Podcast
FDD Morning Brief
Hosted by FDD · EN
The FDD Morning Brief provides timely situational updates on contemporary events. Start your Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings at 8:30am (ET) with digestible analysis and the headlines our experts are watching. The FDD Morning Brief can be streamed on YouTube, X, and is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
38episodes
Episodes
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The anti-Israel propaganda pipeline feeding mainstream media | feat. Jacki Alexander
2w ago00:28:47Tap to summarizeHeadlinesTreasury sanctioned nine Hezbollah enablers who help preserve the terrorist group’s chokehold on Lebanon by obstructing peace or disarmament efforts. German federal prosecutors brought criminal charges against two individuals suspected of helping Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps plot the murder of Jewish leaders in Germany. The Trump administration is threatening to revoke the visas for the Palestinian delegation to the United Nations if ambassador Riyad Mansour doesn’t withdraw his candidacy for vice president of the UN General Assembly.Some bold statements coming out of Tehran. --FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with Jacki Alexander, president and CEO of HonestReporting.Learn more at: fdd.org/fddmorningbrief
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Can the IDF stop Hezbollah's FPV drones? | feat. Ryan Brobst
2w ago00:24:29Tap to summarizeHeadlines:The Trump administration rolled out another batch of Iran sanctions, as well as a second package targeting four individuals associated with Palestinian terror groups and the Gaza flotilla.It’s official. Hamas has a new leader in Gaza.The world’s largest cable-laying company suspended work in the Persian Gulf after Iran demanded that the company obtain permits and pay fees to continue repairing subsea cables.Israeli troops reportedly found a document in Gaza last year indicating that Hamas spent the January to March 2025 ceasefire training new recruits.--FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with Ryan Brobst, deputy director of FDD's Center on Military and Political Power.Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief
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Hezbollah's West Africa money trail | feat. Daniel Swift
2w ago00:28:47Tap to summarizeHeadlines:Iranian drone attacks, whether launched by the regime or its Iraqi proxies, continue to plague the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.Remember the yellow zone in Gaza? You know, the territory that Israel controls and that surrounds the red zone that is still controlled by Hamas? Looks like Israel is slowly gaining ground on the terror group.The outrage continues over Nicholas Kristof’s column in The New York Times accusing Israel of training dogs to r*pe Palestinians in jail.The Israeli government just passed a death penalty law for West Bank Palestinians convicted of murder.--FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with Daniel Swift, a senior research analyst from FDD's Center on Economic and Financial Power.Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief
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Washington's week with Beirut and Beijing | feat. David Daoud and Craig Singleton
3w ago00:27:42Tap to summarizeHeadlinesWe’ve got another flotilla on the way to Israel. Just what we all needed, right?A Hezbollah drone attack wounded four Israeli civilians in northern Israel.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Wednesday that Netanyahu secretly visited the United Arab Emirates during the war with Iran to meet with Emirati Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed.Fatah, the Palestinian Authority’s dominant faction, is on day two of a three-day conference to elect members to its Central Committee and Revolutionary Council, which is essentially the party’s parliament.--FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer hosts a special SITREP featuring FDD experts David Daoud and Craig Singleton.They examine the takeaways from the U.S.-China summit, the deadlock over Hezbollah's disarmament in the Israel-Lebanon talks, and what Washington can achieve on both fronts.Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief
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Why bombs alone won't beat Iran | feat. Andrew Fox
3w ago00:22:28Tap to summarizeHeadlines:The UAE and Saudi Arabia both struck Iran during the latest round of conflict.Operation Economic Fury continues apace.Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with Qatar’s Minister of State for Defense Affairs in Doha.Israel’s Iron Dome and Arrow defense systems have been working overtime but, after weeks — if not months — of speculation, the chair of Israel’s Rafael defense firm asserted that the country is not short of missile interceptors.--FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with Andrew Fox of the Henry Jackson Society.Learn more at: fdd.org/fddmorningbrief
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Groundhog Day in Gaza | feat. Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib
3w ago00:28:28Tap to summarizeHeadlines:Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan met with a group of Hamas officials in Ankara over the weekend.The New York Times reported over the weekend that Russia is shipping drone components to Iran through the Caspian Sea, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz.The Wall Street Journal ran an exclusive on Saturday detailing how the Israelis set up a secret military post in Iraq that hosted special forces and served as a logistical hub for the Israeli Air Force.With elections slated for the fall, a heated political debate is erupting in Israel over Hamas and the October 7 attack.--FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, founder and director of the Realign for Palestine project at the Atlantic Council.Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief
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A broke and belligerent Iran | feat. Norman Roule
4w ago00:25:13Tap to summarizeHeadlines:The Iranian regime and the United States traded fire in the Strait of Hormuz last night.The Trump administration issued another batch of sanctions as part of Operation Economic Fury.Reports yesterday suggested that Saudi Arabia and Kuwait blocked the United States from using their bases and their airspace after President Trump announced Project Freedom.Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian claims he met with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei — but it’s unclear if and when that meeting took place.An Israeli strike in Gaza killed the son of Hamas chief Khalil al-Hayya. --FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with Norman Roule, former National Intelligence Manager for Iran at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and current Non-Resident Senior Adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief
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Qatar's ICC influence operation | feat. Eugene Kontorovich
4w ago00:25:08Tap to summarizeHeadlines:Reports broke suggesting that U.S. intelligence indicates Iran would need about nine months to a year to build a nuclear bomb.The United States, in partnership with Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar proposed a UN Security Resolution to defend freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.The United Arab Emirates came under attack on Monday and again yesterday. These were the first attacks on the UAE since the ceasefire took hold last month.--FDD Senior Research Analyst Natalie Ecanow fills in for Jonathan Schanzer, providing timely situational updates and analysis ahead of a conversation between guest interviewer Cliff May, FDD Founder and President, and Eugene Kontorovich, Executive Director of George Mason University Scalia Law School’s Center for the Middle East and International Law.Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief
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A Middle East in flux | feat. Ahmad Sharawi, guest hosted by Sinan Ciddi
May 400:30:23Tap to summarizeHeadlines:Hezbollah has been deploying a new category of drone that the IDF has struggled to counter.OPEC+, the broader alliance of oil-producing nations that includes OPEC members and additional producers like Russia, met on Sunday and agreed to bump up oil production by 188,000 barrels a day starting in June.U.S.-Iran negotiations hit another wall this past weekend.--FDD Turkey Program Director Sinan Ciddi fills in for Jonathan Schanzer, providing timely situational updates and analysis ahead of a conversation with FDD Senior Research Analyst Ahmad Sharawi.Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief
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The blockade bleeding Iran dry | feat. Max Meizlish, guest hosted by Natalie Ecanow
May 100:24:48Tap to summarizeHeadlines: The Global Sumud Flotilla is back — this time without Greta Thunberg.Iranian supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei released a written statement yesterday to mark National Persian Gulf Day. Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems reportedly signed a letter of intent with Volkswagen to acquire one of VW’s factories in western Germany.FDD Senior Research Analyst Natalie Ecanow fills in for Jonathan Schanzer, providing timely situational updates and analysis ahead of a conversation with FDD Research Fellow Max Meizlish.Learn more at: fdd.org/fddmorningbrief
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