets and missiles at Israel’s north. Israel started out with airstrikes in response, then, over a week later, began limited ground incursions into southern Lebanon. The Lebanese government said a million residents — 20% of the country’s population — have been evacuated; the IDF has acknowledged about half that number. Israelis have not been evacuated from Israel’s north — the 2023-2024 policy was unpopular and many residents have not returned — but they are living under constant attack.

The IDF said on Monday that it is planning for “continued limited, targeted operations,” but there are clear signs that something more expansive is on the way. The IDF announced on Tuesday morning that Division 36 forces have joined the expansion of ground operations in southern Lebanon.

IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir said he is sending “additional troops in order to strengthen the forward defensive posture, deepen the damage to Hezbollah and push the threat away from the communities in the north.” According to Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, “hundreds of thousands of Shi’ite residents of southern Lebanon … will not return to their homes south of the Litani until the safety of residents of [northern Israel] is ensured.” Katz said Israel will “destroy terrorist infrastructure in the villages abutting the border,” comparing the effort to the war against Hamas in Gaza.

Tal Beeri, head of research for the Alma Center, a think tank focused on Israel’s northern border, and himself a resident of Israel’s north, told Jewish Insider, “We can’t have another [military] campaign every few months or two years. There’s a whole region of Israel that can’t be dragged into war again and again. The blow that Hezbollah must receive right now must be strong enough.” 

At the same time, Beeri said he is not under illusions that Israel can eliminate Hezbollah: “Hezbollah is here to stay. It won’t disappear, even if the Iranian regime falls. … It will be much weaker, but it will exist. Therefore, Israel must continue a policy of strategically weakening Hezbollah. … Israel must be prepared to act to stop Hezbollah at any moment in the future.”

Based on the assumption that Hezbollah will survive, but must be kept “small and weak,” Beeri co-wrote Alma Center recommendations that would require long-term Israeli involvement in Lebanon, but less intense and ground-based than the quagmire Israelis remember from the 80s and 90s.

“There needs to be a buffer zone of at least 10 km [6.2 miles] from the border … with no civilian presence, because we learned … the villages become human shields for Hezbollah bases,” Beeri said. “The Lebanese government can’t maintain it.”

Still, he said, while the IDF must retain its current five positions on the Lebanese side of the border, a buffer zone “doesn’t require the permanent, physical presence of the IDF. It requires control that can be remote … with intelligence and observation points. ‘Presence’ doesn’t have to mean one thing; it can be flexible.” 

That flexibility should depend on how much responsibility the Lebanese government is able to take for southern Lebanon, once Hezbollah has been disarmed, though Beeri was skeptical that Beirut is able or even will want to do that in the short term — or ever.

For now, Beeri said, “Israel is expanding the [buffer zone] to distance the immediate threat from the north. … It will take time, one way or another.” 

This P.M. edition is reserved for our premium subscribers — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next. Please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts and feedback by replying to this email.

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

European countries are largely rebuffing President Donald Trump’s calls to join the war with Iran and help secure the largely impassable Strait of Hormuz. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said today, “This is not our war; we did not start it,” while the French foreign ministry said, “Posture has not changed: defensive it is.” Poland, the U.K. and Italy similarly made clear they would not be participating in an offensive capacity…

On potential negotiations with Iran, Trump told reporters, “We don’t even know their leaders. We have people wanting to negotiate. We have no idea who they are.” He said new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is “badly disfigured” and noted it’s “unusual” he hasn’t recently been seen in public.

Khamenei narrowly survived an airstrike on his compound on Feb. 28 as he briefly stepped outside, according to leaked audio obtained by The Telegraph, which reportedly contains remarks by an official in the office of deceased Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to senior clerics…

IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani denied reports that Israel is running low on missile interceptors, saying there is no “urgent problem” and that the military re-equips its supplies “in real time”…

Debris and missile fragments from Iranian attacks fell in the Old City of Jerusalem near several sensitive sites including the Western Wall Plaza and feet away from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre…

Twenty-three Democratic members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee wrote to Trump requesting a public hearing with Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to understand their role in “lead[ing] diplomatic engagement with Iran”…

Representatives of the U.S.-led Board of Peace met with Hamas officials over the weekend in Cairo, Egypt, Reuters reports, in an effort to keep ceasefire negotiations on track even as the war with Iran proceeds. Aryeh Lightstone, an aide to Witkoff, reportedly represented the U.S. delegation, with more meetings expected this week…

Times of Israel reporter Emanuel Fabian chronicles his experience receiving death threats from users of the prediction market platform Polymarket over his reporting on a recent Iranian missile strike in the city of Beit Shemesh…

Trump announced that Susie Wiles, his White House chief of staff, has been diagnosed with early stage breast cancer and will receive treatment while remaining in her post…

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a potential 2028 presidential contender, tested out his measured, pro-Israel messaging in a series of recent podcast interviews, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports. In his appearances on “Pod Save America” and “Higher Learning,” Shapiro made the case that, as the starting point for any public political conversation about Israel, the fact of Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state must be respected.

“I think what is dangerous here … is for those who think Israel doesn’t have a right to exist in [the] conversation. That to me is a recipe for permanent war,” Shapiro told “Higher Learning” host Van Lathan. He also pushed back on California Gov. Gavin Newsom, his potential 2028 opponent, for saying Israel could be described as an apartheid state…

Rep. Mike Lawler’s (R-NY) reelection campaign is employing a community activist, Darrell Davis, who has criticized Democratic politicians, including Rep. George Latimer (D-NY) and a county executive, for taking money from pro-Israel groups and traveling to Israel, Politico reports.

Davis accused Latimer of being on the receiving end of a “Jewish organized spending spree” and taking “about $30 million to buy a congressional seat, to represent the interests of Israel,” which he called “a horrific threat to democracy.” About Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins’ trip to Israel, Davis wrote, “Why are they in Israel?? What more proof do people need that black Dems don’t give a sh*t about you. They are up for sale”…

The day before her primary election in Illinois’ 9th Congressional District, far-left social media influencer Kat Abughazaleh removed language from her campaign website claiming “There is no acceptable scenario that leaves Hamas in charge of the Gaza Strip,” after she had faced criticism from the Hamas-friendly outlet Drop Site News over its inclusion. Her site says that the earlier language on the page “did not accurately reflect Kat’s views or the values of this campaign”…

And the closing drama in the Illinois Senate Democratic primary is Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton’s claim that she received a deathbed endorsement from civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson, which the Jackson family said today he had never finalized. The late reverend’s support is seen as meaningful in the race, which includes multiple prominent Black candidates, as well as Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL)…

The Atlantic spotlights one of the main obstacles facing Maine Gov. Janet Mills in her Democratic primary for U.S. Senate against oyster farmer Graham Platner: her age. Mills, 78, “does not have a dicey Reddit history or a recently covered-over Nazi tattoo” but is still trailing in the polls, even as Platner continues to be plagued by scandals. “One likely factor: If she is elected, Mills would be the oldest freshman senator in history”…

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a look at the tense runoff in the Democratic primary for Texas’ 35th Congressional District, where a fringe conspiracy theorist eked out a narrow victory over a sheriff’s deputy backed by the pro-Israel establishment.

