The Evening: JCPOA Withdrawal, NK Visit, Chest Fever and More

Good Evening,

It's Tuesday, May 8th.

Withdrawal from Iran Deal

President Donald Trump said the U.S. would withdraw from the Iranian nuclear accord and delivered harsh words for the deal, calling it “horrible,” “one-sided” and “disastrous,” as the Wall Street Journal’s Michael Bender and Rebecca Ballhaus report.

And, as the Washington Post’s Erin Cunningham and Bijan Sabbagh report, Iranian leaders said today that their country would stand united in the face of any new sanctions or threats from the United States.

The FT reports that the decision marks a bitter defeat for America’s top European allies.

Dive Deeper : “The challenge from Iran won't get easier without a deal,” by the Wilson Center’s Jane Harman.

“Oil Market Implications of Shelving the Iran Agreement,” by CSIS’s Frank Verrastro and Kevin Book.

Second Kim Jong Un Visit to China

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited China and met President Xi Jinping, state media of both countries said today, their second encounter in two months in a flurry of diplomatic engagement that has eased tensions on the Korean peninsula, as Reuters reports.

Meanwhile, as the Washington Post’s Carol Morello and David Nakamura report, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was traveling to North Korea today in preparation for an upcoming summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Dive Deeper : "Spring Summitry on the Korean Peninsula: Peace Breaking Out or Last Gasp Diplomacy," remarks by Korean Ambassador to the U.S. Cho Yoon-je yesterday at CSIS.

And read the transcript of the CSIS panel yesterday featuring Victor Cha, Mike Green, Sue Mi Terry, Mark Lippert, and Sheena Greitens: “Implications for U.S.-DPRK Summit.”

“The Specter of Katsura-Taft 2.0: Is a US-China Deal Far-Fetched?” by Ruediger Frank of the University of Vienna for 38 North.

Calls for Regime Change in Venezuela

The Trump administration for the first time Tuesday called for regime change in Venezuela, charging that the "systematic oppression" by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has become an "active threat" to the entire Latin American region, as McClatchy’s Franco Ordonez reports.

Your Questions

Do you have any questions about trade and how a changing U.S. trade policy may affect your life? If you do, please email me your question(s) to aschwartz@csis.org . We’ll publish some of the best questions and get our experts to answer them on an upcoming CSIS podcast.

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 .

In That Number

16%

16 percent of households in North Korea consume at secure food levels. Source: CSIS

Critical Quote

“The United States will withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal.”

— President Donald Trump

iDeas Lab

The United States and Canada are each other’s largest energy trading partners. A new CSIS Brief from the CSIS Energy and National Security Program explains the various aspects of the energy trade relationship using this map.

The Andreas C. Dracopoulos iDeas Lab at CSIS enhances our research with the latest in cutting-edge web technologies, design, and video.

Optics

(Photo Credit: SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images.) President Donald Trump signs a document reinstating sanctions against Iran today at the White House.

Recommended Reading

“Fresh U.S. Sanctions Not Likely to Strangle Iran’s Oil Market,” by Foreign Policy’s Keith Johnson.

This Town Tomorrow

Join CSIS at 10:00 a.m. for an exit interview with Agnes Dasewicz, formerly the Director of the Office of Private Capital and Microenterprise at the U.S. Agency of International Development.

And at 10:00 a.m., join the Wilson Center for a discussion regarding Chinese political influence on American institutions and communities.

Video

Today, CSIS’s Europe Program hosted a multi-panel discussion on the geostrategic and geo-economic future of the Arctic. Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, Admiral Paul F. Zukunft, discussed his active public advocacy for and interagency pursuit of securing greater U.S. capabilities and readiness for a rapidly changing Arctic. Watch the full discussion here.

Sounds

On the latest episode of Take as Directed, Christopher Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, discusses the future of financing the global HIV/AIDS pandemic and the efforts to move towards universal health coverage around the world.

Listen here on Apple Podcast and SoundCloud.

Smiles

I’m glad so many of you wrote me about The Band. The group and its music is one of my very favorite subjects. There are few past or presents artists with such rich history, substance, style and musicianship.

This clip of The Band performing “Chest Fever” at Wembley Stadium shows off the vocal alchemy of Levon Helm, Rick Danko and Richard Manuel. Keep in mind that even though Robbie Robertson is singing too, The Band always turned Robertson’s microphone off so as not to pollute the sublime harmonies by Helm, Danko and Manuel. Robbie was a great songwriter and guitar player, but he couldn’t approach the vocal abilities of his bandmates. No one could.

I invite you to email me at aschwartz@csis.org and follow me on Twitter @handrewschwartz