President Trump — in a TIME interview posted late Monday night — downplayed the alleged Iranian attacks against two tankers in the Gulf of Oman last week, calling them "very minor."
The backdrop: It published just hours after Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan announced U.S. is deploying an additional 1,000 troops to the Middle East in response to "hostile behavior by Iranian forces and their proxy groups."
With Vladimir Putin's presidential mandate expiring in 2024, there's growing speculation he'll try to hold on to power by forming a Russia-Belarus union and placing himself in charge.
Why it matters: It's a distinct possibility given Putin's penchant for using legalistic steps to maintain a semblance of legitimacy. But it's not just about Putin’s job security — the Kremlin is waging a "creeping assault" on its neighbor's sovereignty and will take whatever steps it deems necessary to keep Belarus in its orbit, according to new research discussed today at the German Marshall Fund.
The U.S. is deploying an additional 1,000 troops to the Middle East in response to "hostile behavior by Iranian forces and their proxy groups" that threaten U.S. "personnel and interests," acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan announced Monday.
The backdrop: The U.S.-Iran standoff is reaching uncharted waters. As the Trump administration scrambles to rally an international response to Iran’s alleged covert attacks last week, Tehran is taking a long-feared step in broad daylight — announcing it will breach the 2015 nuclear deal’s limits on enriched uranium in 10 day's time.
The Pentagon released more photos Monday that officials claim support allegations that Iranian forces were responsible for attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman last week, Bloomberg reports.
"Iran is responsible for the attack based on video evidence and the resources and proficiency needed to quickly remove the unexploded limpet mine."
— U.S. Central Command
Why it matters: While the U.K., Saudi Arabia and Israel have backed the Trump administration's assessment that Iran's Revolutionary Guard was behind the attacks, domestic critics and some U.S. allies — including Germany and Japan — have demanded more evidence. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday that the U.S. has more evidence of Iran's culpability, but it's unclear if he was referring to these photos.
Hongkongers have won — for now — in their protests against an extradition law that drew a violent police response against crowds that reportedly numbered in the millions.
Driving the news: Earlier today, the city's head of police backed down from an earlier attempt to characterize protesters as rioters, according to the South China Morning Post. Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam apologized yesterday for the extradition bill, withdrawing but not killing the China-friendly effort.
The White House has decided not to invite the Israeli Minister of Finance Moshe Kahlon or other Israeli government officials to the Bahrain conference in Manama on June 25, where it plans to launch the economic part of the Trump administration's Israeli-Palestinian peace plan, U.S. officials told me.
The big picture: The decision follows a Palestinian boycott of the conference, which has put pressure on other Arab and Muslim nations not to attend. A senior U.S. official told me: "The goal of the workshop in Bahrain is to present our economic vision for the Palestinian people. As such we want to focus on the economic aspects and not the political ones." The Bahrain conference will now take place without Israeli or Palestinian officials.
Iran announced Monday that it will break uranium stockpile limits set under the 2015 nuclear deal within the next 10 days, the AP reports.
Why it matters: The move, coming at a time of escalating tensions with the U.S., further jeopardizes a deal that European nations have worked to save after President Trump's decision last year to pull the U.S. out and impose economic sanctions that threw Iran's economy into a tailspin. President Hassan Rouhani has warned Europe that Iran will continue to increase its enrichment unless a new deal is reached by July 7, per the AP.
With its announcement Monday that it will exceed limits on the amount of low-enriched uranium allowed under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran is signaling the death of the landmark nuclear agreement reached with world powers in 2015.
Why it matters: Even if initial infringements are modest, the combination of rising tensions in the Persian Gulf, a near-total U.S. embargo on Iranian energy exports and Europe’s failure to operationalize a reliable means of trading with Iran is increasingly unstable.
Chinese President Xi Jinping will head to North Korea this week, marking the first visit by a Chinese leader since 2005, AP reports.
The big picture: Xi's visit comes as U.S.-North Korea relations have been largely deadlocked after President Trump's Vietnam summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un earlier this year ended without any tangible progress on denuclearization. Xi and Kim are set to discuss their views on "the situation on the Korean Peninsula" and celebrate the 70th year of diplomatic relations between their nations.
Hong Kong's most prominent student activist Joshua Wong walked free from prison Monday and called for the resignation of leader Carrie Lam, vowing to join the protest movement against the controversial extradition bill, the BBC reports.
Hong Kong police were clearing streets of protesters after hundreds spent the night near the city government headquarters following the previous day's huge demonstrations against a proposed bill to extradite charged citizens to mainland China, AP reports.
Details: After an hours-long standoff, the demonstrators — many in gas masks after officers fired tear gas at them in Wednesday's clashes — moved to a park and plaza near the government, per AP. They continued to call for the resignation of Hong Kong's leader Carrie Lam, who suspended the bill that she supported indefinitely. She's apologized, but protesters are concerned she may reintroduce it, according to Reuters.
