Iran Challenges U.S. Sanctions | Withdrawal in Syria's Manbij | Putin and Kurz

Council on Foreign Relations Newsletter If you are unable to see the message below, click here to view. June 5, 2018 Daily News Brief   TOP OF THE AGENDA Iran May Boost Uranium Enrichment, Leader Warns Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said that Tehran would not tolerate both sanctions and nuclear restrictions (Fars) and warned that the country could begin to boost uranium enrichment capacity if European partners do not stand up to reinstated U.S. sanctions. The head of Iran's nuclear energy body said the country notified the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that it will open a new center for centrifuge production (AFP) as soon as tomorrow, a move he said would not violate the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement, also known as the JCPOA. European leaders have pledged to support Iranian oil sales and investment in the country (Reuters) despite expected U.S. sanctions on Iran following its recent withdrawal from the nuclear deal. ANALYSIS "Albeit drastically reduced, economic benefits can be generated at least to a level that would allow Iran to conclude that it is worth staying in the deal. Tehran should assist the Europeans in laying out the threshold of what it will take to stay in," Adnan Tabatabai writes for the Progressive Post. "Iran is not the sturdy, stable government that its enablers like to depict. It is a regime that has forfeited its legitimacy, is drowning in corruption, and rests its power on security organs that it fears will prove unreliable in a crunch," CFR's Ray Takeyh and Mark Dubowitz write for Foreign Policy. "Khamenei reiterated his 2014 stated goal of achieving 190 SWU (separate working units of uranium enrichment). But important point here is that he emphasized this would take place within the Iran deal context," tweets Georgetown University's Ariane Tabatabai. PACIFIC RIM American Arrested for Spying for China A former Defense Intelligence Agency officer was arrested at a Seattle airport while waiting for China-bound flight on federal charges of receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars from Beijing in exchange for sharing U.S. national defense information (DOJ). AUSTRALIA: Tasmania's Anglican church plans to sell more than a hundred properties to raise $15.2 million (BBC), some $3.8 million of which will go to a fund for survivors of sexual abuse in the church. SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA Half of Afghan Children Out of School, Says UN Nearly four million school-age children in Afghanistan do not attend classes (VOA) due to conflict in their country, reported the UN children's agency. Girls, some of whom are forced into child marriage, make up 60 percent of that number. This CFR panel examined the United States' longest war. PAKISTAN: The World Bank is calling on Islamabad to accept an offer from New Delhi to appoint an independent expert to resolve a dispute over a Kashmir dam project (Dawn) and not pursue the case at the International Court of Arbitration. MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA Turkey, U.S. Agree on Kurdish Withdrawal From Manbij U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, in Washington, where the pair agreed to a road map for the withdrawal of U.S.-backed Kurdish forces (Hurriyet) from the northern Syrian city of Manbij. A CFR panel will examine the U.S. relationship with Turkey and northern Syria's Kurds. Watch today at 12:30 p.m. (EDT). SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Dozens of Militants Killed in Somalia Strike, U.S. Says A U.S. air strike in northern Somalia over the weekend killed twenty-seven suspected al-Shabab militants, U.S. Africa Command said yesterday. No civilians are believed to have been killed in the strike. NIGERIA: At least 180 inmates remained at large after gunmen raided a prison (Vanguard) in the central state of Niger on Sunday. Authorities recaptured just thirty (Reuters) of the escaped prisoners. EUROPE Russia's Putin to Visit Austria's Kurz Vladimir Putin will meet with conservative Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (TASS) and Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen in Vienna today to discuss bilateral cooperation, including on economic issues. Ahead of the visit, Putin said Austria has "traditionally been our trusted partner in Europe." GERMANY: The U.S. ambassador to Germany will meet with foreign ministry officials tomorrow to explain a recent interview (DW) with a far-right U.S. news outlet in which he said he sees his task as "empowering" European conservatives. In Foreign Affairs, Markus Wagner and Thomas Meyer discuss Europe's rightward shift. AMERICAS Mexico Orders New Probe Into Missing Students A federal court ordered the creation of a national truth commission (NYT) to investigate the disappearances of forty-three college students in 2014, a case that became a flashpoint for impunity among criminals in the country. BRAZIL: Walmart sold 80 percent of its stake (FT) in its Brazilian branch to private equity group Advent at an estimated loss of $4.5 billion, which Walmart attributed to the Brazilian real's declining value. UNITED STATES Former Trump Aide Accused of Witness Tampering Federal prosecutors accused former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort, who is under house arrest as he awaits trial, of asking potential witnesses to falsify their testimony (WaPo). The Saudi government gave White House aides (Guardian) tens of thousands of dollars worth of jewels in 2009, a former speechwriter for President Barack Obama wrote in a new memoir. He said they handed the jewels over to the protocol office that handles gifts.         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: June 05, 2018 at 09:59PM