All eyes will be on the Prairie State tomorrow, as several high-profile Democratic primaries will be decided across Illinois. Read JI’s coverage of the races to watch.

On the Hill, the House Intelligence Committee will hold its annual hearing on worldwide threats, with testimony from Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, FBI Director Kash Patel, NSA Acting Director William Hartman and DIA Director James Adams.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on reforming U.S. defense sales.

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UNDER PRESSURE

Ro Khanna facing new Democratic challenger hitting him from the political center

Tech entrepreneur Ethan Agarwal: ‘He thinks being racist against Jewish people is going to help him win the American left. I don’t care if he’s right. I just think it’s unethical and immoral’

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This P.M. edition is reserved for our premium subscribers — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next. Please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts and feedback by replying to this email.

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

A suspect was killed during an active shooter and car ramming incident at Temple Israel in the heavily Jewish Detroit suburb of West Bloomfield Township, Mich., this afternoon, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.

Armed synagogue security engaged the suspect with gunfire, and a security guard who was knocked unconscious is expected to recover. A preschool that was in session at the time of the incident was evacuated safely. Authorities are continuing to investigate the suspect’s identity and motive.

“Everyone is safe. All 140 students in our Susan and Harold Loss Early Childhood Center, our amazing staff, our courageous teachers, and our heroic security personnel are all accounted for and safe,” the synagogue wrote on social media. “This note is coming to you before we know anything about our future programming or services, or any investigation. We wanted you to know we are safe, and we love you all”…

Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s new supreme leader, issued his first public statement today that indicates he’s as hard-line as his late father: Khamenei demanded the U.S. shut all its military bases in the Gulf immediately and said he’ll continue to target the Strait of Hormuz in order to “pressure the enemy.” His statement was read on state media indirectly by a presenter, as reports indicate the 56-year-old was injured in an Israeli strike and he has not been seen in public since.

President Donald Trump did not seem dissuaded — he posted on Truth Social, “when oil prices go up” the U.S. makes “a lot of money,” but “of far greater importance to me, as President, is stopping an evil Empire, Iran, from having Nuclear Weapons”…

Following a Republican convening this week focused on combating right-wing antisemitism, the center-left think tank Third Way urged fellow Democrats to follow the lead of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) in calling out antisemitism within their own party. 

“We certainly believe that Cruz was right and our side has a real antisemitism problem too that too many Democrats are failing to face squarely,” Matt Bennett, the group’s executive vice president for public affairs, told JI’s Gabby Deutch.

Similar comments from Third Way staff sparked a public clash with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), who defended controversial left-wing figures including antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker and said the true issue lies with the “neocons” in the party…

Less than a week until primary election day in Illinois’ 9th Congressional District, outside spending in the race is approaching $9 million, the majority of which is aimed at boosting state Sen. Laura Fine, a pro-Israel Democrat. Nearly half of all outside spending has come from the Elect Chicago Women super PAC, widely rumored to be connected to pro-Israel groups.

Another PAC rumored to be connected to AIPAC, Chicago Progressive Partnership, has spent over $1 million attacking anti-Israel social media influencer Kat Abughazaleh, including a new ad that spotlights her support from James “Fergie” Cox Chambers Jr., a communist political activist and scion of the billionaire Cox family often involved in radical-left causes…

A new poll commissioned by the far-left advocacy group Justice Democrats finds Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) in a competitive race for his seat — he’s now neck-and-neck with his primary opponent, state Rep. Justin Pearson. Pearson, a progressive legislator, gained public attention for being expelled from the Statehouse in 2023 for participating in a gun control protest on the floor…

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg endorsed Assemblyman Micah Lasher, his former staffer, in the hotly contested primary race for New York’s 12th Congressional District today, calling him “a key part of our team in City Hall.” Bloomberg plans to spend “millions of dollars” on a super PAC and ad campaign to boost Lasher, The New York Times reports, a notable effort by the popular former mayor to elevate Lasher among the pack…

Trump has delayed endorsing Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) in the Texas Senate runoff against Attorney General Ken Paxton, which Trump implied last week he would do imminently, instead using the potential endorsement to pressure Senate Republicans to change filibuster rules and pass his voter-ID bill. Paxton raised the stakes by saying he might drop out if the bill passes, a move that forced Cornyn to shift his stance on the filibuster…

The Boston Globe looks at Rep. Seth Moulton’s (D-MA) efforts to get on the Democratic primary ballot in his race against Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA), which will require him to receive support from 15% of delegates at the state Democratic Party’s upcoming convention. Moulton is attempting to recruit unregistered voters to become delegates in order to boost his chances, which observers are split on…

Politico uncovers the past political stances and writings of Morris Katz, the Democratic operative and anti-Israel whisperer now behind several high-profile progressive campaigns, when he lauded former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and derided progressive icon Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT)…

Shortly after the organization elevated a new political director who is closely tied to neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes, College Republicans of America’s chapter at Georgetown University came under investigation by the school for a social media post in which it claimed “Muslims have no place in American society”…

The Wall Street Journal spotlights Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of CENTCOM, as he “stay[s] out of the politics of the war” in Iran “and remains focused on waging it”…

The Treasury Department issued sanctions against four “sham charity” groups in Turkey and Indonesia that it said are funneling money and resources to Hamas’ military wing, JI’s Marc Rod reports…

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for reaction to today’s attack on Michigan’s Temple Israel from Jewish leaders and leading lawmakers.

The South by Southwest festival will hold its annual #openShabbat experience for Jews in tech, film and music tomorrow in Austin, Texas. 

A Saturday fundraiser for Rep. Zach Nunn (R-IA) with an appearance by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in Nunn’s home district in Iowa has been canceled; the event, called “Top Nunn” in reference to the “Top Gun” movies, had drawn scrutiny after several soldiers who had been stationed in Nunn’s district were killed in the course of the war with Iran. 

The Jewish Funders Network international conference starts Sunday in San Diego.

HaZamir: The International Jewish Teen Choir performs at Lincoln Center in New York City on Sunday evening.

The Zionist Organization of America will host its Florida Superstar Gala Sunday evening, where it will honor Pastor John Hagee, founder of Christians United for Israel; Justice Department official Leo Terrell; and Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL), among others.

We’ll be back in your inbox with the Daily Overtime on Monday. Shabbat Shalom!

Stories You May Have Missed

POLITICAL TIGHTROPE

Pro-Israel Democrats walking a fine line on U.S. operation in Iran

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz said she would likely have voted to authorize force against Iran if the administration had approached Congress properly before launching the war

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FEELING THE HEAT

UAE, more than Israel, absorbing bulk of Iranian strikes in war’s early weeks

Republican senators argued to JI that the war will ultimately be to the Gulf’s benefit, even if they’re feeling the pain now

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This P.M. edition is reserved for our premium subscribers — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next. Please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts and feedback by replying to this email.

