Iran Deal Decision | Armenia's New PM | Venezuela Sanctions
Council on Foreign Relations Newsletter If you are unable to see the message below, click here to view. May 8, 2018 Daily News Brief TOP OF THE AGENDA Trump to Announce Iran Deal's Fate U.S. President Donald J. Trump is expected this afternoon to announce that his administration will not waive sanctions on Iran (WaPo), upending a 2015 agreement negotiated by his predecessor. European allies, including French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, have lobbied Trump to stay in the deal, known as the JCPOA, which subjected Iran's civil nuclear program (Guardian) to restrictions and international inspections in exchange for sanctions relief. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that while his country could "face some problems" (AP) in the coming months, he plans to continue "working with the world." ANALYSIS "I don't think Iran will rush to expand its program or do any weaponization work, which could unite the world against them at a time when most would be blaming the United States for killing the deal," says CFR's Philip H. Gordon, who helped negotiate the deal in the Obama White House. "Political backlash in Europe will keep European governments from vigorously abiding by U.S. sanctions. And several key countries, especially Russia and China, are likely to resist the sanctions," Ilan Goldenberg and Ariane Tabatabai write for Slate. "Perhaps the biggest diplomatic challenge Trump would face in reinstituting sanctions on Iran is convincing buyers of Iranian oil to reduce their purchases," Peter Harrell writes for Foreign Affairs. PACIFIC RIM Malaysia Set for General Election Malaysians will vote on Wednesday in an election in which Prime Minister Najib Razak's ruling coalition, in power for sixty years, faces a strong challenge from the Alliance of Hope. The opposition is led by 92-year-old former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad (AP), once a mentor to Najib. NORTH KOREA: Kim Jong-un traveled to the Chinese city of Dalian (Yonhap) for his second summit with President Xi Jinping in just over a month. SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA Scores of Children Killed or Wounded in Afghan Strike An air strike by the Afghan Air Force on an alleged Taliban target in Kunduz Province last month killed thirty-six people (Tolo) and injured more than seventy others, according to a new UN report. Eighty-one of the casualties were children. The government had reported fifty suspected militants were killed in the strike. A CFR panel examined the United States' longest war. KAZAKHSTAN: Dozens of oil workers in western Kazakhstan went on strike yesterday (RFE/RL), calling for better wages and working conditions. MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA Islamic State Claims Iraqi Candidate's Assassination The self-proclaimed Islamic State said it was behind the shooting of parliamentary candidate Faruq Zarzur al-Juburi (Middle East Eye) on Monday and called on Sunni Muslims to reject the May 12 election, the first since Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared victory over the militant group. ISRAEL: Paraguay, following the United States and Guatemala, said it will relocate its embassy in Israel (Reuters) from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a move condemned by the Palestine Liberation Organization as a violation of international law. SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Buhari Visits UK Again for Medical Treatment Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari will leave for the United Kingdom today (Vanguard) for a four-day medical visit, his fourth such trip since 2015. Buhari spent more than a hundred days in the country (BBC) last year. He has not publicly stated the reason for his treatment. DRC: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on President Joseph Kabila's government to lift a ban on public protests (AP) ahead of presidential and legislative elections slated for December. EUROPE Armenian Opposition Figure Elected Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was elected prime minister in a 59–42 vote on Tuesday after the ruling Republican Party agreed to back him. Pashinyan led weeks of anti-government protests (RFE/RL) that pushed Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan to resign days after taking office. TURKEY: A panel of judges rejected a request by an American pastor (Hurriyet) to be freed as he awaits trial on charges he assisted the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party and the Gulen movement. AMERICAS U.S. Imposes Fresh Sanctions on Venezuela The United States announced new sanctions against three Venezuelans and twenty companies for narcotics trafficking. Also on Monday, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, addressing the Organization of American States, called on Venezuela to suspend its May 20 presidential election (Bloomberg). CFR's Amy Myers Jaffe and David R. Mares discuss the U.S. and Latin American responses to the Venezuelan crisis. MEXICO: Leftist presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador widened his lead in opinion polling (Reuters) ahead of a July 1 election. In Bloomberg, CFR's Shannon K. O'Neil writes that Mexico's ruling party is a dead man walking. UNITED STATES Trump, Pence to Skip Jerusalem Embassy Opening State Department officials, presidential advisors Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, and Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt will attend the ceremony to open the new U.S. embassy in Israel (Jerusalem Post) next week. This CFR Backgrounder looks at what's at stake with the embassy move. Council on Foreign Relations — 58 East 68th Street — New York, NY 10065 CFR does not share email addresses with third parties. 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From: dailybrief@e.cfr.org
Date: May 08, 2018 at 10:06PM
