The Israeli military has announced it plans to nearly double the number of troops that surround Gaza and the occupied West Bank to control protests ahead of the opening of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem on Monday, the AFP reports.
The details: The embassy move is a key campaign promise of President Trump, and despite the significant acknowledgement to Israel that Jerusalem is its capital, it will likely lead to resistance from the Arab world. The additional enforcement "does not concern Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, where responding to protests is the responsibility of the police," AFP adds. President Trump will not be in attendance at the opening but is sending his daughter, Ivanka Trump, and son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
Two U.S. F-22 Raptor fighter jets intercepted a pair of Russian Tu-95 long-range bombers in international air space off the coast of Alaska on Friday, the Washington Post reports, citing Navy Capt. Scott Miller, an Aerospace Defense Command spokesman.
Why it matters, per the Post: "Friday’s encounter was the first of its kind in just more than a year, Miller said. A similar incident occurred off Alaskan waters in April 2017 in what U.S. officials have described as routine if not tense encounters between adversarial aircraft where territorial lines meet."
President Trump thanked North Korea on Saturday for closing a nuclear test site in the northeastern part of the country calling the decision "a very smart and gracious gesture" in a tweet.
The popular Asian fusion restaurant P.F. Chang's has arrived in Shanghai — but it's marketing itself as "an American bistro," reports the Wall Street Journal.
The big picture: Though the restaurant has established a reputation in the U.S. for upscale Chinese food, its executive team has a different strategy for cracking the massive Chinese market.
Iran's foreign minister, Mohammed Javad Zarif, is embarking on a tour of Europe, China and Russia in an effort to save the Iran nuclear deal, Reuters reports.
The bottom line: After the U.S. withdrew from the deal and announced forthcoming sanctions against companies and countries that do business with Iran, the Middle Eastern country must try to safeguard its trade relationships for the sake of its economy.
In quitting the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), President Donald Trump may have thought he could now subject Iran to “extreme pressure” from resumed U.S. secondary sanctions. But the outraged response of countries ordered to wind down their commerce with Iran within the next six months suggests that the U.S. sanctions weapon could become a boomerang.
The big picture: May 8, 2018, may soon become as infamous as March 20, 2003, when the U.S. invaded Iraq against the advice of many of its allies (especially France) and Mideast experts. In leaving the deal despite Iran's compliance, Trump has antagonized the rest of the world and undermined sanctions as a tool of diplomacy.
North Korea's foreign ministry announced Saturday that the country will hold a "ceremony" May 23-25 marking the dismantling of the country's northeastern nuclear testing site, that will involve destroying all of the tunnels on the grounds and removing observation and research facilities, reports the AP.
Following a bilateral meeting with the South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the U.S. will assist North Korea with economic development if it gets rid of its nuclear weapons, reports the AP.
Hungary, the Czech Republic and Romania, in coordination with Israel, today blocked a joint EU statement criticizing the relocation of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, Israeli officials and European diplomats told me.
Behind the scenes: The initiative to publish the statement was led by France and several other EU member states. Israeli officials say the goal was to present to the U.S. a common position against the move by all 28 member states, and to embarrass and isolate the Trump administration ahead of Monday's ceremony.
In the last year, relations between Israel and the Gulf states have grown warmer and deeper.
Why it's happening: Much of it has to do with the alignment in interests over the Iranian threat, but the Trump administration's efforts to promote a Middle East peace deal and get the Sunni states and Israel to work together have also been a factor.
President Trump will record a video greeting for the opening ceremony of the new U.S. embassy in Jerusalem on Monday, US ambassador to Israel David Friedman said in a briefing to reporters. He stressed that moving the embassy to Jerusalem is a U.S. interest and not part of any "Give and take" with Israel.
Details: 800 Israeli and American guests will participate in the ceremony, including Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, deputy secretary of state John Sullivan, Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump.