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

The Strait of Hormuz continues to be a key site of conflict in the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran — a spokesperson for the Iranian Armed Forces said in a video statement that the regime “will never allow even a single liter of oil to pass through the Strait of Hormuz for the benefit of America, the Zionists or their partners,” shortly after several ships were struck by missiles while passing through or near the strait…

The International Energy Agency announced its member countries will release 400 million barrels of oil from their emergency reserves in order to blunt the impacts of the war, the largest emergency release in history…

President Donald Trump told Axios that the war will end “soon” because there’s “practically nothing left to target” in Iran. U.S. and Israeli officials are reportedly preparing for at least two more weeks of hostilities…

Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea speaks to experts and former Trump administration officials about Qatar’s potentially changing calculus on hosting Iranian-backed Hamas leaders as Tehran continues to attack the Gulf state…

A preliminary U.S. military investigation has found the deadly strike on a school in Iran was caused by the U.S. as it was targeting a nearby Iranian base, sources told The New York Times…

The FBI recently warned California police departments that Iran may launch a drone attack in the state, ABC News reports. As of last month, “Iran allegedly aspired to conduct a surprise attack using unmanned aerial vehicles from an unidentified vessel off the coast of the United State Homeland, specifically against unspecified targets in California, in the event that the U.S. conducted strikes against Iran,” the bureau’s alert read…

Israel is considering building a base in Somaliland, which it recently recognized as an independent country, in order to combat the threat of the Houthis, which are based in Yemen just across the Gulf of Aden…

Iran will not participate in the 2026 World Cup after the U.S. “assassinated our leader,” Iran’s sports minister told state media, shortly after Trump said he would still “welcome” the team’s participation. Iran’s national men’s soccer team was set to compete in June in Los Angeles and Seattle; several athletes from the country’s women’s team recently defected to Australia after playing in a match there…

Spain permanently withdrew its ambassador to Israel, as the countries’ already tense relations worsen over Madrid’s opposition to the war in Iran…

House Republican leadership discussed ways to incorporate an expected emergency supplemental for the U.S. military into the budget reconciliation process, Politico reports, rather than attempting to rally support from Senate Democrats for the 60-vote threshold that would otherwise be required in the Senate on a stand-alone vote. The move would also sidestep a vote that could be politically challenging for some House Republicans…

Former Obama administration official Ben Rhodes, a leading Israel critic on the left, said on an episode of his “Pod Save the World” podcast that Democrats who vote in favor of funding for the war with Iran “should be primaried. I don’t want you in the Democratic Party.”

Rhodes and co-host Tommy Vietor referenced the four Democrats who voted against a war powers resolution in the House as ripe for primary challenges. Left unsaid: Three of the four — Reps. Greg Landsman (D-OH), Henry Cuellar (D-TX) and Jared Golden (D-ME) — represent GOP-leaning seats that would likely flip with a more progressive Democratic candidate…

In a sign of the political gulfs between the Israeli and American left, Yair Zivan, who is an advisor to Israeli Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, pushed back on Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) after the senator criticized Israeli operations in Lebanon. 

“Senator, I work for the Leader of the Opposition in Israel and I’m writing this from a bomb shelter with my children. Israel is under attack by fanatical terrorists who want to murder us. It never ceases to amaze that your humanity never seems to extend to Israeli lives,” Zivan wrote on X…

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said he called New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to “check in on him and his wife to make sure they’re doing okay” after the attempted terror attack outside Mamdani’s official residence over the weekend. “As someone who’s had to deal with political violence, I know it can take a toll,” Shapiro said. The governor previously spoke with Mamdani after his win in November to express concerns over his rhetoric about Israel…

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a look at the far-right ties of the new political director of College Republicans of America.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will hold a hearing on foreign influence in American higher education, including testimony from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Craig Singleton.

The annual weeklong South by Southwest festival kicks off tomorrow in Austin, Texas. Appearing at the summit, whose 300,000 attendees include many film and media professionals, is anti-Israel protest leader Mahmoud Khalil, who will speak about “the system that tried to silence him, and the personal and political stakes of resistance.”

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PRIMARY PRESSURE

DMFI focusing ire on anti-Israel Democrats running in swing districts

The pro-Israel Democratic group warns that nominating far-left candidates will cost the party winnable seats against GOP incumbents

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DEMOCRATIC DIVIDE

John Fetterman again offers scathing criticism of his own party’s foreign policy views

The Pennsylvania senator told JI about the U.S. military operation’s successes: ‘Why can’t a single Democrat agree that this is a good thing for the world and the region?’

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Despite Qatar’s anger with Iran over the regime’s continued attacks on its territory and civilian infrastructure, experts are divided over whether the conflict will ultimately force Doha to reconsider its long-standing policy of hosting Iranian-backed Hamas officials.

Qatar has hosted Hamas’ political office and leadership, who have been reported to live lavishly and amass significant wealth, since 2012. Doha previously agreed to expel Hamas officials during hostage negotiations with Israel, but ultimately did not follow through. 

Some experts told Jewish Insider that shifting regional dynamics amid the U.S. and Israeli conflict with Iran could be sufficient to change Qatar’s calculus. In the days following the launch of the joint U.S. and Israeli military operation against Iran, Tehran has launched widespread drone and missile strikes at multiple Arab nations, including Qatar.  

Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani condemned the Iranian strikes last week as a “flagrant violation” of Doha’s sovereignty in a phone call with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and “categorically rejected” Tehran’s claims that the strikes were directed only at American interests and not intended to target the Gulf state.

Hamas — which has received significant funding, training, arms and intelligence from Tehran for decades — has not denounced the Iranian strikes, instead placing the blame on the U.S. and Israel. 

Anne Dreazen, vice president of the American Jewish Committee’s Center for a New Middle East, told JI that while Doha has raised the possibility of expelling Hamas leadership in the past, the recent attacks and the group’s lack of condemnation of the Iranian strikes signals that “the situation is a little bit different now.”

“These Iranian attacks across the Gulf have really forced many regional governments to reassess how much space they want to give the Iranian regime-aligned groups,” Dreazen said. “I think Qatar probably perceives that Hamas is siding with the Iranian regime, and so that could create some additional pressure on Qatar to act.”

Edmond Fitton-Brown, a former British diplomat and senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, echoed those sentiments, telling JI that the current conflict between the U.S. and Israel and Iran could challenge Qatar’s long-standing balancing act between Islamist movements and Western allies.

“Before the current Iran war, it [Qatar] was pursuing a business model that had it as international mediator, media superpower, host of a U.S. military base and sponsor of the Muslim Brotherhood’s global ambitions,” Fitton-Brown told JI. “It was a tightrope act, reliant on neither Iran objecting to the U.S. military base nor the U.S. objecting to the Muslim Brotherhood angle.”

However, Fitton-Brown said “the extent of the betrayal in the face of Iranian military aggression is on a different level from previous issues. “The comment made by Qatar about ‘everything being ruined’ strikes me as an acknowledgement that a return to the status quo ante is unlikely,” he added.

