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TOP STORIES
The Trump administration put Iran on notice that any new
deal would require it to stop enriching all uranium and halt its
support for militant groups in the region, sweeping demands that
Tehran swiftly rejected... In return for agreeing to an accord on
nuclear and regional issues to replace the 2015 Iran nuclear accord
from which President Donald Trump withdrew this month, Mr. Pompeo
said, the U.S. would lift the punishing economic sanctions it is now
moving to impose...
Germany's government will help German firms with
business in Iran where it can, but cannot entirely shield them from
the U.S. decision to quit the Iran nuclear deal and reimpose
sanctions against Tehran, the economy minister told a newspaper.
A British mother jailed in Iran after being convicted of
spying has been told to expect another conviction after appearing in
court over a new "invented" charge, her husband has said.
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 39, who was arrested and jailed in 2016,
appeared in court on Saturday accused of spreading propaganda against
Tehran's hardline Islamist regime, he said.
UANI IN THE NEWS
Groups who opposed the Iran nuclear deal were supportive
of Pompeo's speech, while those who support the deal blasted the
speech. For example, on one hand, from United Against Nuclear Iran
CEO Mark Wallace: "Secretary Pompeo wisely made the case that
the United States needed to tackle the danger from Iran in a
comprehensive manner. For too long, the United States has focused on
the nuclear file to the exclusion of a wide array of additional
problematic activity."
[Pompeo's] are maximalist demands, but [they are]
realistic in the sense that the comparison between the U.S. economy
and the Iranian economy is actually no comparison at all... So the
United States has enough leverage to get the Europeans to the table, and
so, in that sense, the threat of secondary sanctions on Western
companies that are contemplating still doing business in Iran
provides the U.S. with the leverage they need to get Europe on board
with this strategy.
German companies have refused to denounce the Iranian government
for its anti-Semitism, hostility toward Israel, and even its denial
of the Holocaust: "United Against Nuclear Iran, or UANI, has
petitioned more than a dozen major German companies, asking them to
sign a declaration promising to not do business with Iran until its
leadership stops denying the Holocaust and calling for the
destruction of the Jewish state."
Although the United States is withdrawing from the
nuclear deal formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of
Action, or JCPOA, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
retains both the right and the obligation to ensure the peaceful
nature of Iran's nuclear program... Regardless of the results of
Washington's decision, Iran has a binding legal obligation to grant
the IAEA access to all relevant sites, materials, equipment,
documents, and personnel to resolve outstanding questions about the
military dimensions of Iran's past nuclear activities.
NUCLEAR DEAL & NUCLEAR PROGRAM
The United States is ready to respond if Iran decides to
resume its nuclear program, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said
on Monday in a speech outlining demands on Tehran to change its
behavior. "Our demands on Iran are not unreasonable: give
up your program," Pompeo said in a speech outlining demands on
Iran. "Should they choose to go back, should they begin to
enrich, we are fully prepared to respond to that as well," Pompeo
said, declining to detail what the response could be.
French President Emmanuel Macron's trip to Russia this
week once threatened to split France from its European allies. Now
it's part of a wider European effort to tie President Vladimir Putin
to the Iran nuclear accord.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Monday that he
will meet with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to discuss
Washington's position on the nuclear deal with Iran.
The EU's foreign policy chief warned Monday there was
"no alternative" to the Iran nuclear deal, after US
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo vowed unprecedented sanctions against
Tehran following Washington's withdrawal from the pact.
Iran will be forced back to the negotiating table to
broker a new nuclear deal because European support for the existing
pact won't be enough to save it now that the U.S. has withdrawn, a
senior United Arab Emirates official said.
With Trump pulling the U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal
-- stirring uncertainty among numerous interest groups and
constituencies, both foreign and domestic -- it would be well to
reflect on how this might have been prevented by seeking Senate
approval.
SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS, & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani lashed out at US
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, saying that the world would not
accept that Washington impose its decisions on other countries.
Hard on the heels of U.S. withdrawal from the Iran
nuclear accord, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday laid out a
new strategy to contain Iran's nuclear ambitions and regional
imperialism... It's unlikely the mullahs will meet Mr. Pompeo's terms
on their own, but as tougher sanctions set in, an increasingly angry
Iranian public could force their hand.
MILITARY/INTELLIGENCE MATTERS & PROXY WARS
The U.S. military will take all necessary steps to
confront Iranian behavior in the region and is still assessing
whether that could include new actions or doubling down on current
ones, the Pentagon said on Monday.
U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS
A senior Iranian military commander poured scorn on U.S.
threats to tighten sanctions on Tuesday, saying the Islamic
Republic's people would respond by punching U.S. Secretary of State
Mike Pompeo in the mouth.
Iran's foreign minister tweeted that the United States
was repeating "the same wrong choices" after U.S. Secretary
of State Mike Pompeo demanded sweeping changes in the country's
foreign and nuclear policies.
President Donald Trump's new, more aggressive strategy
toward Iran depends on getting help from U.S. partners -- the very
allies he spurned in withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear accord with
Tehran.
Punishing Iran is not enough. Sanctions are not a
strategy. The United States is either committed to working with
partners and against Iran in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and elsewhere or not.
The diplomatic path to a better deal is still unclear. The Trump
administration should come up a viable and comprehensive Iran
strategy fast and then tell everybody what it is.
SYRIA, RUSSIA, ISRAEL & IRAN
In a rare show of public disagreement, Iran on Monday
appeared to reject remarks from Russia's leader saying the Islamic
Republic should pull its forces out of Syria after a political
settlement is reached in the war-torn country.
Syria's military on Monday captured an enclave in
southern Damascus from Islamic State militants following a ruinous
monthlong battle, bringing the entire capital and its far-flung
suburbs under full government control for the first time since the
civil war began in 2011. The gains freed President Bashar Assad's
forces to move with allied militiamen on remaining rebel-held
territory in the south near the border with Israel, as Syria's chief
ally Iran comes under growing pressure from the Trump administration
to withdraw its troops from the country.
GULF STATES, YEMEN, & IRAN
Bahrain's Foreign Ministry has said it affirms full
support for the United States' strategy toward Iran after America's
top diplomat threatened to impose the "strongest sanctions in
history" against Tehran if the country's leadership did not change
the course of its foreign and domestic policy. "
HEZBOLLAH & LEBANON
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly criticized
Hezbollah for operating as the most heavily armed militia and a
political party in Lebanon and urged the militant group to halt
military activities inside and outside the country, including in
Syria. In a report to the Security Council obtained Monday by The
Associated Press, Guterres also called on Lebanon's government and
armed forces "to take all measures necessary to prohibit
Hezbollah and other armed groups from acquiring weapons and building
paramilitary capacity" outside the authority of the state.
As the race for cabinet portfolios accelerates before
the appointment of a new Prime Minister, "Hezbollah" has
made new demands on political and service portfolios, contrary to its
previous shares in governments since 2005... Hezbollah opponents link
this change to rising sanctions against the party and its leaders,
while supporters say the party's decision is merely internal and
linked to the fight against widespread corruption in all state
institutions.
Hamas has an excellent relationship with Hezbollah, and
the two groups communicate almost on a daily basis, Hamas chief in
Gaza Yahya Sinwar said Tuesday. If Israel attacks Gaza, "the
resistance will have a new surprise," he added.
Home Secretary Sajid Javid was today urged to halt a
"brazen" parade through London involving supporters of the
militant group Hezbollah as campaigners warned that it will fuel hate
crime against both Jews and Muslims.
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
A Q&A with Iran expert Kenneth M. Pollack on the
next steps for the U.S., Europe and the mullahs.
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