As the Middle East braces for an expected Iranian attack on Israel, the US is boosting its military presence in the region by sending a guided missile submarine capable of carrying over 150 Tomahawk missiles. The Pentagon is also ordering the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group to pick up the pace of its journey to the region.
It’s still unclear precisely when or how Iran will retaliate over recent attacks that killed top figures in Hamas and Hezbollah, but Israel on Monday placed its military on high alert. The Israeli intelligence community reportedly believes that Hezbollah will strike first, but there is likely to be an element of coordination between the Lebanese militant group and Tehran no matter what.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is feuding with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
Netanyahu accused Gallant of pushing “an anti-Israel narrative” after the defense minister reportedly criticized the prime minister’s goal of “total victory” against Hamas. The Israeli prime minister and Gallant have a history of disagreeing — Netanyahu fired Gallant last year, only to reinstate him two weeks later amid anti-government protests.
We’ll be watching to see if more cracks emerge in the Israeli government amid fears that the Middle East could be on the verge of a wider conflict amid the already devastating war in Gaza.
In his latest Quick Take, Ian Bremmer argues that the war between the United States and Iran has entered a more dangerous phase, with both sides demonstrating they can sustain military and economic pressure without forcing the other to back down. The question is, will this standoff bring them back to the table before the conflict escalates further?
Ukraine is bringing the war to Russia, challenging one of the conflict's biggest assumptions: that time is on Vladimir Putin's side. Former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba joins Ian Bremmer to discuss whether the war is entering a new phase.
For years, Russia has counted on one advantage above all else: time. Ian Bremmer explains why Ukraine's expanding campaign inside Russia is challenging that assumption, and what it could mean for the future of the war.
The US president used a primetime address last night to argue America’s election system is broken and vulnerable to “rigging.” He pointed to documents he says show Chinese interference in the 2020 vote. But the evidence Trump offered, along with past assessments from the intelligence community, doesn’t support his broadest claims.