Fitton-Brown said that Qatar “looks unlikely to offer a stable haven” for Hamas leadership, adding that the group could find itself “sandwiched between U.S. allies on both sides of the Gulf.” 

Meanwhile, other experts and former White House officials remained more skeptical that current hostilities would push Qatar to finally expel Hamas.

“I will believe it when I see it,” Steven Cook, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, told JI.  Cook noted that while the “Qataris are angry about Iranian strikes on their territory,” it would likely not change the dynamics of their relationship with Hamas. He added that “hosting Hamas has become an instrument of Qatar’s regional power and global influence.

“Qatar has been playing both sides for decades — supporting Islamist groups including terrorist groups like Hamas, while housing the Al-Udeid base and spending billions in the U.S. to buy political protection,” Elliott Abrams, the former U.S. special representative for Iran during the first Trump administration, said. 

Abrams said it is “possible that this war has awakened them to the inherent contradictions in this game, where they protect Hamas — but Hamas doesn’t side with them,” however, he also expressed skepticism that such a move would ultimately be carried out.

Abrams said Qatar is “too used” to their current posture of playing both sides, adding that Doha receives “too many benefits from it.”

Richard Goldberg, a former Trump administration official, also said he will “believe it when I see it.” He noted that Qatar “appears to have intentionally shut down their liquified natural gas  exports and hyped the market … as a favor to Tehran and an attempt to pressure President Trump into backing down.” 

Earlier this month, Qatar halted liquefied natural gas production — which accounts for roughly 20% of global supply — after Iranian drone attacks targeted key operating facilities and infrastructure.

If the conflict does push Qatar to expel Hamas leaders, experts said Turkey could serve as a potential refuge.

“Turkey is the obvious refuge for Hamas: a powerful and self-confident Sunni Islamist state that also functions as the headquarters in the region for the International Organization of the Muslim Brotherhood,” Fitton-Brown added. “The Hamas leaders may move there soon, or may wait until the U.S.-Israel-Iran outcome is clear.”

“It would not be the end of Hamas” if they were expelled from Doha, Dreazen said. “Hamas has extensive operational infrastructure still in Gaza, and it has networks throughout several countries, Turkey being one of them. In terms of Hamas’ ability to carry out operations in Gaza, I think the impact would actually probably be limited.”

President Donald Trump drew two contradictory timelines for the ongoing war in Iran in remarks on Monday, saying that the conflict was both drawing to a close and in its early stages.

In a call with CBS News, Trump said, “The war is very complete, pretty much. [Iran has] no navy, no communications; they’ve got no air force. Their missiles are down to a scatter. Their drones are being blown up all over the place, including the manufacturing of drones. … There’s nothing left in a military sense.”  

The war has progressed faster than initially expected, the president added: “We’re very far ahead of schedule.”

Also Monday, the Department of Defense posted on X that “we have only just begun to fight, with a graphic of a missile interceptor and the text: “No Mercy.” 

At a news conference after his CBS News interview, Trump was asked whether the war is “very complete” or “just beginning.” 

“I think you could say both,” the president responded. “It’s the beginning of building a new country. We could call it a tremendous success right now, or we could go further.” 

“And we’re going to go further,” Trump added.

In his interview with CBS, Trump considered further steps, saying that he is “thinking about taking … over” the Strait of Hormuz.

The president later posted on Truth Social: “If Iran does anything that stops the flow of Oil within the Strait of Hormuz, they will be hit by the United States of America TWENTY TIMES HARDER than they have been hit thus far.”

The Strait of Hormuz is the only passage by sea from the Gulf to the open ocean and a critical chokepoint in the global energy market. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, said during a visit to Israel’s National Health Command Center on Monday that “our aspiration is to enable the Iranian people to cast off the yoke of tyranny; ultimately, it is up to them.”

“If we succeed together with the Iranian people, we will bring about a permanent end to the extent that such things exist in the lives of nations,” Netanyahu added. “We will bring about change, and we are already bringing about a massive shift in Israel’s international standing.”

The IDF Home Front Command reported only six missile launches from Iran to Israel in the past 24 hours, a significant slowdown from previous days of the war. 

The IDF continued to strike targets in Iran, including a missile launcher, 10 minutes after it fired at Israel. 

On Monday night, the IAF completed a wave of strikes against six major Iranian military airfields, destroying Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps aircraft, including combat helicopters.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun reached out to the U.S. to start direct talks with Israel on “permanent arrangements for security and stability on [its] borders.” He called for a “complete truce” ending Israeli military activity, and lamented that Hezbollah — which Beirut had agreed to disarm as one of the terms of its 2024 ceasefire with Israel — “wanted to achieve the fall of the State of Lebanon, under aggression and chaos.”

Israeli strikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon continued, with overnight attacks on command centers and the facilities of the Al-Quard Al-Hassan Association, which funds the Iran-backed terrorist group and works with cash, as well as a cell of Hezbollah terrorists approaching IDF soldiers and a structure in which commanders of the elite Radwan Force were said to be gathering.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar met with U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis in Jerusalem on Monday. In his readout of the meeting, he noted that Hezbollah joined the war on Iran’s side “against the interest of Lebanon.”

“Over the past week there have been more attacks against Israel from Lebanese territory than from Iran,” Sa’ar said. “Weakening Hezbollah is a mutual interest of both Israel and Lebanon. I also said that Hezbollah initiated an attack against us and no member of the international community is acting to stop it besides us.”

Sa’ar and Hennis also discussed Israel’s decision not to evacuate residents from its northern border towns, in contrast with October 2023, and said that “the deployment of IDF troops in the border area is critical for preventing an invasion of Hezbollah’s ground forces and attacks against Israeli citizens and communities.”

The IDF estimated in recent days that over half a million Lebanese residents evacuated southern Lebanon.

Magen David Adom emergency services reported treating 76 people as a result of Monday’s missile attacks, two of whom were killed and 18 injured by missile debris.

Since the start of Operation Lion’s Roar, there have been 14 fatalities. MDA reported treating 667 people for injuries resulting from missile attacks, 511 of whom were injured making their way to shelter or in traffic accidents when stopping for a missile alert.

As joint U.S.-Israeli operations against Iran and the Islamic Republic’s ballistic missile and drone attacks continue into a third day, all parties are planning for what could be a conflict that stretches across weeks, despite the decapitation of nearly all of Iran’s senior-most officials in the opening salvos of the war.

On his Truth Social site, Trump doubled down on his push for Iranian protesters to take action, calling on “all Iranian patriots who yearn for freedom to seize this moment, to be brave, be bold, be heroic and take back your country. America is with you. I made a promise to you, and I fulfilled that promise. The rest will be up to you, but we’ll be there to help.”

Trump said on Sunday that the U.S. had sunk nine Iranian warships and destroyed its naval headquarters as it works to dismantle the country’s entire naval fleet.

The president told numerous media outlets over the weekend that the time frame for operations would take four to five weeks, but said that Iranian officials “want to talk, and I have agreed to talk, so I will be talking to them.” Read more here.

Ali Larijani, the head of Iran’s National Security Council, refuted the claim, saying, “We will not negotiate with the United States.”

