The National Interest Foundation Newsletter

Issue 299, August 29, 2025

Welcome to our NIF Newsletter. In this week’s edition, we look into five more journalists being killed by Israel again with U.S. weapons and political cover, revisit Israel’s role in supporting Azerbaijan’s war against Armenia with intelligence and arms, and examine the Arab Gulf states and the rush for AI technology.

Editor: Bassam Tarbush

Five More Journalists Killed by Israel Again with U.S. Weapons and Political Cover

Israeli forces have drawn global outrage yet again for conducting two consecutive bombings on the Nasser Hospital in Gaza earlier this week which killed more than 20 people, including journalists and rescue workers. The heinous attacks saw Israel strike the top floor of a building housing patients at the medical complex before bombing the same exact spot a second time minutes later after rescue workers and journalists had rushed to help those wounded at the scene of the crime. This latest incident follows the deplorable targeted assassination of six journalists just a couple of weeks ago in an attack on a media tent outside Gaza City’s Al-Shifa Hospital. Rights groups have documented how Israel has repeatedly and systematically bombed hospitals and murdered journalists in Gaza, with observers calling for an end to the impunity that allows these intentional criminal acts to continually be carried out. Regrettably, in the absence of any form of accountability or justice, occurrences such as these are likely to take place again and again.

The undeniable Israeli pattern of targeting journalists has been clearly aimed at trying to suppress independent reporting shedding light on its war crimes and human rights violations. Since Israel has not allowed international media outlets into Gaza to report freely, the world relies on local Palestinian reporters to provide documented first-hand accounts and factual coverage. These journalists have courageously put themselves in harm’s way to do so, being subjected to starvation and has been seen at alarming levels, potential death. The international community’s failure to act firmly and decisively to stop these unlawful killings has been made even more woeful considering not only the repeated nature of this behavior, but also the fact that it often takes place with documented video evidence. In the case of this most recent killing of journalists and rescue workers, a livestream by Al Ghad TV captured what transpired in real time on camera. The footage showed several emergency workers responding to provide assistance to victims of the first strike near the top floor of Nasser Hospital while a number of journalists filmed in the background as well. Shortly after, these individuals are brutally murdered when a second strike directly hits them, sending smoke and rubble into the air. Medical workers on the ground described scenes of total chaos, disbelief, and fear, given the blatantly intentional killing that had unfolded for all to see.

This latest incident has understandably prompted many to question if and when concrete punitive measures are going to be enacted to stop these kinds of crimes from continuing to take place. As the head of one press freedom group put it, “When and where is it going to end?…There is international law and guarantees that should be granted to journalists covering conflicts, and none of that seems to be applying.” Others lamented how these broadcasted killings of journalists persist while the world watches and expressed that this most recent occurrence must serve as a watershed moment to spur global action. In response to this week’s abhorrent double strikes on Nasser Hospital, top editors from Reuters and the Associated Press sent a joint letter to Israeli officials demanding an explanation for the attacks and voicing their outrage at them. Ultimately, U.S. officials warrant a significant share of the culpability for these repeated Israeli violations, as they certainly would not be made possible without the seemingly ceaseless supplying of weapons and political cover.

Israel’s criminal actions in Gaza even prior to this week’s murder of journalists and rescue workers had already prompted rights organizations to label the conflict there as by far the single deadliest one on record for journalists. At least 270 journalists have been killed in Gaza since the onset of the war back in October of 2023 – which is more media workers than both World War I and World War II, the U.S. Civil War, the Vietnam War, the Korean War, the War in the former Yugoslavia, and the U.S. War in Afghanistan combined. This is proof of the clear systematic targeting and killing of journalists that so many have tried to draw attention to during the course of the past 22 months. Impactful measures that go beyond merely words of denunciation must be taken if the global community is to finally put an end to these repeated flagrant violations of international law and war crimes. A failure to do so would be a dereliction of the world’s moral and legal duty to protect journalists, medical workers, and other civilians.

Israel’s Role in Supporting Azerbaijan’s War Against Armenia with Intelligence and Arms Revisited

While Israel faces ever-growing global condemnation for ongoing war crimes and human rights violations in Gaza, it is worth revisiting its role in other egregious abuses during recent conflicts such as Azerbaijan’s war against Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh. Major human rights organizations including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have documented credible evidence of war crimes committed by both Azerbaijani and Armenian forces during the 2020 war and the 2023 offensive. As Azerbaijan’s chief supplier of weapons and intelligence, Israel has been criticized as enabling and being complicit in these war crimes in Nagorno-Karabakh. Data from experts at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), which conducts research on international arms transfers and conflicts, has shown that Israel supplied Azerbaijan with nearly 70% of its arms imports between 2016 and 2020 – the period just prior to the outbreak of the 2020 iteration of the Nagorno-Karabakh war. It is these weapons that were then determined to be used to indiscriminately target civilian populations and infrastructure throughout the territory.

In addition to their use to commit gross human rights abuses, critics of the Israeli arms sales to Azerbaijan have also noted that they warrant denunciation for the role they play in fueling and perpetuating conflict – particularly given the type of destructive weaponry that is provided for offensive military operations in volatile regions like Nagorno-Karabakh. This has included deadly cluster bombs, which are banned by more than 120 nations around the world, and which independent groups confirmed Azerbaijan deployed against civilian populations during the course of hostilities. Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and others documented several instances back in October of 2020 where Azerbaijani forces used Israeli-made M095 DPICM and LAR-160 series cluster munition rockets in residential areas of Stepanakert and Hadrut in Nagorno-Karabakh. The widespread international ban on weapons such as these has been put in place due to the indiscriminate and long-lasting danger that they pose to civilians. Cluster bombs release hundreds of smaller submunitions over a broad area, making them extremely indiscriminate when used in or close to heavily populated areas. Since a significant portion of these bombs often fail to detonate on impact, they also leave behind unexploded ordnance that acts like landmines for years and even decades.

