The Evening: Saudi Oil Attacks, NK Invitation, You’re All I’ve Got Tonight and More

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Good Evening,

It's Monday, September 16th.

U.S. Tells Saudi Arabia Oil Attacks Were Launched From Iran

U.S. intelligence indicates Iran was the staging ground for a debilitating attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil industry, people familiar with the discussions said Monday, as the WSJ’s Dion Nissenbaum, Summer Said, and Jared Malsin report.

Dive Deeper: “Iran’s Threat to Saudi Critical Infrastructure: The Implications of U.S.-Iranian Escalation,” by CSIS’s Seth Jones, Danika Newlee, Nicholas Harrington, and Joseph Bermudez.

“The Strategic Implications of the Strikes on Saudi Arabia,” by CSIS’s Anthony Cordesman.

No Meeting With Iran

Iran has dismissed the possibility of a meeting between the country’s president, Hassan Rouhani, and President Trump on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly next week, as the NYT’s Megan Specia reports.

NK Invited Trump to Pyongyang

North Korea’s Kim Jong Un invited President Trump to visit Pyongyang in a letter sent in August amid stalled denuclearization talks, as Reuters Hyonhee Shin reports.

Enroll for Fall

Now enrolling for the Fall, CSIS & Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs offer a new Executive Master's in International Relations. Information here.

Video Shorts

Check out CSIS’s new series of video shorts: “Testify” and “High Resolution.” And don’t forget to subscribe to the CSIS YouTube Channel!

In That Number

930

The Houthis are known to have acquired strike systems that can fly up to 930 miles.

Source: CSIS

Critical Quote

“We’ll let you know but it does look that way.”

— President Trump when asked if Iran was behind the Saudi oil attacks

iDeas Lab

What began as a series of protests over an extradition bill has evolved into a mass movement with five demands. CSIS's Jude Blanchette explains "What's Happening in Hong Kong" in the newest episode of our video series about global policy hotspots.

The Andreas C. Dracopoulos iDeas Lab at CSIS enhances our research with the latest in cutting-edge web technologies, design, and video.

Optics

CSIS's Transnational Threats Project identified the Abqaiq oil facility as a key vulnerability in a brief last month. Though the Abqaiq facility is large, the stabilization process is concentrated in specific areas, which greatly increases the likelihood of a strike successfully disrupting or destroying its operations.

Podcasts

CSIS is out with a new podcast, "The Truth of the Matter." Each week, Bob Schieffer and I will break down the policy issues of the day with CSIS experts. No spin, no bombast, no finger pointing. Just informed discussion.

In our first episode, Dr. John Hamre, CSIS CEO and former deputy secretary of defense, explains his view that we are at the edge of a new epoch of U.S. foreign policy.

Listen on SoundCloud, Spotify, & Apple Podcasts.

Smiles

I’m bummed about the loss of Ric Ocasek, and I bet many of you are too. The Cars were such a big deal to me. Their debut record, self-titled “The Cars,” was released in 1978 and went on to sell six million copies. It still sounds fresh, energetic and modern to me today. It’s one of those albums you take to the desert island.

Ocasek defined New Wave in the best sense for many of us. Check him out here and you’ll see what I mean.

I invite you to email me at [email protected] and follow me on Twitter @handrewschwartz

The Evening is my daily guide to key insights CSIS brings to the events of the day. It is composed with the External Relations team: Emma Colbran, Caleb Diamond, and Brad Honigberg.