With the status of talks and any potential off-ramps in question, strikes continue in Israel and Iran, with Iranian proxy Hezbollah entering the hostilities early this morning with missile barrages targeting northern Israel. 

The last 48 hours have scrambled and deepened alliances across the Middle East as a number of Arab states coalesced behind the U.S. In a joint statement released Sunday night, the U.S., Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates slammed Iran’s “indiscriminate and reckless missile and drone attacks against sovereign territories across the region” and said the countries “stand united in defense of our citizens, sovereignty, and territory, and reaffirm our right to self-defense in the face of these attacks.”

Canada and Australia — both led by left-leaning governments that have clashed with the Trump administration — quickly announced their support for the U.S.- and Israel-led operation — though neither country’s official statement mentioned Israel. British, French and German leaders called on Saturday for the resumption of nuclear negotiations, pivoting a day later to calling on Iran to cease its “indiscriminate and disproportionate missile attacks.” Fox News reported that the U.K. is providing air policing and sharing intelligence, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Sunday that the U.K. is giving the Pentagon access to British bases in the region.

Israel and the U.S. prepared for the operation over the last two months. The Washington Post reported on Sunday that Trump’s decision to move forward with the operation came amid a “weeks-long lobbying effort” by Israel and Saudi Arabia — which was denied by a Saudi spokesperson in Washington. Israeli officials have for the last several months traveled back and forth between Jerusalem and Washington for White House meetings, while Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman was in Washington last month for meetings with administration officials as well as Jewish communal leaders.

In Washington, Congress is set to resume later this week and vote on two war powers resolutions being led by Sens. Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Rand Paul (R-KY) and Reps. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY) that, if passed and able to override an inevitable presidential veto, would force the Trump administration to end its operations against Iran. 

The assassination of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has put officials and figures who are critical of the Trump administration in the awkward position of praising the killing of the supreme leader, who has directed attacks that have killed tens of thousands over decades and overseen the expansion of Tehran’s vast proxy network, while continuing to criticize Trump. Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), previously a member of House Democratic leadership, called the strikes “an act of war” and the goal — “to stop Khamenei’s fanatical regime from committing further acts of terror — “defensible,” while blasting what he called Trump’s “unilateral, unconstitutional decision to go to war without congressional approval.”

Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) called Khamenei a “brutal dictator with the blood of Americans and Iranian civilians on his hands,” before stating that “his death does not mean regime change is imminent, and the potential consequences of these strikes are unpredictable, dangerous, and global.”

Having recently returned from a trip to Israel, Rep. George Latimer (D-NY) is emphasizing that Israel’s critics in the United States and around the world are overlooking Hamas’ key role in perpetuating the conflict and contributing to the humanitarian issues in Gaza, strengthening the terrorist group’s position and insulating it from external pressures. 

At the same time, the New York Democrat also said that Israel must do more to pursue an end to the war, make its case to the world and provide aid in Gaza.

Latimer, speaking to Jewish Insider last week, said that the trip, organized by the AIPAC-affiliated American Israel Education Foundation for Democratic freshmen and leading Democratic lawmakers, had reinforced his view that the situation on the ground is more complicated than the more simplistic narratives demonizing Israel that have been spread by some critics and media.

“When you see on the ground, you understand it is not a simple black-and-white situation,” Latimer, a first-term congressman from Westchester County, N.Y., who sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said. “People come up to me and say, ‘Israel is practicing genocide. What they’re doing is evil and we need to stop it.’ And then you get on the ground and you realize how much more complicated it is than that.”

He said that American critics of Israel fail to acknowledge Hamas’ “role in all of this and its contributory actions.” He said he sees a “lack of appreciation here in the United States that Hamas is committed — has shown no signs to want to sit, talk peace, have a cessation of hostilities. … That makes it very, very hard to plot a strategy, if the other side is completely intransigent.”

Latimer said the situation is comparable to overlooking the fact that the U.S. entered World War II because Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, or that the U.S. invaded Afghanistan because of the 9/11 attacks. He said that the “mindset” that motivated such attacks doesn’t disappear overnight, and can take protracted conflict to address.

At the same time, he said that “there’s a gap between what [the Israeli government] needs to be doing and what it is doing, and it’s a serious gap.” He said he doesn’t see proposals to relocate the population of Gaza out of the enclave, discussed during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as “workable” or “humane.”

He addressed friction within Israeli society over Israel’s war plans in Gaza, and said that Netanyahu’s decision-making may be shaped by his far-right coalition members, adding that “if there’s no movement from Hamas, what can you ask Israel to do unilaterally?”

“So Netanyahu’s strategies present as intransigent in the face of intransigence on the other side,” Latimer continued. “You need some joint breakthrough where both sides step back from the path that they’re on, and both sides have to be willing to do that, if you can expect the other side to also then do that.”

He noted the difficulty of forcing a dug-in enemy like Hamas to surrender, comparing it to the challenge of forcing a Japanese surrender during WWII.

Latimer unseated Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), a vocal Israel critic, in the 2024 Democratic primary, boosted by significant support from his district’s Jewish community as well as national pro-Israel groups.

Latimer told JI he thinks Israel has not done enough to try to win over or influence global opinion in its favor. Latimer said he believes that the Israeli government views such efforts as a lost cause and not worth attempting.

“There’s a case to be made [for Israel]. But in lieu of that, the rhetoric is all what Israel is doing and not doing, and how evil they are, when, in fact, all of this came from an attack that was horrific on Oct. 7,” Latimer said.

He said that there have been “atrocities” on the Israeli side, pointing broadly to settler violence in the West Bank, but said that “the question is, overall, are you weighing all of these things together, or as the world opinion, and much of the United States opinion, particularly among younger people, has been framed completely around ‘Israel bad,’” ignoring the “evil that’s been done on behalf of the other side of this. That is a contributing reason why we’re in the situation we’re in.”

“The fact that people are starving is horrific. But as long as the world blames Israel for it solely, Hamas is winning. Why would they change any strategies?” Latimer said. “The leaders of Hamas are not sitting in the tunnels. … They’re sitting in the safety of the protection of [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan or over in Qatar. Therefore, they’re not under the pressure.”

Latimer said that the food supply in Gaza was a key issue he examined on the trip, calling starvation in Gaza a “legitimate” problem. 

He said that the current four Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid distribution sites are “nowhere near enough,” given the “massive number of people that need to be fed and housed.”

But he added that Hamas being “unwilling to cooperate” in the safe delivery of aid is an impediment to efforts to improve the humanitarian situation and that the United Nations “in the eyes of the Israelis, has lost credibility.” 

He said that the best path forward would likely be for a coalition of Arab countries to take the lead of a humanitarian aid distribution entity: “We need to have a third party that has credibility.”

“Israel is not doing enough to solve the problem, and Hamas is doing things to prohibit the problem from being solved,” Latimer said, calling on Israel to work to increase the number of food distribution centers and strengthen supply lines and on Hamas to stop attempting to intercept food and sow chaos at distribution sites.

