Important Takeaways:
- The outgoing Biden-Harris administration gave Iran $10 billion in sanctions relief just days after Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election, despite Iran’s ongoing attacks against Israel and support for terrorist organizations.
- The Washington Free Beacon reported:
- Secretary of State Antony Blinken determined on November 8 that “it is in the national security interest of the United States” to waive mandatory economic sanctions that bar Iraq from transferring upward of $10 billion to Iran in electricity import payments.
- Though the first Trump administration did green-light the same waiver—causing tension with some congressional Republicans—it narrowly tailored the waiver to restrict Iranian access to the cash. The Biden State Department tweaked the waiver last year to allow Tehran to convert the funds from Iraqi dinars to euros, then hold those euros in bank accounts based in Oman. Access to a widely traded currency like the euro enables Iran to more easily spend the cash in international markets. Under the first Trump administration, Iran had to keep the cash in an escrow account in Baghdad, making it more difficult to access.
- The Biden State Department maintains that Iran is only permitted to use the funds for humanitarian needs, including medicines and other supplies. Republican critics argue that money is fungible, meaning that Tehran will have an easier time diverting its dwindling cash reserves to its regional terror proxies, such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthi rebels in Yemen, should it have access to the sanctioned cash for other purposes.
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Important Takeaways:
- One question is whether the new administration and Europe will provide security guarantees to prevent Russia from taking more territory.
- The one gold-standard security guarantee that Ukraine wants is an invitation to join NATO. But it could not get that under Mr. Biden, and an invitation is unlikely during Mr. Trump’s presidency.
- So, U.S. and European officials are discussing deterrence as a possible security guarantee for Ukraine, such as stockpiling a conventional arsenal sufficient to strike a punishing blow if Russia violates a cease-fire.
- Several officials even suggested that Mr. Biden could return nuclear weapons to Ukraine that were taken from it after the fall of the Soviet Union. That would be an instant and enormous deterrent. But such a step would be complicated and have serious implications.
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Important Takeaways:
- London and Paris want to create a “core of allies in Europe” as fears intensify that President-elect Donald Trump could withdraw military support for Ukraine.
- President-elect Donald Trump is alleged to have told his team European armies should patrol an 800-mile stretch of eastern Ukraine to end the war.
- A member of Mr. Trump’s team told the Wall Street Journal: “We can do training and other support but the barrel of the gun is going to be European. We are not sending American men and women to uphold peace in Ukraine.
- “And we are not paying for it. Get the Poles, Germans, British and French to do it.”
- Sources in the US said Trump is considering calling for the current frontline to be frozen and Ukraine agree not to try join NATO for 20 years.
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Important Takeaways:
- President-elect Donald Trump has quickly moved to nominate a new attorney general after his first choice, Rep. Matt Gaetz, withdrew amid controversy
- Trump has selected former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi for the role.
- Bondi, who previously served two terms as Florida’s attorney general, has already received endorsements from key Republican senators, including Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt. Schmitt congratulated Bondi on social media, calling her “an incredible attorney general.”
- Florida Sen. Rick Scott also voiced his support, praising Bondi’s track record of keeping the state safe.
- Gaetz announced his withdrawal after facing a House Ethics Committee investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct, drug use, and payments to underage women. Gaetz has denied the charges, but he cited concerns about becoming a distraction to Trump’s transition process.
- Bondi, a member of Trump’s transition team, expressed her pride in being part of the effort to surround the incoming president with “the brightest and best people.” Trump wasted no time in announcing Bondi’s nomination, hoping to stabilize the transition process after Gaetz’s unexpected exit.
- Meanwhile, another of Trump’s recent nominees, Pete Hegseth, faces allegations of sexual misconduct stemming from 2017. Hegseth, nominated to head the Department of Defense, has denied the accusations. “The matter was fully investigated, and I was completely cleared,” Hegseth told reporters, declining to comment further.
- In other political news, the GOP has secured a confirmed Senate victory in Pennsylvania, with challenger Dave McCormick officially winning a recount, giving Republicans 53 seats in the U.S. Senate.
- The Republican Party is now expected to push ahead with Trump’s agenda. South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds has already introduced a bill aimed at fulfilling Trump’s promise to abolish the Department of Education.
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Important Takeaways:
- The Israel Defense Forces eliminated another top leader as they continue to destroy Hezbollah’s military infrastructure in Lebanon. It comes as Israel is also closely evaluating President-elect Trump’s choices for his foreign policy team.
- In waves of attacks, the IDF is systematically taking apart Hezbollah sites in Beirut and other Lebanese cities. The military says that for years, underneath the targeted buildings, Hezbollah built weapons manufacturing facilities within civilian neighborhoods.
- Before the attacks in such places, the IDF sends evacuation orders to prevent civilian casualties.
- However, a warning was not issued for one strike during the weekend, a rare attack in central Beirut, where Hezbollah Spokesman Mohammed Afif was eliminated. Afif served as a key leader in the terror group’s operations and propaganda machine.
- While the fighting goes on, observers note President Trump’s election could have a profound impact on Israel’s wars and the entire Middle East. Many consider the first Trump administration the most pro-Israel in American history.
- He moved the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem and acknowledged the city as Israel’s capital.
- He agreed Israel should possess the strategic Golan Heights.
- His White House pushed for the Abraham Accords, forging alliances between the Jewish nation and former Muslim foes.
- Regardless of Donald Trump’s views on Judea and Samaria, his choices for foreign policy positions come with strong pro-Israel backgrounds, including Marco Rubio as secretary of state, Elise Stefanik for U.N. ambassador, and a choice many are praising – former Arkansas governor and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee for U.S. ambassador to Israel.
