The Trump administration on Tuesday sanctioned — for the first time — an Arab, Iran-backed Shiite militia operating in both Iraq and Syria.
Why it matters: Since unveiling its Iran strategy in October 2017, the administration has struggled to implement regional elements of the policy. Washington has been reluctant to sanction Iran-backed forces, but now appears willing to do so to name, shame and penalize Iran’s agents of influence in the Middle East.
The U.S. and China may be on the verge of resolving — or at least cooling — a heavyweight trade fight that's already seen them slap tariffs on $360 billion worth of each other's goods. If all goes according to plan, a deal will be in place ahead of a summit later this month between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The big picture: That won't spell the end of the Trump administration's aggressive bid to remake the global trading order. Emboldened by their apparent successes in renegotiating NAFTA as well as the China trade relationship, Mr. Trump and his hardline trade czar Robert Lighthizer are now going to train their sights on a whole slew of other countries where they think they can win terms more favorable to U.S. industry.
Italy is preparing to endorse China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), according to the Financial Times, potentially handing Xi Jinping a major victory at a time when his signature foreign policy vision is under attack.
Why it matters: Italy is an unusual candidate for China’s BRI, economically and politically, since its membership in the EU means that it already has access to competitive financing for infrastructure projects without the strings and risks that come with borrowing from Beijing. As a member of the G7, Italy would be the largest economy yet to endorse the BRI.
59% of Americans sympathize with Israelis over the Palestinians, the lowest level since 2009, according to Gallup's annual World Affairs survey.
Why it matters: The poll, conducted weeks prior to Rep. Ilhan Omar's (D-Minn.) controversial remarks questioning U.S. support for Israel and the influence of pro-Israel lobbying, indicates that positive American attitudes toward Israel could slowly be changing. However, Americans' preference for Israel is still much more widespread. Even though the percentage of Americans who favored the Palestinians over Israelis was at a record high since 2001, it still lagged far behind at 21%.
A mere 2 days after the Hanoi summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, satellite images indicated that North Korea has been rebuilding the long-range rocket site at Sohae Satellite Launching Station, an operational launch facility it previously pledged to dismantle, NBC News reports.
Details: Beyond Parallel, a project by the defense think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the images captured on March 2 are "evident at the vertical engine test stand and the launch pad's rail-mounted rocket transfer structure," per NBC News. Victor Cha, one of the authors of Beyond Parallel’s report, said the "imagery thus far does not show a missile being moved to the launch pad." NBC News reported that White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders responded, saying: "We don't comment on intelligence."