“The fact that people are starving is horrific. But as long as the world blames Israel for it solely, Hamas is winning. Why would they change any strategies?” he said. “The leaders of Hamas are not sitting in the tunnels. … They’re sitting in the safety of the protection of [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan or over in Qatar. Therefore, they’re not under the pressure.”

“What I saw in September 2005 gave me hope. What I see when I go back 20 years later is, you shake your head and you go, ‘Why did it turn out this way?’” Latimer said. “Did it turn out this way because Israel wanted it to turn out this way? Israel didn’t want Oct. 7. Israel didn’t want all of its young men in the reserves and active duty, constantly on a wartime footing.”

He declined to weigh in definitively — citing the limited information at his disposal and his limited power as a lone congressman — on whether the U.S. needs to increase pressure on its allies in Turkey or Qatar to expel or detain those Hamas leaders, but said that “clearly there has been insufficient pressure on Hamas” because its leaders have shown no urgency to return the hostages, negotiate in good faith or participate in un-corrupted food distribution.

Latimer said he first traveled to Israel two decades ago, just after the Israeli disengagement from Gaza, and that there was hope at the time that the Israeli withdrawal would “allow the opportunity for Gaza to experience peace and some kind of growth.”

“What I saw in September 2005 gave me hope. What I see when I go back 20 years later is, you shake your head and you go, ‘Why did it turn out this way?’” Latimer said. “Did it turn out this way because Israel wanted it to turn out this way? Israel didn’t want Oct. 7. Israel didn’t want all of its young men in the reserves and active duty, constantly on a wartime footing.”

He said that if Gaza’s leaders had pursued growth and development over the past 20 years, “we could be in a very different place today,” but instead Hamas seized power and used Gaza as a platform to attack Israel.

Asked about recent decisions by European countries to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state, which came around the time of Latimer’s trip, the congressman said that he supports a two-state solution, but one that “comes out of a negotiated process,” noting the many outstanding issues to be worked through.

“You cannot expect Israel to survive with a hostile entity interspersed with its borders, and yet be its own country. And there has to be a sense that this country can function and provide its services to its people and maintain civil control. None of those things are automatically in place yet, so I don’t know what we’re recognizing in substance,” Latimer said. 

“I think what we’re recognizing in symbolism is European countries that basically are saying, ‘We need to have a two state solution,’ and probably their population is reacting to what’s happening in the moment and putting pressure on their governments to do this,” he continued.

“The Palestinian Authority certainly has a steep mountain to climb, but right now, they’re the best hope that you have of a presence — and certainly it’s not Hamas, it’s certainly not coming out of any of the groups that Iran is backing or has backed,” Latimer said.

Based on the delegation’s meeting with Palestinian Authority leaders, Latimer said that he believes there is an “intent” and “willingness” in the PA to pursue needed reform and bolster credibility with the Palestinian population.

“How much success they’re going to have with the civilian population to accomplish those things — it’s going to be a tall task,” he said.

At the same time, he noted that some Arab governments such as those in Jordan and Egypt maintain cooperative relationships with Israel even as many of their citizens remain hostile.

“The Palestinian Authority certainly has a steep mountain to climb, but right now, they’re the best hope that you have of a presence — and certainly it’s not Hamas, it’s certainly not coming out of any of the groups that Iran is backing or has backed,” he continued.

In the long term, Latimer added, the Abraham Accords represent a path forward for the region, and said that moderate Sunni Arab states want to see a viable and demilitarized Palestinian Authority government that can credibly govern the Palestinian people.

Israel struck the Syrian Defense Ministry’s headquarters in Damascus on Wednesday in response to violence against the country’s Druze minority, a week after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke in the White House of the “opportunity for stability, security and eventually peace” with Syria.

The strikes came after clashes between Druze and Bedouin groups that began on Sunday, leaving as many as 250 dead over four days in Sweida, some 25 miles from the border with Israel and in the area of Syria that Israel seeks to have demilitarized. 

Syrian government forces entered the fray on Tuesday, saying they aimed to stop the fighting and bring about a ceasefire, which they said they had reached on Wednesday. Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, formerly the head of the Syrian branch of Al Qaida, seeks to disarm Druze and other militias and have them integrate under the new government.

Israeli Druze called for Israel to intervene from the outset of the violence on Sunday, saying that their Syrian counterparts were being massacred, raped and tortured by forces aligned with al-Sharaa. In Israel, videos and images circulated of Druze religious figures’ mustaches being forcibly shaved off by men in military fatigues.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday afternoon that Washington has “engaged all the parties involved in the clashes in Syria. We have agreed on specific steps that will bring this troubling and horrifying situation to an end tonight. This will require all parties to deliver on the commitments they have made and this is what we fully expect them to do.”

An Israeli official said that the U.S. had been in talks to stop the violence in Syria since Monday. 

Reda Mansour, a Middle Eastern Studies professor at Reichman University, former Israeli ambassador to Brazil and a member of Israel’s Druze community, told Jewish Insider that “there is not really one Syrian army; it’s different armed groups that do what they think. It will take time until everyone is convinced to hold their fire.” 

Mansour expressed hope that the Israeli strikes convinced al-Sharaa to “stop the rampage.” 

The former ambassador compared the violence against the Druze in Syria to the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and said that the Druze in Syria had not faced such violence since the 1925 rebellion against the French Mandate.

“In the rebellion against the French, it was mostly between soldiers,” Mansour said. “This ISIS and Al Qaida-style attack is a massacre, rape, burning of holy sites, torture of the elderly and religious leaders.” 

Mansour also said the community has not had electricity in three days and is running out of food and medical supplies, after attacks on the city’s hospital and its medical staff.

Syrian Druze “are in distress and they are asking [Israel] for help all of the time,” Mansour said, and argued that “al-Sharaa wants to get rid of the Druze.” 

“If he wanted to stop the attack, it wouldn’t have happened,” Mansour said. “His people said they are coming to Sweida to defend the Druze from the Bedouin, and then they conquered Druze villages. The people murdering and torturing the elderly are wearing his military’s uniforms.” 

On Tuesday, dozens of Israeli Druze men began crossing into Syria, breaching a border fence near the town of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights. 

Netanyahu called on the Israeli Druze to remain in Israel: “You could be murdered, you could be taken hostage, and you are impeding the efforts of the IDF,” he said. 

Yet, on Wednesday, the number of Israeli Druze in Syria rose to at least 1,000. The IDF also used tear gas and other crowd control methods to stop Syrian Druze from crossing into Israel.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir said that Israel is “acting with determination to prevent hostile elements from establishing a presence beyond the border, to protect the citizens of the State of Israel, and to prevent the harming of Druze civilians … We will not allow southern Syria to become a terror stronghold.”

Zamir called on Druze Israelis to “uphold the law and preserve your lives. We are committed to you and your security and are doing everything possible to support you. I have ordered a further reinforcement of intelligence and strike capabilities in order to increase the pace of strikes and halt the assaults against the Druze in Syria as needed.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, who has held a hard line on al-Sharaa since the fall of the Assad regime last year, called on the new Syrian government “to come to its senses and to restore order,” lest it lose control of the country and risk the economic engagement it has sought with the West. 