Proof of massive Israeli arms transfers to Azerbaijan for use in Nagorno-Karabakh were not only evident during the 2020 war, but also in the 2023 Azerbaijani offensive there. Back in early September of 2023 – just weeks before the offensive was launched – and as diplomats scrambled to urge for peace talks and avert any renewed escalations in Nagorno-Karabakh, flight tracking data showed that Azerbaijani cargo planes were streaming into Ovda – an Israeli military base known as the only airport in the country that handles the export of explosives. At least six flights from Azerbaijan landed at Ovda between September 1st and September 17th, in the lead-up to the September 19th military offensive a mere two days later. An investigation conducted by an Israeli newspaper had even found that sudden surges of military cargo flights to and from Ovda Airport coincided with upticks of fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh – clear evidence of Israel’s role in escalating the conflict.

The close ties between Israel and Azerbaijan extend beyond the supplying of weapons and include intelligence sharing as well. While not publicly confirmed by either, reports and analysis outline that Azerbaijan provides the Israeli Mossad with intelligence gathering facilities and access – largely as a platform for monitoring the Iranian government in Tehran. The Mossad is believed to maintain what has been labeled a “large and significant presence” in Azerbaijan, with many contending that Azerbaijan has allowed its territory and airspace to be used by Israel for launching military and sabotage operations against Iran and its nuclear program. In fact, Azerbaijan was suspected to be the final destination of thousands of top-secret documents regarding Iran’s nuclear program that were stolen during a covert 2018 operation carried out by Mossad agents on a warehouse outside of Tehran. The knowledge of Israeli activities in Azerbaijan has even been put forth in reports from U.S. officials, who have expressed that Israel has gained access to airbases in Azerbaijan as a means of monitoring Iran.

The Arab Gulf States and the Rush for AI Technology

In the Middle East, a notable phenomenon has emerged which has seen Arab Gulf states heavily push to invest in artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Experts have highlighted that there are several key motivating factors that are driving this AI rush in countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Qatar. One of these is a desire for economic diversification, as the region strives to initiate strategies that help transition it away from high levels of oil sector dependence. Additionally, Arab Gulf states are aggressively pursuing AI adoption in an effort to become a global technology hub. The region’s abundant capital and its ability to leverage this has certainly played a role in providing it with the means to try and do so, as the trillion-dollar sovereign wealth funds allow for massive upfront investments in AI infrastructure such as data centers and advanced chips. Since data centers consume vast amounts of electricity, the Gulf has benefited as well from its low-cost energy sources – which have made it an attractive choice for technology companies’ building of these.

Countries in the Gulf region have sought to integrate AI across a variety of industries in an attempt to boost productivity and drive innovation. In the energy sector, for example, large national oil companies like Saudi Aramco and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) have deployed AI for operational optimization, predictive maintenance, and the reducing of emissions. Within the healthcare industry, AI has increasingly been used for robotic surgeries and diagnostic imaging, while the financial sector has relied on it to bolster fraud detection and customer service capabilities. Furthermore, the expanding focus on AI has prompted Arab Gulf states to roll out national AI strategies. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have targeted 2030 and 2031, respectively, for becoming global leaders in the AI market. Meanwhile, Qatar has partnered with tech giants like Microsoft and Google to expand its national cloud data center capacity in order to support further AI development and adoption. Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain are among the other countries in the region that are also pursuing set national AI strategies.

The growing relevance of AI has become a major element of relations between the Arab Gulf states and the United States. This was on full display during U.S. President Trump’s visit to the region earlier this year, which saw a significant emphasis on the securing of new AI deals. All of this has led analysts to note the seemingly shifting dynamic of U.S.-Gulf ties to one that is becoming increasingly concentrated on AI investments and innovations. Observers have also drawn attention to the mutual benefits of the strengthening AI ties for both parties, as the United States gains partners in its aim to outflank China in the field of AI, while the Gulf nations help position themselves as emerging players on the global stage. At the same time, however, these new U.S.-Gulf AI deals have not come without concern due to the Gulf states’ deep economic and diplomatic ties with China – a factor that has elicited unease regarding the potential for the theft of U.S. intellectual property. In addition to this, critics have also warned that partnering with some of these regimes in the region could legitimize and give rise to increased digital surveillance and the further curtailing of freedoms. Nevertheless, with the array of new AI deals in the Gulf region, the Trump administration appears most concerned with hindering China’s ability to spread its global AI footprint than with any other possible consideration.

Ultimately, the Arab Gulf states’ rush for AI technology demonstrates an awareness of the emerging industry and the ongoing efforts to make headway in it. The focal point that AI has become in the national strategies of these countries is proof of this, as well as a clear acknowledgement that establishing themselves as centers for AI infrastructure and development will only continue to grow in importance in the coming years. If some of the United States’ recent actions and policies are any indication, the region has the potential to evolve into one of the world’s main battlegrounds for AI clout, and it remains to be seen how major actors such as the U.S. and China navigate this moving forward.