Tehran Plays Down Damage Over Israeli Strikes Reported in Iran |
Iran’s air defenses were activated (FT) to respond to incoming strikes in the central city of Isfahan and northwest city of Tabriz this morning, local authorities and media said. The strikes appeared to be a limited Israeli retaliation for Iran’s missile and drone attack on Israel over the weekend. Iranian state media played down the damage from the attacks, which came after world leaders urged both countries to de-escalate tensions. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington “has not been involved in any offensive operations” and called on “all concerned to exercise restraint.”
In the wake of Iran’s weekend barrage on Israel, Western officials worked to punish Iran while avoiding further military escalation. The United States, United Kingdom (UK), and European Union imposed new sanctions (NYT) on Iran yesterday for its recent attack. U.S. President Joe Biden personally appealed (Axios) to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this weekend to contain Israel’s response to Iran’s actions, saying that the United States would not support an Israeli counterattack, according to an unnamed senior White House official.
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“Staving off [a wider Middle East conflict] will require that Washington use its unmatched diplomatic and military resources in ways that it has hesitated to deploy so far. It must both push for a pause to the fighting in Gaza—which would deprive Iran of reasons to keep attacking Israel—and seriously threaten Tehran to deter it from further retaliation,” the Brookings Institution’s Suzanne Maloney writes for Foreign Affairs.
“The regime in Iran is still wary of starting a bigger fight,” Eurasia Group’s Gregory Brew writes for Time. “Such a fight would damage Iran’s regional position and put immense pressure on the regime at a moment where domestic issues have left it feeling vulnerable—particularly given the advanced age and poor health of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.”
Read the full suite of Foreign Affairs and CFR.org resources on Israel and the current conflict.
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Indians Begin Voting in Massive General Election |
The six-week-long vote is widely expected (NYT) to deliver a third term to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Nearly one million Indians are eligible to participate, with results due to be announced on June 4. Modi’s tenure has coincided (Reuters) with a more assertive Indian foreign policy.
This Expert Brief by CFR Senior Fellow Manjari Chatterjee Miller details what to know about India’s election.
Pakistan: A close ally of Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called (AP) for the government to lift a two-month-old ban on social media platform X. Farhatullah Babar, a senior leader of a party in Sharif’s coalition, cited freedom of speech and expression in his appeal.
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Nikkei: Nokia Reduces Purchases of Supplier on Shanghai Exchange After U.S. Urging |
The world’s second-largest telecom maker has reduced its orders in recent months with longtime supplier, Foxconn Industrial Internet, a company not based in China but listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, four unnamed sources told Nikkei. The sources said the move was due to a U.S. push for a “clean network.” It is part of a broader trend of pressure from U.S. and European markets for firms to distance themselves from China-listed suppliers, a tech analyst said. Nokia did not comment directly on whether it reduced orders.
South Korea: The government will compromise (Yonhap) with universities over their demands regarding quotas for medical school enrollment, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said today. The deal could end a two-month walkout by doctors over demands that reforms to the sector address pay rather than increasing school admissions. The protests were a central issue (Reuters) in last week’s parliamentary elections.
This Expert Brief by CFR Senior Fellow Sue Mi Terry looks at what the opposition win in South Korea’s recent vote means for the country.
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Middle East and North Africa |
U.S. Vetoes UN Security Council Resolution on Palestinian Statehood |
A resolution calling for Palestinian recognition as a full UN member state failed (NYT) at the Security Council yesterday with twelve in favor, two abstentions, and one veto. Switzerland and the UK abstained from the vote, while the United States vetoed it.
This Backgrounder by CFR’s Kali Robinson overviews who governs the Palestinians.
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CFR’s Robert McMahon and Carla Anne Robbins discuss the aftermath of Iran’s attack on Israel, EU discussion on bolstering aid to Ukraine, polls opening in India for the world’s largest democratic election, and more. |
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| BNP Paribas Faces Suit Over Alleged Role in Supporting Sudanese Genocide |
A U.S. judge ruled yesterday that the Paris-based bank must face a class-action lawsuit (Reuters) brought by U.S. residents who had fled central Sudan. In 2014, the bank pleaded guilty to U.S. Justice Department charges that it violated sanctions by transferring billions of dollars for Sudanese entities. Washington has officially recognized Sudan’s actions in the late 1990s and 2000s as genocide.
Kenya: Authorities are investigating (BBC) a helicopter crash that killed the head of Kenya’s armed forces and nine other people yesterday. It was not immediately clear what caused the crash.
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Ukraine Says It Shot Down Russian Bomber While Moscow Blames Malfunction |
The plane was flying over the southern Russian region of Stavropol, hundreds of miles from the Ukrainian border, when it went down (AP) today, Russia’s defense ministry said. Ukrainian forces said they used anti-aircraft missiles to target the plane.
UK: The government instructed port authorities not to fully carry out post-Brexit border checks on European imports due to begin this month over fears of “significant disruption” and delays at the border, according to a presentation seen by the Financial Times. Activating the new border controls has been deferred five times since 2021.
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Argentina Requests to Become ‘Global Partner’ of NATO |
Argentina’s defense minister announced yesterday that he delivered (MercoPress) a letter of interest at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) headquarters in Brussels. Currently, NATO’s only “global partner” in Latin America is Colombia; other such partners include Australia, Japan, and Pakistan.
Panama: Presidential frontrunner José Raúl Mulino said he planned to “close” (The Guardian) the country’s jungle border with Colombia and repatriate migrants, without giving details on how he would do so. Last year, more than half a million people moved across the border. Experts criticized the proposition as unworkable and dangerous.
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Interior Department Bans Oil Drilling in Portion of Alaska Wilderness |
The department finalized (Reuters) a rule that will ban oil and gas development on 40 percent of Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve. It also said it will deny a proposal to build a 211-mile road designed to enable mining in north central Alaska. The rule will not affect existing oil and gas projects, such as an $8 billion ConocoPhillips project approved last year. |
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