Sa’ar called on the international community to speak out against the violence against minorities in Syria, asking rhetorically, “What else needs to happen? What are they still waiting for?”

“We are seeing a recurring phenomenon of persecution of minorities to the point of murder and pogroms in Syria,” Sa’ar said in a briefing to reporters on Wednesday. “Sometimes it is the regime’s forces. Sometimes it is Jihadist militias that are the basis of the regime. And usually, it is both.”

Sa’ar pointed to violence against the Syrian Alawite community, the burning and bombing of churches in recent weeks and repeated waves of violence against Druze in Syria. 

The foreign minister said that Israel will act to keep regime forces out of southern Syria and protect its border, and to protect the Druze minority.

Sa’ar also took aim at Western leaders looking to engage with al-Sharaa. “This is not a democratically elected regime,” he said. “Because sometimes, when I am in political meetings [with foreign counterparts], people talk to me about the ‘transition.’ This is not an elected regime at all. This is a regime that … took control by force.”

Sa’ar later spoke to his counterparts in the EU, Germany and Greece, pointing out that the EU set the protection of minority rights as a condition for lifting sanctions on Syria. Sa’ar said there is a “consistent pattern of exploiting these riots [against minorities] for the regime’s interests.” He also called the Syrian government’s claim that there would be an independent investigation of the events a “farce,” noting that al-Sharaa made a similar statement about the massacre of Alawites in March, and no results have materialized.

However, IDF Lt.-Col. (res.) Sarit Zehavi, founder and president of the Alma Research and Education Center focusing on the security of Israel’s northern border, argued to JI that “Israel really had no choice.”

“It had to send a sharp and clear message of defense to the Druze in Syria because it committed to defending them, because the Druze in Israel are real partners,” she said.

In addition, Zehavi said that “whoever doesn’t protect minorities in Syria, especially those on the border [with Israel], will end up being attacked by the same jihadis.”

That being said, Zehavi doubted that the strike on the Syrian Defense Ministry would be effective and said that Israel should focus on targets that are relevant specifically to stopping the attacks on Syrian Druze.

Michael Doran, director of the Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East at the Hudson Institute, questioned whether Israel was certain al-Sharaa was behind the violence in Sweida. Doran wrote that he is not convinced that al-Sharaa “traveled to Baku and met with Israelis there, [and] then chose to provoke a conflict with [Israel] over the Druze,” referring to a meeting between Syrian and Israeli officials over the weekend.

“A policy that holds al-Sharaa responsible for forces he doesn’t control won’t strengthen him—it will weaken him,” Doran wrote on X. “In practice, it becomes a tacit, perhaps unwitting, vote for a disintegrated Syria. But a disintegrated Syria serves Iran more than it serves Israel. And it won’t help with Turkey either.” 

Last week, Netanyahu praised President Donald Trump in the White House for having “opened up a channel” with the Syrian regime for negotiations. Talks were underway, with Israeli representatives reportedly meeting with al-Sharaa in the UAE and Azerbaijan last week, for a non-aggression pact between the countries, though not for normalization.

An Israeli official speaking about the future of Israel-Syria talks on condition of anonymity said on Wednesday that Israeli “policy is not based on illusions, but on reality. We want security first.” 

Recently, Israel was willing to engage more with the regime in Syria because “things stabilized a bit,” the official said, “but we are not deluding ourselves. They are talking nicely … but there is a difference between what they say and what they do. As their neighbors, we cannot ignore what they do. We send messages [to Western countries] that reflect these things.”

Mansour, who is an expert on modern Syrian history, was skeptical that negotiations between Israel and Syria can be fruitful, saying, “There is not much hope for a political culture that will create stability … There is an inability of the Sunnis, the majority, to understand and accept that there are many minorities, over 30% of the population.”

The former ambassador said that regime-affiliated forces have been harassing minorities on a daily basis. “They enter Christian areas and call on loudspeakers to convert to Islam,” he said. “They check couples to see if they’re married and if not they harass them. There is daily pressure on the Druze, Christians, Alawites and Kurds, and it cannot continue. When they are threatened, they will react.”

Al-Sharaa, Mansour said, “does not look like he’s capable or wants to change it. He wears a suit and tie, but he was in Al Qaida from age 16 … He hinted he’s willing to let Israel keep the Golan Heights and that he wants peace, but on the ground the signs are not encouraging. He speaks nicely, but on the ground he wants to get rid of the Druze — and if he succeeds, he’ll attack the Kurds next.” 

“The problem,” Mansour lamented, “is that the Americans believed his show.” 

Zehavi said that Israel is likely to return to talks but will be better informed about where the al-Sharaa regime is headed after recent events.

“The first question is whether [al-Sharaa] controls his forces so they won’t massacre minorities, whether he really controls Syria,” she said. 

This week also clarified Israel’s red lines for al-Sharaa, she said: “It’s clear why it is important for southern Syria to be demilitarized. You cannot mix Druze and jihadi militias.” 

Three House members who traveled to the Middle East last week told Jewish Insider on Friday that Arab leaders expressed to them concern about a potential broadening of the conflict between Israel and Iran, even as they acknowledged the threat posed by Iran and its nuclear program.

The trip, sponsored by the Atlantic Council’s N7 Initiative and the Jeffrey M. Talpins Foundation, took Reps. Brad Schneider (D-IL), Don Bacon (R-NE), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) and Zach Nunn (R-IA) to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain immediately following Israel’s initial attacks on Iran. A stop in Israel was initially planned, but ultimately became infeasible due to the evolving war between Israel and Iran.

The initial goal of the trip was to discuss the Abraham Accords and their potential expansion.

The lawmakers said that the Arab leaders they met with were concerned that the war between Iran and Israel would expand and escalate, and their countries would be caught in the crossfire — particularly the UAE and Bahrain, given the presence of American bases in their countries. The conversations took place before the U.S. struck Iranian nuclear facilities on Saturday night.

“We heard quite a bit about their concerns with respect to a nuclear-armed Iran that would be an existential threat to every one of those countries,” Schneider said, “but also a desire to deescalate what’s happening because they rightly see [that] every day the war goes on is another day for an unintended consequence or an inadvertent escalation that could directly involve any of the Gulf countries.”

Schneider noted that the countries, particularly Saudi Arabia, have publicly condemned Israel’s attacks, but he said that in private conversations, the lawmakers heard a more nuanced message and stronger opposition to Iran’s nuclear program.

“While they’re not going to celebrate what Israel is doing, certainly they are not going to cry over Israel’s success in handling Iran’s nuclear program,” he said.

Panetta said that the Arab leaders also clearly understood why Israel had taken the action that it had.

“The leadership of the countries we met with, they understand how disruptive, how much of a destabilizing force, the regime of Iran is to the region of the Middle East,” Panetta said, adding that the pushback they heard against the conflict was not as strong as he anticipated.