- Huckabee, who first came to Israel more than 40 years ago, says he is passionate about his calling. He believes the U.S. president should decide weighty matters such as annexing Judea and Samaria.
- Huckabee has said he doesn’t consider a two-state solution to be practical and he has called Judea and Samaria the “Promised Land.”
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Important Takeaways:
- How long will it take to unwind the Biden-Harris Middle East policy? About five minutes, according to Mike Huckabee.
- The former Arkansas governor-turned-U.S. ambassador to Israel nominee suggested that President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the Oval Office would signal a dramatic change, bringing unwavering loyalty to Israel while “taking the money tree” away from terrorist groups.
- “To be fair, sometimes Joe Biden has been very supportive of Israel, and we’ve heard often he and Blinken and others talk about the ironclad relationship [between Israel and the United States], and then the next day, we would hear pressure on Israel not to continue their efforts against Hamas. You’re thinking, ‘well, why wouldn’t you continue your efforts against people who massacred innocent civilians and just had a bloodthirsty attitude about it?'”
- “The fact remains that the real problem here is not Hamas, Hezbollah or the Houthis. It’s Iran,” Huckabee told FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo on Monday.
- “They’re the ones who fund it [terrorism], and when the Biden administration reversed the maximum pressure campaign that was effectively shutting down Iran’s ability to have money to fund this nonsense, that’s what changed everything, so I expect the president [Trump] will put the maximum pressure back on Iran, and that’s going to take the money tree away from some of these terrorist groups and make it much harder for them to do their incredibly horrible and dastardly deeds of murdering civilians.”
- More shakeups will come with the changing of the guard, Huckabee insisted, as he weighed in on Trump’s Cabinet nominees thus far.
- “[They are] disruptors, people who don’t come just to oil the machinery of DC, and if there ever was a time when this country needed a disruption in the ebb and flow of the unit party, the deep state, the establishment, call it what you will call it, the swamp, the sewer [it’s now]… this president has putting together a team that is going to be disruptive to Washington, but restorative to the American families living out here in the middle of the country. That’s why he was overwhelmingly elected, and it’s why there is a solid mandate that he carries into office on January 20th.”
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Important Takeaways:
- President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday nominated former third-party candidate Robert F. Kennedy to lead the Health and Human Services (HHS) Department.
- Trump announced in a written statement on social media:
- I am thrilled to announce Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as The United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation when it comes to Public Health. The Safety and Health of all Americans is the most important role of any Administration, and HHS will play a big role in helping ensure that everybody will be protected from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and food additives that have contributed to the overwhelming Health Crisis in this Country. Mr. Kennedy will restore these Agencies to the traditions of Gold Standard Scientific Research, and beacons of Transparency, to end the Chronic Disease epidemic, and to Make America Great and Healthy Again!
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Important Takeaways:
- Tensions between Iran and Israel remain heightened as Tehran’s military heads on Thursday once again pledged a crushing response to Jerusalem’s strikes last month, and the U.N.’s atomic watchdog is scrambling to prevent a nuclear escalation.
- Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency Rafael Grossi traveled to Iran this week to hold high level meetings with Iranian officials in a move to hold Tehran accountable for prior nuclear safeguarding pledges and to get clarity on where Iran’s nuclear program stands.
- However, even as Tehran continues to develop its nuclear program despite international attempts to stall it, Grossi also issued a warning message to Israel, stating clearly that Iran’s “nuclear installations should not be attacked.”
- Grossi’s comments came during a news conference Thursday and just three days after Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Monday said that Iran was “more exposed than ever [for] strikes on its nuclear facilities.”
- “We have the opportunity to achieve our most important goal – to thwart and eliminate the existential threat to the State of Israel,” he added.
- The White House has repeatedly warned Israel to not go after Iran’s nuclear sites, though as the Biden administration prepares to leave come January, when President-elect Donald Trump retakes the Oval Office, the U.S. official stance on Israeli strike options could change.
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Important Takeaways:
- Some staff members at the Food and Drug Administration are considering a quick exit as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is being floated as a potential health official in the incoming Trump administration, according to three former and one current government official who were granted anonymity to speak freely about sensitive issues. The former officials are still in touch with colleagues who work at the FDA.
- Staff turnover is typical when a new administration comes in, and a significant number of FDA employees similarly considered leaving before President-elect Donald Trump’s first term in office, said one former and one current official. At the time, there were also concerns about what the FDA would look like under the first Trump administration.
- This time, however, there’s an added layer of anxiety outside Trump: Kennedy.
- Trump has said he’ll let the former independent presidential candidate and vaccine skeptic “go wild on health.” Meanwhile, Kennedy is promising a shakeup at the federal health agencies, including the FDA, telling NBC News the day after the election that “in some categories, there are entire departments, like the nutrition department at the FDA that are, that have to go.”
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Important Takeaways:
- Ukraine has the resources and expertise to indigenously produce a large quantity of nuclear weapons at short notice if it was forced to do so, a briefing document meant for top government figures allegedly says, a report states.
- A briefing produced for the Ukrainian defense ministry allegedly explaining to policy makers that the country could rapidly develop rudimentary nuclear bombs from spent fuel rods and long-range ballistic missiles to carry them states this could be achieved in just months.
- Claimed as an exclusive by The Times of London, the document is presented by the newspaper as illustrating a potential backstop for the country to defend itself from the Russian Federation if the United States under a Trump Presidency withdrew military support. President Trump has made clear he wishes to bring peace to Europe quickly, but has not yet revealed how. Many of the options open to him do not align with the official Kyiv policy as the only acceptable end to the war being total victory over Russia.
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