Iran-Israel Escalation | Malaysia Election Upset | Italy Coalition Talks

Council on Foreign Relations Newsletter If you are unable to see the message below, click here to view. May 10, 2018 Daily News Brief   TOP OF THE AGENDA Israel Strikes Iranian Forces in Syria Israel launched a major attack on Iranian forces in Syria, the Israeli military said on Thursday after alleging that Iran's Quds Force attacked Israeli military positions in the Golan Heights, territory controlled by Israel since 1967. Israel's defense minister said the Iranian missiles either fell short of their targets or were successfully intercepted (Reuters) and claimed the counterattack "hit almost the entire Iranian infrastructure in Syria" (Ynet). There were no injuries reported (WaPo) among Israeli positions, though explosions were heard throughout Wednesday night. Russia's defense ministry said the Israeli missiles targeted Iranian armed groups and Syria's air defenses and that the barrage was carried out on the "pretext" of an attack (Tass) in the Golan. ANALYSIS "Israel-Iran tensions have been escalating in Syria for weeks now and we may very well get to a boiling point. This would only exacerbate the already disastrous situation in Syria and open another front between two regional powers," writes Georgetown University's Ariane Tabatabai. "The Israeli reaction was completely disproportionate: Massive bombing of about 50 Iranian targets in Syria, which probably set back Iran's effort to establish a military presence there by several months," Amos Harel writes for Haaretz. "U.S. withdrawal [from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal] has accelerated the escalation between Israel and Iran. Iran faces less restraint in terms of the timing for a retaliation," the International Crisis Group's Ofer Zalzberg said in an interview with the Washington Post. PACIFIC RIM Malaysian Opposition Wins Election Breaking six decades of rule by the Barisan Nasional coalition, the opposition Pakatan Harapan coalition, headed by former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, won 113 of 222 parliamentary seats (Al Jazeera). Mohamad, 92, is expected to be sworn in today (Star). CHINA: A former chairman of Anbang Insurance was sentenced to eighteen years in prison (Xinhua) by a Shanghai court for fraud and embezzlement worth an estimated $16 billion. SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA Uzbek Leader to Visit White House President Shavkat Mirziyoyev will meet with his U.S. counterpart (RFE/RL), Donald J. Trump, in Washington later this month for talks on regional security, trade, and investment, the White House announced. BANGLADESH: The South Asian nation's first satellite, which will be used for broadcast signal, will be launched from a SpaceX rocket (Nikkei) taking off at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA Oil Price Rises in Wake of Iran Sanctions Decision Brent crude futures reached $77.50 per barrel on Thursday (Reuters), the highest price since 2014. The increase comes amid expectations of market disruption following a U.S. decision to reinstate sanctions on Iran, which produces around 4 percent of the global oil supply. This CFR Backgrounder looks at the impact of sanctions relief under the Iran nuclear agreement. SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Nigeria to Boost Security Amid Ebola Outbreak The country's health ministry will begin nationwide surveillance, including at airports, following an outbreak of the Ebola virus disease (NAN) in the Democratic Republic of Congo that has killed at least seventeen people. KENYA: At least thirty-two people have been confirmed dead after a dam burst in the country's west on Wednesday (Daily Nation), releasing rushing water into a neighborhood of hundreds of homes.  EUROPE Spain Moves Against Exiled Catalan Leader Madrid is asking the constitutional court to block a new law in Catalonia (Reuters) that would allow the region's parliament to reelect pro-independence leader Carles Puigdemont in a May 22 election. Puigdemont is awaiting an extradition ruling in Germany. ITALY: The antiestablishment Five Star Movement and the far-right Northern League, both of which made gains in a March election but did not win enough seats to govern alone (FT), requested another twenty-four hours for coalition talks in hope of avoiding the installation of a caretaker government and a new election. AMERICAS Colombia Officially Launches Truth Commission The commission, which had already begun preliminary investigations, is tasked with probing crimes committed during the country's decades-long civil conflict (Colombia Reports). It will not investigate individual crimes, for which a separate war crimes tribunal was created. BONAIRE AND CURACAO: U.S. oil company ConocoPhillips is attempting to seize Venezuelan refining and storage facilities (WSJ) on the Dutch-administered Caribbean islands after winning an arbitration award against Caracas. CFR's Amy Myers Jaffe and David R. Mares discuss the U.S. and Latin American responses to the Venezuelan crisis. UNITED STATES Trump Meets Detainees Freed From North Korea Three Americans who were arrested in North Korea in 2016 and 2017 (NYT) met with President Trump early Thursday morning at a Maryland air base after their release a day earlier. Trump said Washington and Pyongyang are "starting off on a new footing." This CFR Timeline looks at international negotiations over North Korea's nuclear program. Senator John McCain, a former prisoner of war in Vietnam, called on lawmakers to reject President Trump's nominee to lead the CIA (USA Today), Gina Haspel, due to remaining questions over her role in the agency's use of torture after the 9/11 attacks.         Council on Foreign Relations — 58 East 68th Street — New York, NY 10065 CFR does not share email addresses with third parties. Forward This Email | Subscribe to CFR Newsletters | Unsubscribe - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  

From: dailybrief@e.cfr.org

Date: May 10, 2018 at 10:07PM