Bacon also said that the Emirati and Bahraini leaders were clear about the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran, but preferred a diplomatic solution to the problem. 

Bacon said the Saudis “held their cards much more tightly.”

“They were much more worried about Israel initiating this and they focused more on Gaza than anything else,” Bacon said. “In the end, if you pushed them, they would acknowledge Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, but their public face was much more critical of Israel than the other countries.”

Panetta said Saudi leaders did not discuss whether they’d be willing to use their own forces to intercept attacks from Iran on Israel, as they did during Iran’s April 2024 attack on Israel.

Privately, Bacon said, Arab leaders were in “awe of what Israel’s been able to do” in its operations inside Iran and knew “that only Israel could pull something off like this.” Bacon said he also sensed relief from those countries that Israel was addressing the threat from Iran.

The lawmakers indicated that the normalization process between Saudi Arabia and Israel had been dealt setbacks by and since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel. They said that the Saudis are demanding concrete progress toward a two-state solution before moving forward on normalization.

Schneider said that the Saudi deputy foreign minister indicated that “there has to be an irreversible path to a Palestinian state. It doesn’t have a timeline, it’s not saying a state tomorrow. I think there was recognition that that pathway and progress towards it must not be seen as a reward for Hamas and its actions on Oct. 7 and otherwise.”

“There needs to be hope and a pathway for the Palestinians for the Saudis to move forward,” Schneider continued.

Panetta noted that he had met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Oct. 6, 2023, and left with “great hope” for normalization, but that two subsequent meetings with Saudi leadership made clear that, “the Palestinian issue is definitely something that needs to be addressed prior to normalization.”

Bacon said he challenged Saudi leaders on the issue of who in the Palestinian Authority would be willing to live and coexist peacefully with Israel as the leaders of a Palestinian state, “and I didn’t hear a good answer back.”

Schneider said that there was “no love for Hamas in any of our conversations,” and that Arab leaders recognized the issues within the PA and the need for a true partner for peace with Israel.

Panetta argued that, if the Saudis want to see a two-state solution develop, “it’s incumbent upon them to be involved in these types of discussions. And what that entails is obviously something that’s going to continue to develop during the hopefully diplomatic negotiations that we must continue to have.”

Bacon added that his impression was that if Iran were “defeated significantly” by Israel, it would increase the opportunities in the longer term for the expansion of the Abraham Accords.

In spite of the regional tensions the war in Gaza has produced, the lawmakers said that Emirati and Bahraini leaders highlighted the benefits they have experienced from the Abraham Accords as they relate to Gaza, including regular access and communication to the senior levels of the Israeli government and, in the case of the UAE, easier access to provide aid to Gaza.

Bacon added that the leaders of those countries expressed “no weakening” of their commitments to the agreements, and instead focused on the benefits.

Schneider said that the Arab leaders are eager to pursue an economically prosperous future, and are focused on ensuring that Iran and other malign actors cannot disrupt that.

Bacon said that the group had hoped to continue on to Israel, the final stop on their original itinerary, by driving in from Jordan, but that plan was blocked by House Ethics Committee staff, who are responsible for oversight of privately sponsored congressional travel.

Panetta also noted that the State Department and Department of Defense did not support the prospect of the lawmakers traveling to Israel in the midst of the conflict.

Schneider said that there was “never any hesitation” from the group’s members about going forward with the trip, which left a day after Israel launched its attacks, before the scope and nature of Iran’s retaliation was clear.

“Over the course of the days, it became clear that Israel was vastly overperforming expectations and Iran was vastly underperforming expectations and so the dynamic changed every day, but what I can say is, we spent our last two days in UAE — life was normal,” Schneider said.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) announced on Monday that he’s postponing plans to visit Israel and speak to the Knesset on Sunday in light of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran, which has thus far frozen all civilian air traffic in and out of Israel and prohibited public gatherings in the country.

“Due to the complex situation currently unfolding in Iran and Israel, Speaker [of the Knesset Amir] Ohana and I have made the decision to postpone the special session of the Knesset,” Johnson said in a statement. “We look forward to rescheduling the address in the near future and send our prayers to the people of Israel and the Middle East.”

The trip would have been Johnson’s first visit to the Middle East since he was elected speaker, shortly following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel.

A separate congressional delegation is set to visit the Middle East this week and stop in Israel, although it’s not clear whether that will be feasible. Members could still attempt to transit into Israel via land crossings from Jordan or Egypt, as some did immediately following Oct. 7.

The war is likely to disrupt upcoming travel to Israel for various members — the House is currently set for a weeklong recess, and the Senate will be out of town for the latter half of the week. Members of both chambers are also in recess during the first week of July, for Independence Day.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has staked everything — his legacy, his global standing, his relationships with world powers — on defending Israel against the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran.

The topic has dominated nearly every major address the prime minister has given, from U.N. General Assembly speeches to addresses to Congress, for the last 15 years. And over the last four days, Israel has been forced to put into action a plan that was years in the making — one that could profoundly reshape the Middle East in the days and months to come.

As Israeli journalist Amit Segal notes, “And so Netanyahu’s life mission became dismantling Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Over the years, in meetings with U.S. presidents, the incumbent president would raise the Palestinian issue, while Netanyahu would focus on the Iranian threat. Menachem Begin destroyed Iraq’s nuclear reactor in 1981, Ehud Olmert did the same to Syria’s reactor in 2007, and Netanyahu vowed to do likewise with Iran.”

The writer Douglas Murray forecasted exactly this situation 13 years ago, speaking at the Cambridge Union: “When Israel is pushed to the situation it will be pushed to of having to believe [Iran] mean[s] it, and when every bit of jiggery pokery behind the scenes runs out, and when the U.N. and distinguished figures have run out of time, and Iran is about to produce its first bomb,” Murray said at the time, “Israel will strike.”

Israel’s Friday morning strikes came as the Trump administration’s announced 60-day deadline for negotiations expired, and following intelligence reports indicating that Iran was weeks away from nuclear capabilities — as Murray predicted.

What has ensued is the deadliest and most destructive direct conflict between Israel and Iran in history. At least 24 Israelis have been confirmed killed since Friday night in strikes around the country. 

For the last three nights, Israelis around the country have stumbled into safe rooms and public shelters as Iran bombarded the country with ballistic missiles.

And while the barrages, meant to overwhelm Israel’s defensive systems, have inflicted damage across the country, the vast majority of the roughly 350 missiles fired from Iran and Yemen over the last 72 hours have been intercepted by Israel’s missile-defense systems.

With Iran believed to still have nearly 2,000 ballistic missiles in its arsenal, the ongoing air raid sirens and attacks around the country could continue for weeks, stranding the more than 150,000 Israelis currently abroad as Israeli airspace remains closed. Israel’s Channel 12 reported today that repatriation flights may begin in the coming days, allowing stranded Israelis to return home. 

In the last 72 hours, more than a decade of warnings have crystallized into reality, a culmination of years of diplomatic efforts, proxy battles and intelligence operations. What happens in the ensuing days and weeks will not only determine the strategic balance of the region — it has the potential to reset the global order.