TOP NEWS Trump seeks ‘very meaningful’ summit in Singapore with North Korea Reuters Something’s going on at North Korea’s nuclear test site. Maybe it really is closing. Washington Post U.S. Raises Pressure on Iran With Sanctions on Currency Exchange Wall Street Journal The world is nervously watching as the gloves come off between Iran and Israel CNN Lawmakers takes step toward nullifying nuclear arms treaty with Russia Washington Post EAST ASIA Trump seeks ‘very meaningful’ summit in Singapore with North Korea Reuters5/10/18 U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he had high hopes of “doing something very meaningful” to curtail North Korea’s nuclear ambitions at a summit in Singapore next month, after Pyongyang smoothed the way for talks by freeing three American prisoners. Damage to North Korea’s Nuclear Test Site Worse Than Previously Thought Wall Street Journal5/10/18 A much larger part of the Punggye-ri site collapsed after Pyongyang’s last test, scientists say Something’s going on at North Korea’s nuclear test site. Maybe it really is closing. Washington Post5/10/18 North Korea could be taking preliminary steps to close its nuclear test site, according to new satellite images that suggest Kim Jong Un might be making good on one of the surprising pledges he’s made over the past month. ‘It Can Be Rough to Pick Up the Pieces’: Returning Home After Detention in North Korea New York Times5/10/18 “For a long time,” said Ms. Lee, who now works in Washington as an executive producer at Voice of America, “I felt like I was living someone else’s life.” North Korea agrees to warn of activity hazardous to aviation: U.N. agency Reuters5/10/18 North Korea has agreed not to engage in activities hazardous to aviation without advanced notice, a U.N. aviation agency official said on Thursday, an assurance that could lead to major airlines resuming flights through its airspace. MIDDLE EAST US sanctions Iran currency network after Trump pulls out of nuclear deal CNBC5/10/18 The U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on Thursday against six individuals and three companies it said had funneled millions of dollars to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s elite Qods Force, just days after President Donald Trump withdrew from the landmark 2015 Iran nuclear deal. U.S. Raises Pressure on Iran With Sanctions on Currency Exchange Wall Street Journal5/11/18 In first action since pulling out of nuclear deal, Treasury accuses Iran’s central bank of being complicit in funneling dollars to elite military unit As Nuclear Sanctions Loom, ‘Normal Life’ Is Elusive for Iranians New York Times5/10/18 Iranians were thrown into another corkscrew when Mr. Trump pulled out of the agreement, which many here had hoped would give them peace of mind and prosperity. American sanctions will make it hard to revive the Iranian nuclear deal The Economist5/12/18 Europe braces itself for secondary sanctions Pelosi Wrongly Says China and Russia Never Agreed to Sanctions Before Iran Deal New York Times5/10/18 Representative Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leader, ignored at least four previous instances when those nations did support international sanctions against Iran. Trump’s rejection of Iran nuclear deal may be Israel’s dream moment The Guardian5/10/18 Israel’s heaviest strikes against Iranian targets in Syria, in response to apparent missile attacks on the occupied Golan Heights, reveal how much has been uncorked by Donald Trump’s decision to quit the Iran nuclear deal this week. The world is nervously watching as the gloves come off between Iran and Israel CNN5/11/18 Israel says that it’s done with strikes on Iran — for now. France fears an escalation. Iran has its finger on the trigger. But, really, it’s Russian President Vladimir Putin who sits in the hot seat. RUSSIA/FSU/EUROPE Germany, Russian foreign ministers call for Iran deal to be upheld Reuters5/10/18 The foreign ministers of Germany and Russia said on Thursday they were working to preserve the Iran nuclear deal after U.S. President Donald Trump announced Washington would leave it and ordered sanctions reimposed on Tehran. Lawmakers takes step toward nullifying nuclear arms treaty with Russia Washington Post5/10/18 The House Armed Services Committee has moved to nullify a 30-year-old nuclear arms control treaty with Russia, endorsing a measure that would entrust President Trump to decide whether the United States should scrap the deal. U.S. NUCLEAR POLICY Dems: Trump scrapping Iran deal sets new bar for North Korea talks The Hill5/10/18 Democrats say President Trump’s decision to scrap the Iran nuclear deal sets a high bar for ensuring denuclearization — a standard they plan to hold him to ahead of his planned talks with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un next month. Public Supports U.S. Talks With North Korea; Many Doubt Whether Its Leaders Are ‘Serious’ Pew Research Center5/10/18 Americans overwhelmingly support direct talks between the United States and North Korea over its nuclear program. About seven-in-ten (71%) approve of these talks, while just 21% disapprove. However, the public is skeptical about whether North Korea’s leaders are serious about addressing concerns over its nuclear program. House votes to advance Yucca Mountain nuclear waste project The Hill5/10/18 The House passed a bill Thursday that seeks to move forward a process toward building the Yucca Mountain facility in Nevada that would store the nation’s radioactive nuclear waste. OPINION AND ANALYSIS Can Europe save the JCPOA? Bulletin of the Atomic ScientistsIan Stewart 5/10/18 Some have argued that the European states might be able to save the JCPOA but that it looks unlikely that they will be able to do so. Ultimately, it is for Iran to decide whether to accept the agreement with more limited benefits or to withdraw—a move that could put the US on the path to war. Why Netanyahu Really Wanted Trump to Scuttle the Iran Deal The New Yorker5/10/18 The withdrawal is a part of a larger story, possibly a larger strategy, which began with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s surprise presentation at the Defense Ministry, in Tel Aviv, on April 30th. Scrapping the Iran deal won’t do anyone any good The Economist5/12/18 Donald Trump is acting on a wish built on a hunch Europe Doesn’t Have to Be Trump’s Doormat New York TimesSteven Simon and Jonathan Stevenson 5/10/18 Notwithstanding an abundance of kvetching, European powers have not yet shown Mr. Trump that he has anything to fear from ignoring their wishes. Tell us how this ends Washington PostDavid Ignatius 5/10/18 So what’s next with Iran? Even if you think President Trump has made a big mistake in withdrawing from the nuclear agreement, as I do, that’s not the end of the story. Where does this bumpy road lead? Here’s What to Expect Now That Trump Has Withdrawn From the Iran Nuclear Deal Foreign PolicyRichard Nephew and Ilan Goldenberg 5/9/18 The United States will be worse off once the smoke clears. The terrifying step Trump better not take on North Korea CNNYJ Fischer 5/10/18 Even as he scorns “a horrible, one-sided deal that should have never, ever been made,” he appears prepared to offer North Korea a concession that would be far more damaging than anything President Barack Obama even contemplated offering Iran: removing the roughly 28,500 US troops stationed in South Korea. The Stars of North Korea Talks Revolve Around Moon Foreign PolicyEmily Tamkin and Dan De Luce 5/10/18 For all Trump’s talk of fire and fury, the North Koreans wouldn’t have come to the negotiating table without South Korea’s pragmatic president.