Afghanistan – UK – Poland – US
The British and Polish governments have criticized U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, after he appeared to downplay the role fellow NATO members played in the Afghanistan war. No.10 Downing Street joined Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski in pushing back at Hegseth, who told an audience at the University of Tennessee over the weekend that few NATO allies were “actually involved in kinetic operations”. “I was a captain in Afghanistan and we would go to the headquarters in Kabul and there would be 50 flags at the headquarters,” Hegseth recalled. “It was a beautiful thing to see, 50 different countries contributing to the NATO alliance and the ISAF [International Security Assistance Force] mission there.” – by Politico UK and Poland accuse Hegseth of downplaying allies’ role in Afghanistan
Egypt – Saudi Arabia
Egypt’s top security body said Sunday it has agreed to support close ally Saudi Arabia in the major escalation of fighting between the kingdom and Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, which has marked the latest front in the Iran war. Saudi Arabia has been pressing allies for military assistance. The Houthis have repeatedly attacked airports and oil infrastructure across the kingdom with drones and missiles that can change direction during flight, posing a challenge to interceptors. At least 19 people have been killed, thousands of flights have been affected and global markets have been rattled. – by Politico Egypt agrees to help Saudi Arabia defend itself against Houthis
France
The mayors of France’s biggest cities on Monday demanded answers from the government to what they called a lack of preparation by security forces as the country licked its wounds from a weekend of rioting and looting. The protests followed weeks of student demonstrations with occasional bouts of street violence, rocking the country six months ahead of its next presidential election and increasing pressures over a weak economy and surging debt. French assets were underperforming broader European markets on Monday, though moves were more contained than at some other moments of recent political tension. Fears of tensions inside Macron’s fragile government over apparent security shortcomings — coming just as the government needs to pass a much-needed budget bill to rein in its finances — could further unsettle investors. President Emmanuel Macron’s office said on Monday he had turned down his Interior Minister Laurent Nunez’s offer to resign, telling him instead to put an end to barricades and looting and be transparent over what Macron called “intelligence and foresight failings”. The mayors of Paris, Marseille and Lyon said in a joint op-ed published by the newspaper Liberation that they were used to demonstrations and protests. “But on Saturday … for the first time, we had the feeling that whole sections of our cities had been left without protection,” the mayors — all from the center-left — said. “We now need to patch the wounds of our cities and face up to the anger of our residents, aghast at this level of violence”. French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu on Monday accused the “ultra-left movement” of seeking to “orchestrate deep unrest across the country” in the runup to next year’s presidential election. “There is a whole network that could be mobilized to even call into question the timetable for the presidential election and the holding of t he presidential election itself,” Lecornu told reporters after a crisis meeting. The start of school holidays on Monday looked likely to hand the government some immediate relief, but students were staging more gatherings and blockades in some places, including the Louvre gallery and Sciences Po university in central Paris. Marseille, one of the cities worst hit by the riots, put in place a ban on gatherings and demonstrations. French unions meanwhile called for a new round of national strikes and demonstrations on November 5. – by Agencies France reels from weekend violence as mayors rebuke government for security failings
Germany – Iran
Germany on Monday summoned the Iranian ambassador after two men were jailed last week over what it called a “malicious” plot to assassinate pro-Israeli public figures on behalf of Tehran. A Hamburg court on Thursday convicted a Danish national and an Afghan national for planning to target the president of Germany’s main group representing the Jewish community and the head of the German-Israeli society. The foreign ministry said on X the Iranian ambassador had been summoned, adding Tehran would not be allowed to “threaten our free society.” – by AFP Germany summons Iran envoy over ‘malicious’ assassination plots
Israel
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Monday that Israel will not hesitate to strike its enemies at a moment’s notice, eight days before a tight election and following his warnings to Iran. – by AFP At airbase, Netanyahu says Israel ready to strike enemies at moment’s notice
Italy
Preparations are underway to hold a March 2027 meeting of EU leaders in Rome, before Italian elections due next year. “Preparations in view of holding the March 2027 EUCO in Rome are ongoing,” an EU official, granted anonymity to speak about the plan, confirmed on Monday. The plan, first reported by Italian newspaper La Stampa, would see EU leaders gather in the Italian capital to mark the 70th anniversary of the signing of the Treaties of Rome in 1957. – by Politico EU eyes Rome for 2027 summit ahead of Italian election
Qatar – Iran
Qatari Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi discussed energy cooperation on Monday at a meeting with Iran’s acting oil minister, Hamid Bovard, according to a Qatari statement. – by Reuters Qatar’s energy minister discusses cooperation with Iran’s acting oil minister
UK – France
Britain’s government on Monday said there was no excuse for the violent protests seen across France at the weekend, branding them “unacceptable”. More than 2,500 people were arrested after demonstrations on Saturday saw some half a million people turn out across France to protest against the cost of living. Town halls and shops were looted and set on fire in what was some of the country’s worst violence in years. – by AFP UK condemns protest violence in France
US – Russia – Ukraine
President Trump’s moves to avoid new penalties on Russian energy sent shockwaves through Washington, sparking diplomatic tensions and political turmoil. Trump’s push to lower energy prices ahead of the midterms could provide Russia an economic lifeline and is exposing divisions within his own party. Oil, gas and petroleum product exports help finance Russia’s war on Ukraine. Late Friday, Trump waived new sanctions against Russia and tariffs on top buyers of Russian energy that would have taken effect under the bipartisan Graham Act he signed last month. That came just days after the administration waived certain sanctions as part of a deal aimed at enabling higher exports of Russian diesel after high prices have become a political millstone for Republicans. – by Axios The fallout from Trump’s Russia energy moves
Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied on Monday that the United States had paused some intelligence sharing with Ukraine, contradicting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy who said Washington had briefly done just that. Speaking to NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, Zelenskyy had said intelligence sharing had been interrupted, but later “de-blocked”. “We are very thankful for this,” he said. “Now it works.” – by Reuters Rubio denies US paused intelligence sharing with Ukraine
Yemen
A Houthi attack killed more than 50 people and wounded dozens on Monday when three ballistic missiles struck a military camp in Yemen’s oil-rich Shabwa province, AFP reported, citing a government official. The government sources said the missiles hit the al-Alam camp, used by forces aligned with Yemen’s internationally recognized government, amid renewed fighting with the Iran-backed Houthis after the collapse of a truce that had largely held since 2022. – by AFP Houthi attack on Yemen govt camp kills over 30: Military sources
