MANAMA, Bahrain — Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa told me in an exclusive interview for Channel 13 news and Axios that the Palestinians made a mistake not showing up to the U.S.-led conference in Manama, where the Trump administration is launching the economic portion of its peace plan.
Ahead of a high-stakes meeting Saturday with Chinese President Xi Jinping, President Trump has expanded a new battle front with Beijing and other leading U.S. foes: a technology war.
What's happening: With the hope of extending its tenure as the world's sole superpower, the U.S. is reaching for its rivals' economic jugular, squeezing them using American technological superiority, and in China's case demanding that it suppress its own aspirations.
North Korea blasted Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Wednesday and said a recent decision by the U.S. to extend sanctions against it is a "hostile act," the country's state-run news agency KCNA reports.
"Our state is not a country that will surrender to the U.S. sanctions, nor are we a country which the U.S. could attack whenever it desires to do so. If anyone dares to trample over our sovereignty and the right to existence, we will not hesitate to pull a muscle-flexing trigger in order to defend ourselves."
— North Korean foreign ministry spokesman quoted in KCNA
The United States attempted to use a cyber attack to disable the communications networks of the Iran-sponsored militia Kata'ib Hezbollah last week as part of the U.S. response to Iran's downing of a drone, reports CNN.
The big picture: While it had already been reported that the U.S. launched cyber attacks against several Iranian targets, Kata'ib Hezbollah was not yet a known target.
The big picture: On Monday, Trump said he disagreed with Wray's testimony that the FBI director would not describe the agency's investigations as "spying" — an account that originated with Attorney General Bill Barr. These "spygate" allegations, which have not been corroborated, are one reason that Barr has called for a review of Robert Mueller's Russia investigation.
MANAMA, Bahrain — Jared Kushner used the opening speech of the Bahrain conference on President Trump's Middle East peace plan to speak directly to the Palestinian public.
Why it matters: Trump is deeply distrusted by Palestinian leaders, who are boycotting the conference. The White House "peace team," which Kushner leads, is attempting to go over their heads and convince the Palestinian people the plan includes major economic opportunities.
President Trump tweeted on Tuesday that any "attack by Iran on anything American will be met with great and overwhelming force."
Why it matters: It's a new red line for Trump in the latest round of heightened tensions with Iran. The president previously called off a military strike in response to the downing of a U.S. drone, claiming the death toll would be disproportionate. His tweet on Tuesday strikes a markedly new tone.
A short paper from an Oxford Institute for Energy Studies researcher looks at China's soaring demand for natural gas and ways it could meet growing import reliance.
Why it matters: China has become the world's largest gas importer as demand has greatly outpaced domestic production, as the chart above shows.
Iran's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that the White House's new sanctions targeting the country's top leadership could lead to a "permanent closure of the road of diplomacy," the AP reports.
Why it matters: During a televised speech, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani — regarded as a moderate who has previously been open to discussions with Washington — added that the sanctions show the U.S. is "afflicted by mental retardation." These comments could scuttle any "already-remote prospects" of additional talks between the two countries, per the New York Times.
A Chinese espionage group appears to have hacked 10 international cellphone providers to track calling data on 20 dissidents, military officials, spies and law enforcement agents, according to a report from the cybersecurity firm Cybereason reported on in the Wall Street Journal.
Why it matters: Though we don't have any details on who the victims are or exactly why they were targeted, China could potentially use tracked phone records to tell if a highly placed individual was another country's intelligence asset or follow the movements of an activist.
Manama, Bahrain — The U.S.-led conference to launch the economic part of the Trump administration's Israeli-Palestinian peace plan will begin today in Bahrain amid an ever-growing crisis between the White House and Palestinian leadership.
Why it matters: The White House and the Palestinian Authority are both hoping Palestinian public opinion will favor their narrative around the plan.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi tweeted Tuesday that new U.S. sanctions imposed on the country, including on its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, marks the "permanent closure of the path of diplomacy."
What they're saying: "Trump's desperate administration is destroying the established international mechanisms for maintaining world peace and security," Mousavi said in the tweet, translated by Reuters.
