Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick tonight to talk tariffs. According to the prime minister’s office, the meeting did go well (Barak Ravid). No announcements on a change in the tariffs imposed on Israel as of yet.

Israel’s top decision-maker is set to meet with U.S. President Donald J. Trump on Monday, and the meeting with U.S. trade and commerce representatives prior to said meeting clearly indicates the urgency of the matter for Israeli leadership.
More to come.

The transfer of air-defense assets and other military equipment to the Middle East continues tonight, with a U.S. Air Force C-17A Globemaster lll (RCH1878) and a C-5M Super Galaxy (RCH8030) both originating from Osan Air Base in South Korea, crossing Europe heading towards U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM). While another C-5M arrived from the U.S. at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, before likely continuing on to the Middle East. Since March 25th, over 120 U.S. military logistics flights have arrived the region, including C-17s, C-5s, C-130s, KC-135s, and KC-46s.

According to several officials familiar with the ongoing planning, U.S. President Donald J. Trump has instructed senior officials to begin planning for a “grand military parade” in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, June 14 2025, which happens to be the 250th birthday of the U.S. Army as well as 79th birthday of President Trump. Initial planning has the parade stretching nearly four miles, from the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia to the White House in Washington; just like the route of the military parade during the National Victory Celebration on June 8, 1991, which celebrated the end of the Gulf War.

It’s not currently known what the parade will entail or what it will include, though it’s believed that it will likely be similar to the military parade planned in Washington by President Trump and officials at the Pentagon back in 2018, which the President got the idea for when he saw France’s Bastille Day celebration in Paris in 2017. That parade would have included thousands of servicemembers and wheeled military vehicles from the Army and Marine Corps, though no tanks and other tracked vehicles due to the damage their treads could cause to roads, as well as a large aerial-display by the Air Force and Navy. However, that parade was eventually scrapped after military officials said it would cost nearly $100 million and cause damage to roadways and other infrastructure around Capitol Hill.

Several Iranian-backed militias and paramilitary groups operating in Iraq under the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), including Kata'ib Hezbollah, al-Nujaba, Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada and Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya, the group accused of attacking the Tower 22 base in Jordan back in January of 2024, killing 3 U.S. Soldiers and injuring 47 others, are considering disarming in order to avoid strikes by the United States, according to a number of senior commanders and Iraqi officials who spoke to Reuters.

Reports of their disarmament come following several warnings issued privately over the last few months by the Trump Administration to the Iraqi Government, stating that unless Baghdad acted to disband Iranian-backed militias operating in Iraq, then the U.S. military could target them with airstrikes. “Trump is ready to take the war with us to worse levels, we know that, and we want to avoid such a bad scenario,” said a commander of Kataib Hezbollah, adding that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had given them their blessing to take whatever actions were deemed necessary to avoid being drawn into a conflict with the United States and Israel.

Some militia groups have already evacuated their headquarters and reduced their military presences in major cities across Iraq, including Mosul and Anbar, due to concerns about strikes orders by Trump Administration. Shahbndar, a Shi'ite politician, said the Iraqi Government had not yet finalized a deal with militant leaders, with disarmament still under discussion. Options being considered include turning the groups into political parties and integrating them fully into the Iraqi Armed Forces.

Following the launch of several rockets last night from the Gaza Strip towards Ashdod and Ashkelon in the south of Israel, Israeli Minister of Defense Israel Katz has instructed the IDF to “continue with and expand” its operations against Hamas and other terror groups in Gaza. Katz added, “For every piece of shrapnel that hits a resident of Ashkelon, the Hamas murderers will pay a very heavy price.”

Only hours before markets open in the United States, U.S. President Trump calls for the “slow moving Fed” to cut interest rates, while adding that “there is NO INFLATION.”

President of the EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen has said that the EU has offered “zero-for-zero” tariffs on industrial goods to the U.S., saying they are “prepared to negotiate.” Should the U.S. be unwilling to negotiate on tariffs, the EU Commission’s president said that “countermeasures” would be employed. Both Ursula von der Leyen and other top EU officials have declined to expand on what said countermeasures would entail outside of the “gradual” implementation of them.

However, other nations, most notably Vietnam, have reportedly offered such concessions and were shot down.

It should be noted that there is a noticeable lack of synchronization in the messaging coming from Trump administration officials and advisors on what nations need to do to avoid the new tariffs imposed.

According to Bloomberg editor Joe Weisenthal, the S&P 500 has just experienced its worst three-day performance since October 1987.

#HM #HMIntelligence

U.S. President Donald J. Trump has now announced that in retaliation to the Chinese retaliatory tariffs of 34% on U.S. goods, the U.S. will now impose an additional tariff of 50% on Chinese goods. China has until tomorrow, April 8, 2025, to rescind the tariffs, or the additional U.S. 50% tariffs will go into effect the next day, April 9, 2025.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with White House Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff before his planned meeting with U.S. President Donald J. Trump (@BarakRavid).
The two decision-makers talked Gaza and negotiations surrounding the ongoing conflict in the local region.

The White House has announced that the press conference today with U.S. President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, has been cancelled.

According to Axios’ Barak Ravid, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu believes that the chances of a nuclear deal between the U.S. and Iran is extremely low, he will present U.S. President Trump with what “a good deal should look like” during today’s meeting in the Oval Office. Adding that Israel seeks the “Libya Model” which includes the total denuclearization of Iran.

According to White House officials, U.S. President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu will instead take questions from a small group of reporters following their meeting in the Oval Office.

U.S. President Donald J. Trump greets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he arrives at the White House.

In a notable development, France and Denmark have signed a “strategic partnership” agreement that reaffirms French support for Danish territorial integrity. The agreement comes against the backdrop of the ongoing Danish-American spat involving Greenland. In the release from the French government, Greenland is specifically mentioned, as is an apparent openness to increased U.S. involvement in the Danish autonomous territory. However, the excerpt stressed that any such increase must be done “through dialogue with Danish authorities.”

Prior to the meeting with Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu, U.S. President Donald J. Trump held a phone call with French President Macron, Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, and Jordanian King Abdullah II. This comes mere hours after France, Jordan, and Egypt released a joint communique calling for the “immediate return to the ceasefire” in the Gaza Strip. The three leaders met at a summit today in Cairo, Egypt.

The United States’ military representative to the NATO Military Committee (USMILREP), Vice Admiral Shoshana S. Chatfield has reportedly been removed from her position today by U.S. President Trump, as his Administration’s purge of military officials appointed by President Biden or deemed to not be “loyal” continues.