Axios

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday the U.S. has been "discouraging the Kurds from dialogue" with the Syrian government and sowing “separatist sentiment” among them, per the AP. Lavrov said this shows a “lack of understanding of the situation or a deliberate provocation” and urged all involved parties to recognize Syria’s sovereignty.

Why it matters: This comes as Turkey is launching an offensive to boot out Kurdish forces with links to the U.S. in Syria over the weekend, and Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has said Turkey has an agreement with Russia over the assault. The U.S. detailed plans last week to continue backing Kurdish forces in the region to ensure that ISIS or other rogue elements don’t regain control of the territory, setting up fuel for the showdown to continue.

In his first network interview as CIA director, Mike Pompeo discussed the escalating threat from North Korea, stating that leader Kim Jong-un is only "a handful of months" away from delivering an attack on the territorial U.S.

"We'll never know the exact nature of what's taking place. We'll never know the exact moment that they're going to continue [to detonate another nuclear bomb]... But the core risk ... [is that] North Korea's nuclear weapons program is continuing to expand, advance, become more powerful, more capable, more reliable."

In a speech rife with references to the founders of the United States and their reverence for Jews, Pence reminded Israel’s Knesset, “America stands with Israel! … your cause is our cause, your values are our values, and your fight is our fight.” Pence said Trump “righted a 70-year wrong” when he announced the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

One big thing: Pence said moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem will take place next year. That lags behind Israel’s timeline; last week PM Netanyahu said the move would take place this year.

The United States is facing the worst collapse in the trust of institutions — businesses, media, NGOs, government — ever recorded in the history of the Edelman Trust Barometer, an annual survey. Chinese were atop the rankings for growing trust in institutions.

There's a sharp divide between Americans and Chinese when asked which institutions are "most broken," according to the latest annual Edelman Trust Barometer.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards, an elite branch of the country's military, have been directed to sell assets and businesses that don't pertain to their function, Bloomberg reports. Iran's defense minister, Amir Hatami, told a local newspaper that the government "will pursue this matter until these forces withdraw from irrelevant economic activities."

Why it matters: This directive comes after weeks of protests in Iran over the corruption in its government. The Revolutionary Guards control close to a third of Iran's economy, and instructing the body to shrink its business empire could be a step toward moderation.

Vice President Mike Pence has arrived in Israel for a 48-hour visit, which had previously been postponed twice due to political developments in Washington and compounded by the aftermath of President Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. The Jerusalem decision spurred a Palestinian refusal to meet Pence on his trip.

The context: Pence arrived in Tel Aviv after brief stops in Cairo and Amman. In both Arab capitals, Pence received criticism regarding Trump's Jerusalem announcement.

"Jared Kushner Is China’s Trump Card: How the President’s son-in-law, despite his inexperience in diplomacy, became Beijing’s primary point of interest," by Adam Entous and Evan Osnos in the forthcoming issue of The New Yorker.

Why it matters: "Americans are accustomed to reports of Russia’s efforts to influence American politics, but, in the intelligence community, China’s influence operations are a source of equal concern."