Five datapoints from across the region this morning. The structure is the same every day: short, sourced, signal-only.
1. Iran: The week's rhetoric
State media used "patience" twice in 24 hours - language that historically signals an internal decision to delay rather than escalate. Watch Friday's sermon for confirmation.
2. Lebanon: Cabinet stress test
The fuel-import committee meets Sunday. Outcomes likely range from "extension of the status quo" to "emergency funding ceiling raise." Both have downstream effects on Hezbollah's bandwidth.
3. Gulf: A quiet flight
An unscheduled flight pattern between two Gulf capitals last night. Could be routine. Could be the kind of mediation traffic we have seen at points of pressure. Logging, not flagging.
4. Egypt: Currency move
A second small devaluation in three weeks. The IMF tranche release timing now looks like the binding constraint, not the political calendar.
5. The quiet story
Water-allocation tension between two non-Arab regional powers escalated quietly this week. Not on cable yet, but could be by next week.
Today's reading
Tomorrow's Daily Brief lands at 06:00 UTC. The next Iran Watch drops in two weeks.