The Evening: Iran Threats, China Threats, Dreams and More
May 8, 2019
U.S. Threatens New Sanctions on Iran as Iran Threatens to End Compliance with Nuclear Agreement
Iran’s president declared on Wednesday that the country would stop complying with two of its commitments under the Iranian nuclear deal, pushing the growing confrontation between Washington and Tehran into new and potentially dangerous territory, as the NYT’s David E. Sanger, Edward Wong and Julian E. Barnes report.
Dive Deeper: CSIS today hosted U.S. Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook to discuss President Trump’s Iran policy. Watch the discussion on demand.
China Threatens Trade Retaliation
The U.S. Trade Representative’s office filed paperwork to formally raise tariffs to 25% from 10% on about $200 billion a year of Chinese imports effective on Friday, carrying through on a threat made by President Trump over the weekend as talks with Beijing deteriorated. China responded Wednesday by saying it will retaliate if the U.S. moves forward, as the WSJ’s Joshua Zumbrun reports.
Dive Deeper: Listen to the new episode of the CSIS podcast The Trade Guys, “Over the Weekend, A 180.”
“Trump's Tariff Threat on Rest of Chinese Goods Would Hit Final Consumer Products,” by Peterson’s Chad Bown and Eva Zhang.
Pompeo Urges UK to Take Hard Line on China
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo launched an attack on Britain’s plans to open up parts of its 5G network to China’s Huawei, suggesting that such moves could allow Beijing “to control the internet of the future” and “divide Western alliances through bits and bytes,” as the FT’s Sebastian Payne reports.
Enroll for Fall
Now enrolling for the Fall, CSIS & Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs offer a new Executive Master's in International Relations. Information here.
Video Shorts
Check out CSIS’s new series of video shorts: “Testify” and “High Resolution.” In under 90 seconds, CSIS experts tell you what they told Congress in testimony, or use high-resolution satellite images and advanced mapping to break down national security issues. And don’t forget to subscribe to the CSIS YouTube Channel!
In That Number
60
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani threatened that in 60 days Iran would resume production of highly enriched uranium and reopen a plutonium reactor complex—if Europe doesn’t help it skirt U.S. sanctions on oil sales.
Source: WSJ
Critical Quote
“Tehran can expect further actions unless it fundamentally alters its conduct.”
— President Trump
iDeas Lab
The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) has created one of the most successful global surveillance systems. A new interactive report from CSIS's Global Health Policy Center examines how the GPEI system can be used to strengthen the prevention of other diseases.
The Andreas C. Dracopoulos iDeas Lab at CSIS enhances our research with the latest in cutting-edge web technologies, design, and video.
Optics
Today, Brian Hook, U.S. Special Representative for Iran and Senior Policy Advisor to the Secretary of State, joined CSIS to discuss President Trump's Iran policy, the impact of the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA, and the future of U.S.-Iran relations.
Recommended Reading
“A New Social Contract for the Northern Triangle,” by CSIS's Dan Runde and Mark Schneider.
This Town Tomorrow
At 9:00 a.m., join CSIS for a discussion exploring the consequences of the Trump administration’s decision to cut aid to the Central American “Northern Triangle” countries.
Later, at 9:30 a.m., stay at the CSIS to learn more about developments in Malaysian politics and foreign policy one year after their May 9th, 2018 general elections.
And finally, at 3:00 p.m., the CSIS hosts a public conversation with Latvian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Dr. Artis Pabriks, on Russian interference, NATO obligations, and the upcoming European Parliamentary elections.
Video
The U.S. has many complex and dynamic trade relationships. Today, CSIS hosted Congressman Earl Blumenauer (OR-D), Chairman of the Trade Subcommittee in the House Ways & Means Committee, to discuss these connections, and the current trade environment generally. Watch the full video here.
Podcasts
The Trade Guys and Andrew celebrate the first anniversary of the podcast. They discuss the status of the U.S.-China talks and what will happen when negotiators from both countries are scheduled to meet later in the week.
Listen on SoundCloud, Spotify, & Apple Podcasts.
Smiles
I do take requests. And I promised I would play some Allman Brothers. I’m more than happy to deliver this smile. At their finest, the Allman Brothers were in a class of their own.