Axios

White House national security adviser Robert O'Brien tells Axios that the Trump administration has "reached out to the North Koreans" to ask them to resume diplomacy that has been all but dead since October.

Driving the news: O'Brien sat down with Axios at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on Friday to talk about a range of national security challenges at the start of a new year.

Secretary of Defense Mark Esper told CBS News' "Face the Nation" Sunday that he "didn't see" specific evidence that Iran was targeting four U.S. embassies, as President Trump claimed in an interview with Fox News, but that he does share the president's overall concerns.

Why it matters: The controversy over Trump's comments reflects a broader mistrust over the administration's claims that there was intelligence showing Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani posed an "imminent" threat to U.S. forces.

During his surprise visit to Syria last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin urged his Syrian counterpart, Bashar al-Assad, to invite President Trump to Damascus, according to a video of a short conversation between the two leaders aired Sunday on Russia-1 television channel.

What's happening: The video shows the leaders speaking to each other during a visit to the Orthodox Church of the Virgin Mary in Damascus. Assad tells Putin about the apostle Paul who became a Christian at the gate of Damascus and adds jokingly: "If Trump arrives along this road, everything will become normal with him too."

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) said on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday that the Trump administration did not brief him and other members of Congress that Iran was allegedly plotting attacks on four U.S. embassies, as President Trump claimed in an interview with Fox News on Friday.

Why it matters: The administration has come under fire for declining to provide specifics about the nature of the "imminent" threat that prompted the president to order the killing of Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani.

Iranian riot police and members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were out in force Sunday as mass protests continued over the downing of a Ukrainian commercial jet, with demonstrators mourning the 176 victims and demanding the resignations of top government officials, AP reports.

Why it matters: Human rights groups believe Iran killed hundreds of protestors in November when demonstrations over increased oil prices broke out.

Kimia Alizadeh, the first and only Iranian woman to win an Olympic medal, announced on Instagram Saturday that she has permanently left her home country, condemning the Iranian government for its "corruption and lies."

What she's saying: The 21-year-old Alizadeh, who won the bronze medal in taekwondo at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, said she would always remain a "daughter of Iran," but that she could no longer sit at the regime's "table of hypocrisy, lies, injustice and flattery," according to a CNN translation.

56% of Americans say they disapprove of President Trump's handling of heightened tensions with Iran, according to an ABC News poll conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs.

Why it matters: 52% of Americans said the Trump administration's decision to kill Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani in an airstrike makes them feel "less safe," despite assurances from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other top officials that the U.S. is safer with Soleimani gone.

Most U.S. presidential candidates identify China as a serious national security challenge, but they're short on details as to how they'd tackle the economic, technological and human rights threats posed by the world’s largest authoritarian power.

Why it matters: The Chinese Communist Party is seeking to reshape the world in its own image and amass enough power to marginalize the United States and Western allies regardless of whether China is contending with President Trump for another four years — or one of his Democratic rivals.

The Iranian regime has miscalculated in three disastrous ways, leaving the Supreme Leader in a weaker position than 11 days ago.

Our thought bubble: Trump is taking a lot of flak globally and from Democrats. But at this moment, the Iranian regime is doing most of the suffering.

As the U.S. and China rewrite their rules of engagement, the open exchange of scientific research and talent between the two powers is under scrutiny.

The big picture: Experts warn a "decoupling" of the two global powers — unwinding economic and technological dependencies, as well as raising barriers to collaboration — would destabilize the world and put the U.S.'s innovation edge at risk.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) agreed to co-sponsor Sen. Bernie Sanders' "No War Against Iran Act," CNN reports and Sanders confirmed Saturday on Twitter.

What's happening: The legislation seeks to deny funding from the Pentagon for use of military force in Iran, which it calls "unauthorized" in light of Congress not approving the lethal strike on top Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani.

Taiwanese voters re-elected President Tsai Ing-wen in the general election on Saturday, as opposition leader Han Kuo-yu conceded defeat and offered his congratulations, Bloomberg reports.

Why it matters per Axios' Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian: After offering voters a stark choice between a democracy with her or dictatorship with China, Tsai has won re-election in a stunning retort to Beijing — she received more votes than any candidate in Taiwan’s democratic history.

Iran announced in a statement on Saturday (local time) that its military mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet that crashed on Wednesday, killing all passengers aboard, according to multiple reports.

What they're saying, per the Iranian military's statement: The Boeing 737 jetliner operated by Ukrainian International Airlines “took the flying posture and altitude of an enemy target” as it came close to an Iranian military base, and “under these circumstances, because of human error,” the plane “came under fire,” the New York Times writes.