Protests Rage in Iran

Protesters and riot police faced off in at least two cities in Iran on Monday, a third day of angry demonstrations at the country’s leaders after the government acknowledged having shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane, as the NYT’s Ben Hubbard reports.

Dive Deeper: “Containing Tehran: Understanding Iran’s Power and Exploiting Its Vulnerabilities,” by CSIS’s Seth Jones.

“A prolonged US-Iran confrontation may spark a new economic crisis in the Middle East,” by the Peterson Institute’s Adnan Mazarei.

U.S. to Drop China’s Currency Manipulator Label

The U.S. Treasury Department will drop its designation of China as a “currency manipulator” just two days before negotiators from Beijing and Washington are set to sign the first phase of the trade deal between the two countries, as the FT’s James Politi and Brendan Greeley report.

U.S. Calls Pensacola Naval Base Shooting Terrorist Act

The U.S. is expelling 21 Saudi military students from a training program amid an FBI investigation into a deadly shooting at a Florida Navy base last year, Attorney General William Barr said on Monday, for the first time describing the attack as terrorism, as the WSJ’s Sadie Gurman and Nancy Youssef report.

CSIS Executive Education

Join CSIS March 11-13 for our course, Belt, Road, and Beyond. Work with leading experts and the Reconnecting Asia Project to explore what the BRI is, what it is not, and how it is impacting commercial and strategic realities on the ground.

Video Shorts

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

In That Number

1,000

The Department of the Interior is planning to halt the use of its nearly 1,000 drones because the devices have been made at least partly in China, and the department is concerned about U.S. exposure to Chinese technology.

Source: FT

Critical Quote

“Clerics get lost!”

— Student protest chant in Iran on Monday

iDeas Lab

In a new High Resolution video, CSIS Stephenson Ocean Security Project director Whitley Saumweber explores China's hidden maritime ambitions. Watch it here.

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

Optics

(Photo credit: Ted ALJIBE/AFP). A youth living at the foot of Taal volcano rides an outrigger canoe while the volcano spews ash as seen from Tanauan town in Batangas province, south of Manila today.

This Town Tomorrow

At 9:00 a.m., CSIS will host a conversation with former NASA Space Shuttle Commander Pam Melroy on the role of government in commercial space and international partnerships in space.

Later, at 11:30 a.m., return to CSIS for the 26th annual U.S.-Japan Security Seminar, featuring keynote remarks from Japanese Minister of Defense H.E. Taro Kono.

Also at 11:30 a.m., the Stimson Center will host its second annual Forum on the Arms Trade conference to examine these issues and identify opportunities to make the global arms trade more responsible and accountable in the years to come.

Video

Last week, CBS legend Bob Schieffer sat down with CSIS experts Kathleen Hicks, Sarah Ladislaw, Stephanie Segal, and Beverly Kirk to discuss the biggest issues to look out for in 2020. Watch their conversation here.

Podcasts

Bob and I sit down with CSIS Transnational Threats Project director Seth Jones to discuss the latest U.S.-Iran developments and his new report on understanding Iran's strengths and vulnerabilities.

Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.

Smiles

Late last week, Rush’s Neil Peart, perhaps rock’s greatest living drummer, succumbed to brain cancer at sixty-seven after battling the disease for several years.

I think the New Yorker’s Amanda Petrusich described Peart’s music best in her postscript: “Watching him play, it’s hard not to start thinking he possessed several phantom limbs. The sound was merciless.”

For people my age, Rush and Peart are iconic. According to Billboard, Rush presently ranks third, behind the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, for the most consecutive gold or platinum albums by a rock band. There is always this silly debate about whether Rush and the guys in the band are “cool” or not. Are you kidding me? Neil Peart was a legend. Of course Geddy and Alex are legends too. Listen to their music. Watch them perform. Watch the excellent 2010 documentary “Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage” (I re-watched it for maybe the fourth time Friday night).

Just watch this.

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.