Attention to the Unseen

Reuters reports: U.S. President Donald Trump told Reuters on Friday it was unclear whether Iran still has a nuclear program following Israeli strikes, but experts say the damage to the country’s nuclear facilities so far has appeared limited. Israel’s attacks succeeded in killing Iranian military leaders and nuclear scientists and striking military command and control facilities and air defenses, but satellite imagery did not yet show significant damage to nuclear infrastructure, several experts said. “The first day was aimed at…

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Barbara Slavin writes: As I write this early on a Friday morning, the bombs, missiles, and drones are continuing to fly between Israel and Iran. Diplomacy is at threat, and an already bloodied Middle East is on edge. It is far too soon to predict the outcome of Israel’s massive assault on a long-time enemy — as well as the spillover effects on Israel’s chief ally, the U.S. Already, Iran has lost its top military leadership and its main facility…

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Andrew Roth writes: Donald Trump is walking a tightrope as he claims that he was fully aware of Israel’s plans to launch massive airstrikes against Iran while continuing to distance the US from those strikes and deny Washington took any active role in the preparations. The White House’s messaging has shifted quickly from Marco Rubio’s arms-length description of the Israeli attack as a “unilateral action”, to Trump claiming on Friday morning that he was fully in the loop on the…

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The Times of Israel reports: The IDF in an official statement says that it has launched a “precise, preemptive strike” in Iran, “with the goal of damaging Iran’s nuclear program and in response to the Iranian regime’s ongoing aggression against Israel.” “Dozens of Israeli Air Force aircraft recently completed the opening blow, which included strikes on dozens of military targets, including nuclear-related sites in various areas in Iran,” the IDF says. “The public is requested to follow the instructions of…

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The Times of Israel reports: In a tense 40-minute phone call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, US President Donald Trump told the premier he must permanently end the war in the Gaza Strip, Israeli television reported Tuesday. Trump reportedly told Netanyahu that the so-called “Witkoff framework,” which would pause the war for some 60 days in exchange for about half of the hostages held by Hamas, will not suffice. Netanyahu has so far refused to negotiate a Gaza…

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Middle East Eye reports: The US is reducing staff levels at its embassy in Iraq on security concerns, US officials told several media outlets on Wednesday, as Iran threatened US bases if conflict breaks out. “Based on our latest analysis, we decided to reduce the footprint of our mission in Iraq,” a US official told AFP on condition of anonymity. Meanwhile, The Financial Times reported that US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth authorised the voluntary departure of military dependents throughout the…

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Middle East Eye reports: Israeli opposition leader Avigdor Lieberman has accused Israeli forces, under the approval of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, of arming “crime families” in Gaza. The accusations add weight to the claim that Israel has used Palestinian gangs to disrupt the distribution of aid in the besieged enclave. “Israel has provided assault rifles and light weapons to crime families in Gaza, on Netanyahu’s orders,” Lieberman, the head of the Yisrael Beiteinu party and a former finance minister and…

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The Guardian reports: Russia is at war with Britain, the US is no longer a reliable ally and the UK has to respond by becoming more cohesive and more resilient, according to one of the three authors of the strategic defence review. Fiona Hill, from County Durham, became the White House’s chief Russia adviser during Donald Trump’s first term and contributed to the British government’s strategy. She made the remarks in an interview with the Guardian. “We’re in pretty big…

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The New York Times reports: Nearly one million Russian troops have been killed or wounded in the country’s war against Ukraine, according to a new study, a staggering toll as Russia’s three-year assault on its neighbor grinds on. The study, published on Tuesday by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said that close to 400,000 Ukrainian troops have also been killed or wounded since the war began. That would put the overall casualty figure, for Russian and…

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