U.S., Iran Trade Threats | Japan Heat Wave | Syrian Rescuers Evacuation

Council on Foreign Relations Newsletter If you are unable to see the message below, click here to view. July 23, 2018 Daily News Brief   TOP OF THE AGENDA Trump, on Twitter, Threatens ‘Consequences’ for Iran U.S. President Donald J. Trump threatened Iran with “consequences the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered” in an all-caps tweet Sunday evening after the Iranian president warned the United States not to incite Iranians (WaPo) against their government. President Hassan Rouhani’s remarks, reported by state news yesterday, came as U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Iran’s leadership (CNN) of corruption and human rights abuses, saying the government “resembles a mafia.” The escalation in heated rhetoric follows the U.S. decision to withdraw from the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement and reimpose sanctions; the first round of banking sanctions suspended under the deal is set to come back into effect in several weeks. ANALYSIS “Iran’s regional adventurism in conflicts such as those in Syria and Yemen, mismanagement of the economy, and rampant corruption have cost the regime between $7 billion and $15 billion at a time when the country’s needs are becoming ever more pressing,” writes CFR’s Ray Takeyh. “For Trump to deride Tehran as a mafia state while courting the leaders of Russia and North Korea is bit rich,” Simon Jenkins writes for the Guardian. This CFR Backgrounder looks at the impact of the U.S. withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal. PACIFIC RIM Death Toll From Japan Heat Rises The temperature in Saitama Prefecture, outside Tokyo, reached its highest on record (Japan Times), 105.9 degrees, amid a weeks-long heatwave that has killed at least forty people in Japan. Eleven people died on Saturday alone. CHINA: President Xi Jinping began a three-country tour in Africa on Saturday with a visit to Senegal (Reuters), marking his first trip to the continent’s west. This CFR Backgrounder looks at China’s growing presence on the African continent. SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA Twenty Dead in Attack Targeting Afghan Vice President A suicide bomber killed twenty people, including nine members of First Vice President General Abdul Rashid Dostum’s security detail, in an attack at Kabul’s international airport yesterday. Dostum was returning from a year in exile in Turkey (NYT), where he fled after he was accused of abducting and assaulting a political rival. The self-proclaimed Islamic State said it was behind the attack. BANGLADESH: Eight suspects were charged with involvement in a 2016 attack on a Dhaka bakery (Dhaka Tribune) that killed twenty-two people, including two police officers. Six of the accused are in custody. MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA Israel Helps Evacuate Syrian White Helmets Israel authorized the transport (Haaretz) of Syrian first responders and their families through Israeli territory as they made their way to Jordan, where they are expected to eventually be resettled (Reuters) in Britain, Germany, and Canada. Some four hundred people were evacuated in total. In Foreign Affairs, Maha Yahya discusses the obstacles for Syrian refugees to return home. SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Ethiopia’s Abiy Calls for Multiparty Democracy Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, meeting yesterday with representatives from more than fifty political groups, said Ethiopia has “no option” but to become a multiparty democracy (DW). The Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front coalition has been in power since 1991.  CFR’s Michelle D. Gavin discusses Ethiopia’s long political transition.  ZIMBABWE: President Emmerson Mnangagwa, at a campaign event ahead of next week’s election, said he is “racially blind” (BBC) and that he will end the seizure of lands from white farmers. Mnangagwa is the favorite in the crowded presidential race. EUROPE UK Reportedly Wouldn’t Block Death Penalty for IS Suspects According to a leaked letter, UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid told U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions that his country will not seek assurances that the United States would not execute (Guardian) two Islamic State suspects captured in Syria in January. Several human rights groups have criticized the UK stance on the fate of the pair, who are believed to have been stripped of their British citizenship. EU: The European Commission is preparing a list of U.S. products to be hit with retaliatory tariffs (FT) if President Trump does not back down on threats to impose tariffs on car imports in Wednesday talks with the commission’s president, Jean-Claude Juncker. AMERICAS FARC Members Join Colombia’s Congress Ten members of the now demobilized Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) were sworn in as lawmakers (CNN) over the weekend. Part of a landmark peace deal with the government guarantees the former Marxist rebel group ten seats in the legislature.  BRAZIL: Far-right politician Jair Bolsonaro declared his candidacy (BBC) for an October presidential election. Opinion polls put Bolsonaro in second place, behind former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who may be ineligible to run due to a corruption sentence. In Foreign Affairs, Bruno Carazza discusses Bolsonaro’s rise. UNITED STATES White House Officials Signal Possible Retreat on Gaza Top Trump administration officials, including presidential advisor Jared Kushner and UN envoy Nikki Haley, wrote opinion pieces (NYT) blaming the militant group Hamas for “prolonging the suffering” (WaPo) of Palestinians in Gaza. Kushner said that provocations by the group will “not be rewarded with aid.”         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: July 23, 2018 at 10:13PM