The Trump administration plans to target a new sector of the Iranian economy with significant new sanctions this week, two senior administration officials told me, speaking anonymously because they were not authorized to reveal the new sanctions. The officials would not say what sector the administration will target, but it won't be the energy sector.
Driving the news: The administration will likely announce this new wave of sanctions on Wednesday — marking the one year anniversary of President Trump's withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal.
More than 600 rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip within 24 hours on Sunday, killing at least 4 Israeli civilians for the first time since the 2014 war with Hamas, AP reports.
The big picture: The barrage of rocket attacks marks one of Israel and Gaza's "most intense flareups of violence in years," per AP. The Israeli military said it retaliated with 0ver 220 airstrikes against "high-quality" militant sites, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promising that Hamas will be held accountable for both its own actions and the actions of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, which operates out of Gaza.
North Korea leader Kim Jong-un oversaw "strike drill" missile tests and said troops should be on "high alert posture," according to state media, following reports Pyongyang launched "multiple unidentified short-range projectiles" Saturday morning (local time).
Details: Projectiles touched down in the water between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the U.S. and South Korea are working closely "to maintain a full readiness posture," per the Washington Post.
Iranian Offshore Oil's CEO Hamid Bovard claims that Iran's oil production has not seen any reduction and the country has loaded crude oil for export, Bloomberg reports.
What's happening: U.S. sanctions have driven down Iranian oil exports, which were believed to be roughly 1.3 million barrels per day last month. It is unclear how well Saudi Arabia and OPEC can fill in the gaps as less Iranian oil enters the global market, CNBC reports.
President Trump is trying to move into a new, post-Mueller phase in his relationship with Vladimir Putin.
The state of play: Trump apparently feels liberated, after the conclusion of the Mueller report, to return to his default of trying to do business with the Russian president.
