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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the weekend. Here’s today’s news
ISRAEL-IRAN CONFLICT
Israel vowed to “exact a price” from Iran as it weighs possible responses to Iran’s strikes on Saturday. Israel’s war cabinet has been authorized to respond to the attack and met on Sunday, with one of its members, Benny Gantz, saying the “event is not over.” Early today, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Peter Lerner told reporters Israeli military officials had submitted a “wide range of options” to respond. The IDF’s response could be “strike or no strike,” Lerner said, adding that there are “a lot of different scenarios in between those two.” The Israeli government will “decide on the steps forward” as early as today or within the coming days, Lerner noted. ABC News reports.
President Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a call on Saturday that Washington will not support any Israeli counterattack against Iran, according to a senior White House official. “You got a win. Take the win,” Biden reportedly told Netanyahu during the call. The official said when Biden told Netanyahu the United States would not participate or support any offensive operations in Iran, Netanyahu said he understood. Meanwhile, the White House said Biden and King Abdullah II of Jordan spoke yesterday about the Iranian attacks, with both officials pledging to stay in contact in the upcoming days. Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
The U.N. Security Council convened an emergency meeting yesterday to discuss Iran’s attack on Israel, with diplomats calling for restraint by all parties. Israel’s ambassador, Gilad Erdan, who had requested the meeting, said Iran’s attack had “crossed every red line” and that Israel reserved the right to retaliate. Erdan called on the Council to take concrete action against Iran, including “crippling” sanctions. Iran’s ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani, said his country had an “inherent right to self-defense” after Israel’s attack on its consulate building. Iravani said that Iran “does not seek escalation or war in the region,” but that if its interests, people, or security came under attack, it would “respond to any such threat or aggressions vigorously and in accordance with international law.” U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres told the meeting it was time to “step back from the brink.” Farnaz Fassihi and Gaya Gupta report for the New York Times.
Turkish, Jordanian, and Iraqi officials said yesterday that Iran gave warning before attacking Israel, but U.S. officials said Tehran did not warn Washington in advance. Iran’s Foreign Minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian, said that Iran gave neighboring countries and the United States 72 hours’ notice it would launch the strikes. Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said it had spoken to both Washington and Tehran before the attack, adding it had relayed messages as an intermediary to ensure reactions were proportionate. A senior U.S. official denied Amirabdollahian’s statement, saying the United States had contact with Iran through Swiss intermediaries but did not get notice 72 hours in advance. Jeff Mason, Ahmed Rasheed, and Samia Nakhoul report for Reuters.
Israeli officials said its Iron Dome defense system intercepted 99% of the 300 “threats of various types” launched by Iran on Saturday. A spokesperson for the IDF said Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched 170 unmanned aerial vehicles and over 120 ballistic missiles and 30 cruise missiles. Several countries, including the United States, Britain, and Jordan, assisted Israel in intercepting Iranian drones, with French President Emmanuel Macron also confirming today that Paris took part in foiling Iran’s attack at “Jordan’s request.” James Gregory and Adam Durbin report for BBC News; Victor Goury-Laffont reports for POLITICO.
Reactions to Iran’s strikes on Israel have poured in from world leaders, with almost all urging restraint. British Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron said Iran’s attack was a “double defeat” which showed Tehran to be the “malign influence in the region.” Oman expressed “profound concern” over the escalation of Iran-Israel hostilities, Malaysia and Indonesia issued separate statements calling for restraint, and New Zealand condemned Iran’s “shocking and illegal strikes against Israel.” Hungary also condemned Iran’s strikes, warning they posed a “grave” threat globally. Negar Mahmoodi, Eyad Kourdi, Kathleen Magramo, and Teele Rebane report for CNN.
Leaders of the G7 nations issued a joint declaration yesterday demanding that “Iran and its proxies cease their attacks.” The leaders accused Iran of “provoking an uncontrollable regional escalation” and said their countries were ready “to take further measures now and in response to further destabilizing initiatives.”
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Israeli authorities have released 150 people previously detained in Gaza, the Palestinian General Authority for Crossings and Borders said today. Two of the detainees were ambulance workers for the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, the PRCS said. Kareem Khadder and Eyad Kourdi report for CNN.
Israeli troops fired at a crowd of displaced Palestinians returning to their homes in northern Gaza yesterday, according to an emergency worker and two people who tried to make the journey. Wafa, the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency, reported that five people were killed and 23 wounded by Israeli gunfire on Al-Rashid Street south of Gaza City. The Israeli military has not responded to questions about the incident at the time of writing. Yesterday, a spokesperson for the IDF wrote on social media that rumors the army was allowing residents to return to northern Gaza were false, adding, “The I.D.F. will not allow the return of residents. For your safety, do not approach the forces operating there.” Raja Abdulrahim and Ameera Hourda report for the New York Times.
