TOP NEWS North Korea’s Nuclear Test Site Is Largely Unusable, Chinese Scientists Say Wall Street Journal Trump Signals Openness to a ‘New Deal’ to Constrain Iran New York Times Mattis reportedly sees himself as Trump’s ‘babysitter’ and fought to limit the president’s options on North Korea Business Insider Macron’s Pitch to Trump on a ‘New’ Iran Deal Surprises EU Allies Bloomberg EAST ASIA North Korea’s Nuclear Test Site Is Largely Unusable, Chinese Scientists Say Wall Street Journal4/25/18 Pyongyang’s last blast rendered part of the site unusable and a new test would cause an ‘environmental catastrophe’ Trump calls Kim Jong Un “very honorable” during Macron visit CBS4/24/18 President Trump, in a Cabinet meeting including French President Emmanuel Macron during his White House visit Tuesday, said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been “very honorable” so far, as the U.S. looks to meet with North Korea soon about its nuclear program. MIDDLE EAST Trump Signals Openness to a ‘New Deal’ to Constrain Iran New York Times4/24/18 President Trump signaled on Tuesday that he was open to a new arrangement with European allies that would preserve the Iran nuclear agreement by expanding and extending its terms to constrain Tehran’s development of missiles and other destabilizing activities in the Middle East. Europe’s Last-Ditch Effort to Save the Iran Deal The Atlantic4/24/18 And what happens if it fails Trump Signals Openness to a ‘New Deal’ to Constrain Iran New York Times4/24/18 President Trump signaled on Tuesday that he was open to a new arrangement with European allies that would preserve the Iran nuclear agreement by expanding and extending its terms to constrain Tehran’s development of missiles and other destabilizing activities in the Middle East. Trump: Agreement with France on Iran nuclear deal could come ‘fairly quickly’ CNBC4/24/18 President Donald Trump on Tuesday said the United States could soon reach an agreement with France that would preserve the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Oil hits $75 as Iran sanction fears mount BBC News4/24/18 Oil prices hit $75 on Tuesday, the highest level in nearly three and a half years, as fears mounted over the prospect of new US sanctions on Iran. Where French President Macron Stands On The Iran Nuclear Deal NPR4/24/18 Joseph Bahout, a member of French President Macron’s delegation, is a Middle East expert. He explains Macron’s agenda on the Iranian nuclear deal and on Syria during his visit with President Trump. Trump Warns Iran on Nuclear Deal, but Signals Openness to Beefed-Up Accord Wall Street Journal4/24/18 President meets with French counterpart Macron, who has urged U.S. to remain in the 2015 pact and suggested a broader agreement Macron’s Pitch to Trump on a ‘New’ Iran Deal Surprises EU Allies Bloomberg4/25/18 French President Emmanuel Macron is pushing the limits of international diplomacy, as his last-ditch appeal to salvage the Iran nuclear deal wrong-footed European allies and was met with intransigence by U.S. President Donald Trump. RUSSIA/FSU/EUROPE Germany’s choice of what new fighter jet to buy may come down to which can carry nukes Business Insider4/25/18 The head of Eurofighter on Wednesday said he did not expect the United States to slow certification of the European fighter’s ability to carry nuclear weapons as a way to influence a competition to replace Germany’s aging 90 Tornado jets. U.S. NUCLEAR POLICY How AI Could Destabilize Nuclear Deterrence Foreign Policy4/24/18 A new Rand Corp. report finds artificial intelligence could increase the risk of nuclear war. Mattis reportedly sees himself as Trump’s ‘babysitter’ and fought to limit the president’s options on North Korea Business Insider4/24/18 Defense Secretary James Mattis reportedly views himself as President Donald Trump’s “babysitter,” and his efforts to restrain the bombastic leader apparently created tensions with former White House national security adviser H.R. McMaster. OPINION AND ANALYSIS Trump opposition to Iran deal may kill chances for a North Korea nuke deal Fox NewsYJ Fischer 4/24/18 If North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un sees that President Trump can’t be trusted to keep a nuclear deal with Iran, Kim could reasonably conclude that Trump can’t be trusted to honor a possible nuclear agreement with North Korea. Trump and Kim upend diplomatic protocol Arms Control WonkMichael Krepon 4/24/18 When the ice begins to thaw after an endless freeze, expect the unexpected. Where Trump’s Scorn for Iran Nuclear Deal Could Lead: QuickTake Bloomberg4/24/18 Donald Trump has been complaining about the 2015 Iran nuclear deal since before he became president. North Korea’s Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site: Unusual Activity Observed 38NorthFrank V. Pabian, Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., and Jack Liu 4/24/18 Commercial satellite imagery of the Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site from April 20, the day before the site’s closure was announced, shows some unusual activity. What a nuclear deal with North Korea might look like ReutersPeter Apps 4/24/18 Slowly and through painstaking negotiations, Washington and the two Koreas are sketching out a deal to avoid what all sides feared was an increasingly inevitable war. Trump doesn’t like the Iran deal’s sunset provisions. Here’s how to fix that. Washington PostDimshaw Mistry 4/25/18 Instead of canceling the agreement, the parties could extend it — so that Iran restricts enrichment for several years beyond the agreement’s sunset dates. Time to terminate escalate to de-escalate — it’s escalation control War on the RocksJay Ross 4/24/18 “Escalate to de-escalate” is catchy, it rhymes, and it rolls off the tongue. Unfortunately, it is also wrong — but not for the reasons experts usually focus on.