Camp David and Goliath
Iran, Israel, Palestine, Spain, Morocco, Poland, Ukraine, Russia, and Kazakhstan.
Hello,
Here are the five things you need to know today:
IRAN. Trump weighs his options at a rare cabinet offsite.
ISRAEL. PALESTINE. Hamas is given several years to return its guns.
SPAIN. MOROCCO. Rabat does a Lukashenko on Madrid.
POLAND. UKRAINE. With Putin and Trump, neighbours can’t be choosers.
RUSSIA. KAZAKHSTAN. Astana lends Moscow its strategic depth.
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IRAN. Retreat or advance?
Trump weighs his options at a rare cabinet offsite.
Donald Trump would travel to Camp David with his cabinet today, the White House said, as the IRGC claimed to have destroyed several F-35s in Jordan and a facility in Kuwait. Saudi Arabia launched strikes on the Houthi capital of Sana’a.
INTELLIGENCE. Pakistan insists talks are ongoing, Kpler suggests more oil is exiting Hormuz, and CENTCOM has denied Tehran’s claims, but an unusually quiet Trump, and an increasingly aggressive tempo of strikes by Iran and its proxies, suggest today’s cabinet meeting may be more than a teambuilding exercise. Trump rarely visits the Maryland facility, and when he has done so, like prior to Midnight Hammer and the Islamabad MoU, it’s for a reason.
FOR BUSINESS. Compared to 36 at his Bedminster golf club, which he’ll visit later, Camp David only has one hole. Still, Trump will have lots on his plate. Reportedly furious at his team’s lack of a plan, he’ll need to make a decision quickly on whether to escalate or retreat. Stretching out the war, with its continual cycle of talks, strikes, and TACOs, simply draws down the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, now at 307 million barrels, close to its assessed minimum.
ISRAEL. PALESTINE. The complete idiot's guide to disarmament
Hamas is given several years to return its guns.
Trump said his Board of Peace had reached an agreement for Hamas’s “complete disarmament” in “structured phases”. Officials said Trump would be “very disappointed” if Israel blocked the plan. Hamas said Israel would need to leave Gaza.
INTELLIGENCE. It’s unclear how the deal solves the dilemma of whether Hamas must