Hundreds of Israeli settlers surrounded Palestinian villages and attacked residents across the occupied West Bank over the weekend after an Israeli boy who had gone missing from a settlement was found dead, eyewitnesses told CNN. Netanyahu said authorities were searching for whoever is responsible for the boy’s death. On Saturday, Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant urged the public to avoid taking the law into their own hands during the “hunt for the terrorists.” Abeer Salman, Zeena Saifi, and Eugenia Yosef report.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — U.S. RESPONSE
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said yesterday that the House would vote in the coming days on aid for Israel following Iran’s attack. “House Republicans and the Republican Party understand the necessity of standing with Israel,” Johnson said on Fox News. He added, “We’re going to try again this week, and the details of that package are being put together. Right now, we’re looking at the options and all these supplemental issues.” Johnson also suggested that aid for Ukraine could be included in the legislation. Catie Edmonson reports for the New York Times.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE DEVELOPMENTS
A Russian military court handed down a 14-year sentence to a man it found guilty of cooperating with a foreign state and “justifying terrorism,” Russian media reported today. Vladlen Menshikov, 29, was suspected of receiving instructions from the Freedom of Russia Legion, a Ukrainian-based paramilitary group of Russians who oppose Putin and have claimed responsibility for cross-border attacks into Russian territory. Reuters reports.
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Australian police are examining why a lone assailant who stabbed six people to death in a Sydney shopping mall and injured over a dozen others only targeted women, the police commissioner said today. Police have ruled out terrorism and said the assailant had a history of mental illness. Rod Mcguirk reports for AP News.
The U.S Justice Department is under increasing pressure to reach a plea deal for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange after Australia asked last week if a felony plea deal would be accepted, according to people familiar with the matter. The United States also faces a deadline tomorrow to provide assurances to the British court that Assange would be granted free-speech protections under the First Amendment if extradited. Without such assurances, Assange is likely to pursue an additional appeal of his extradition from the United Kingdom. Aruna Viswanatha and Max Colchester report for the Wall Street Journal.
Thousands protested in Niger’s capital on Saturday to call for the withdrawal of the 1,000 U.S. armed forces personnel stationed there. It came just days after Russia delivered military equipment and instructors to the country’s military. According to Russia’s state-owned news outlet Ria Novosti, the Russian personnel are part of Africa Corps, the new paramilitary structure intended to replace the Wagner group. A State Department spokesperson said the United States remained in discussions with Niger’s authorities about its military presence and cooperation in the country. Elian Peltier reports for the New York Times.
A resistance group fighting Myanmar’s military rule said yesterday its fighters had repelled an attempt by junta troops to advance on the key border town of Myawaddy that was seized by the rebels last week. Panu Woncgha-um reports for Reuters.
DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments tomorrow about whether prosecutors improperly stretched the law by charging Jan. 6 rioters with obstruction of an official proceeding. The ruling, which is likely to land in June, will decide whether the federal charge that carries a 20-year maximum penalty was used correctly. The ruling has significant implications, including the potential to undo the convictions and sentences of those who have already gone to trial or pleaded guilty and to upend the charges still pending for many more. Ann E. Marimow reports for the Washington Post.
A U.S. military contractor is facing trial over allegations that it participated in a conspiracy to torture detainees at Abu Ghraib prison during the Iraq war. The civil trial, expected to last two weeks, is scheduled to start today in the U.S. District Court in Alexandria, VA. Military contractor CACI has denied wrongdoing. Mallory Moench reports for Time.
The United States on Friday announced the designations of former Surinamese President Bouterse and six former Surinamese military officials due to “their involvement in extrajudicial killings of political opponents during the ‘December Murders’ of 1982.” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller made the announcement, saying, “These individuals and four family members are generally ineligible for entry into the United States.” He added, “The United States commends Suriname for its commitment to the rule of law, including its effort to maintain judicial independence and combat official impunity.”
Colorado’s Democratic-controlled House passed a bill 35-27 yesterday that would ban the sale and transfer of semi-automatic firearms. If the Senate passes the law, it could bring Colarado in line with 10 other states including California, New York, and Illinois that also prohibit semi-automatic guns. AP News reports.
TRUMP-LEGAL MATTERS
The first ever criminal trial of a former U.S. President begins today as former President Trump’s hush money trial gets underway. Readers may be interested in Just Security Journalism Fellow, Adam Klasfeld’s Daily Dispatches from the Trump Trial Courtroom in New York.
Trump took aim on Saturday at two likely witnesses in his hush money trial, testing the boundaries of the gag order aiming to forbid him from making public statements about likely witnesses and jurors. “Has Mark POMERANTZ been prosecuted for his terrible acts in and out of the D.A.’s Office. Has disgraced attorney and felon Michael Cohen been prosecuted for LYING?” Trump posted on Truth Social. Cohen previously worked as Trump’s personal attorney and is likely to be a key witness in the trial, having pleaded guilty in 2018 to charges relating to hush money payments which he said were made “at the direction” of an unnamed 2016 presidential candidate. Cohen is expected to name Trump at the upcoming trial. Rebecca Picciotto reports for CNBC.