The United States said it would agree to meet (NBC) with the signatories of the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement if invited by the European Union. The announcement signals the Joe Biden administration’s commitment to rejoining and reviving the decaying accord, which the United States left in 2018, and a senior EU official tweeted his willingness to initiate a meeting. But Iran tempered hopes. A spokesperson for the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the United States must remove all sanctions (BBC) on Iran before it will move to resuscitate the agreement.
 
Biden has previously refused to lift sanctions (NYT) on Iran unless it first returns to compliance with the agreement, which it has increasingly violated in recent months. However, the United States yesterday withdrew (AP) a controversial effort by the Donald J. Trump administration to reimpose UN sanctions on Iran over its nuclear activities and eased movement restrictions on Iranian diplomats to the United Nations. Iran has pledged to ban (Al Jazeera) snap inspections by the UN nuclear watchdog next week if the United States does not start easing sanctions.

China’s military newspaper reported that four Chinese soldiers were killed (SCMP) and one was injured in a June clash with Indian troops along the countries’ disputed Himalayan border. At least twenty Indians were killed in the skirmish.
 
CFR’s Alyssa Ayres explains the China-India border dispute.
 
Hong Kong: The city’s government appointed Patrick Li (WaPo), a career civil servant with no media experience, as the new director of its sole independent public broadcaster, Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK). The government also released a report that suggests future constraints on the outlet’s editorial autonomy.

A hospital in Myanmar’s capital, Nay Pyi Taw, announced the death (AFP, Bloomberg) of a woman shot by police last week during protests against the February 1 military coup. Canada and the United Kingdom yesterday sanctioned Myanmar’s ruling generals (Al Jazeera).
 
This CFR Backgrounder explains Myanmar’s troubled history.
 
Afghanistan: North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said no decision has been made (DW) about whether to withdraw NATO troops from Afghanistan, which a U.S.-Taliban peace agreement says must occur by May 1. Separately, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani about the peace process.

Israel exchanged two Syrian shepherds for an Israeli woman held by Syria in a trade mediated by Russia, according to the Israeli government. The swap is unusual (NYT), given Israel and Syria’s history of conflict, lack of diplomatic ties, and territorial dispute over the Golan Heights.

Government forces and protesters supporting opposition groups fought today in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, with Reuters reporting gunfire and rocket explosions. The protesters are angered by delayed elections, and the opposition says President Mohamed Farmaajo is ruling illegitimately.
 
Kenya: After a three-month strike, more than one thousand health workers in Mombasa County reached a deal (Nation) with officials and agreed to return to work. Acting Health Executive Godffery Nyongesa Nato said the workers’ grievances related to promotions and delayed salaries, among other issues.

The U.S. State Department announced visa restrictions (RFE/RL) on forty-three Belarusians, including judicial and law enforcement leaders, for undermining democracy. Yesterday, a Belarusian court sentenced two journalists to prison amid a crackdown on independent observers and dissent.
 
Spain: Protests continued for a third night (AFP) after authorities jailed rapper Pablo Hasel for tweets criticizing the police and former King Juan Carlos I. Protesters in several cities have clashed with police, and the demonstrations could fracture Spain’s ruling coalition.

A Buenos Aires court sentenced eight people to prison (LAHT) for crimes against humanity committed under the military regime that ruled Argentina between 1976 and 1983. Separately, six former commanders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) insurgent group, responsible for decades of violence, admitted to war crimes and crimes against humanity (Reuters).
 
Brazil: The country has recorded more than ten million COVID-19 cases (Bloomberg) as infections surge and challenges to its vaccine rollout mount (MercoPress). Only the United States and India have reported more coronavirus cases.

Biden will meet virtually today (Al Jazeera) with other officials from the Group of Seven (G7) in his first major international engagement as president. He is expected to discuss the coronavirus and economic recovery, as well as announce $2 billion (WaPo) in U.S. funding for a global vaccine equity initiative that former President Trump rejected.

A rover launched by NASA landed in Mars’s Jezero Crater (CNN) after a six-month, almost three-hundred-million-mile journey. The vehicle, called Perseverance, will search (BBC) for signs of past life.
 
This CFR Backgrounder looks at U.S. space exploration and competitiveness.