Israel and the United States formed a joint working group a few months ago that is focused on internal efforts to encourage protests within Iran and pressure the country's government.
Why it matters: The Obama administration almost completely refused to discuss any potential efforts for stirring unrest or encouraging protest inside Iran with Israel due to its efforts to complete the Iran nuclear deal. The joint team is a major example of the Trump administration's policy shift in the region.
President Trump told reporters last week that he would “have to see” if the U.S. would change its policy on recognizing Russian occupation of Crimea, implying that the issue would be on the table when he meets President Putin later this month. But Putin’s spokesperson, Dmitri Peskov, said Crimea was not on the agenda for the summit because the peninsula, which Russia took by force in 2014, is already an “inseparable part of Russia.”
Be smart: The truth is that a 180º shift in U.S. policy on nonrecognition of Crimea is exactly what the Kremlin wants. It would give Putin a big win at home and abroad while setting a precedent for future land grabs by Russia, China and others.
President Trump credited himself for preventing a war between the United States and North Korea in a Tuesday morning tweet, stating that "only the Opposition Party, which includes the Fake News, is complaining" about the current state of affairs.
Why it matters: The U.S. has more gun deaths per day than any other rich nation in the world. China's tourists spend $261 billion annually, according to the report, and the U.S. could lose a slice of that pie if tourism is to dip on such fears.
For Axios' first News Shapers of the summer, Mike Allen and Kim Hart hosted conversations on two of today's biggest stories: Trump's summit with North Korea and the end of net neutrality.
Why it mattered: As the ranking member of the House Intelligence committee, Rep. Schiff provided his insight into how the North Korea summit will impact the global order. Meanwhile Chairman Pai, who oversaw the controversial decision to end net neutrality, explained his reasoning for doing so.
iSpace announced it has received $90.6 million, or 600 million yuan, in financing from Matrix Partners China — the Chinese affiliate of the American venture capitalist company, Caixin reports.
Why it matters: Now that the Chinese government is allowing companies to explore space, more private Chinese companies are looking to jump into the space business and are growing quickly.
Some administration officials are so optimistic about making progress with North Korea's Kim Jong-un that they hope a Round 2 with President Trump can be held in New York in September, when world leaders pour into Trump's hometown for the U.N. General Assembly.
The big picture: Officials tell us that Kim would have to show progress for the meeting to occur. One possibility would be for Trump to hold out a Round 2 meeting as a carrot to encourage real movement by North Korea over the summer.
