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Written by Hanna Lee Copy Editor, Digital News
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Good morning. Though some U.S. politicians have portrayed Canada as having little leverage in trade talks, in this issue we'll lay out this country's strong points. We'll also look at how an Iranian military strategy created to prepare for potential war with the U.S. is helping it as Israel strikes its leaders. Finally, we'll get into why we may be in for a super El Niño this year — and what that means.
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(Michael Probst/The Associated Press)
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Trump threatens to 'blow up the entirety' of world's largest gas field if Iran attacks Qatar again
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Iran intensified its attacks on its Gulf Arab neighbours' energy infrastructure Thursday, setting Qatari liquefied natural gas facilities and a Kuwaiti oil refinery ablaze as it hit back following an Israeli attack on its main natural gas field, a major escalation in the Mideast war that has sent global fuel prices soaring.
What's happening: In Washington, U.S. President Donald Trump signalled that Israel would not attack the South Pars gas field again, but warned in a social media post late Wednesday that if Iran continued striking Qatar's energy infrastructure, the U.S. would retaliate and "massively blow up the entirety" of the field. "I do not want to authorize this level of violence and destruction because of the long term implications that it will have on the future of Iran," Trump said.
Why it matters: Qatar, a key source of natural gas for world markets, said firefighters put out a blaze at a major natural gas facility after it was hit by Iranian missiles. Production had already been halted there after earlier attacks but Qatar said the latest wave of missiles caused "sizeable fires and extensive further damage." Damage to the facility could delay Qatar in getting its supplies to the market even after the Iran war ends.
– The Associated Press |
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THE LATEST
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- Rideau Cottage, the historic red-brick house where Canadian prime ministers have been living for more than a decade, is inadequate and comes with security risks, according to a government memorandum prepared last summer.
- The Iranian national soccer team are continuing to prepare for the World Cup finals and have no intention of pulling out of the tournament even if they will not travel to the United States, soccer chief Mehdi Taj said on Wednesday.
- Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre will appear in a three-hour episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, one of the world's most popular podcasts. It's set to be released today.
- Two Canadian girls are stuck in Egypt due to a travel ban obtained by their Egyptian-Canadian father, who is living in Canada. The children's mother is trying to get the ban lifted so she can return home to Canada with her daughters.
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FEATURED STORIES
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(Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press)
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Here are Canada's biggest points of leverage in tariff and trade talks with the U.S.
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While much has been said about U.S. leverage over Canada, Canadian negotiators do have crucial leverage to land a trade deal that reduces or eliminates Trump-imposed tariffs.
What's happening: Ottawa is seeking relief from U.S. tariffs amid fresh talks on renewing the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement. Its leverage in those talks includes access to the Canadian market — the U.S. exported $440 billion US of goods and services here in 2024 — and energy, which Canada provides the U.S. in abundance. Canadian pension funds are also significant investors in the U.S., with the eight largest collectively holding about $1 trillion in American investments. Then there are our critical minerals, in addition to securing Canadian defence procurement.
What else: At the same time, the timing of the U.S. political calendar could work to our advantage. The midterm elections are in November, and the Republicans are at risk of losing control of Congress. That's especially likely if public opinion on U.S. President Donald Trump's handling of the economy and his impact on the cost of living continues to slide.
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Israel keeps eliminating Iran's top leaders. How is it impacting the war?
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Israel has been killing key Iranian leaders, including its supreme leader, security chief and intelligence minister. That's raising questions as the Middle East war continues.
What's happening: Iran developed a military strategy known as the Mosaic Defence Doctrine largely in response to U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Tehran's thinking was that if it ever got into a war with them, the Americans wouldn't be able to eliminate its military capabilities by taking out its central command and control, said Michael Connell, an expert on Iran's military. The country gave its provincial military units their own degrees of autonomy so they could continue fighting.
Why it matters: But in the current war, it's been Israel that has systematically targeted Iran's key military and security leaders. While the war has degraded Iran's ability to launch salvos of ballistic missiles, the Iranians are still able to launch strikes periodically. That could mean the country is delegating those strikes to lower-echelon commanders, Connell said. Ideally, those lower-level personnel would be co-ordinating with each other and would be centrally managed. But the strategy is likely helping Iran weather some of the strikes against its leadership.
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