Last week, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi attended the funeral procession of Iran's supreme leader. This week, he shook hands in the Oval Office with the man who had him killed. Why it matters: Like every Iraqi prime minister in the last two decades, Zaidi has to conduct a delicate balancing act between strategic relations with Washington and Tehran. When both sides are shooting at each other, it's much harder. - Zaidi's meeting Tuesday with President Trump was seen by the White House as a big win for the administration. U.S. envoy to Iraq Tom Barrack had been working to secure Zaidi's visit for several weeks as a signal that the new Iraqi government is moving toward the U.S. and distancing itself from Iran. Driving the news: The…
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman pressed President Trump earlier to cripple Iran. But as Iran asserted its power, the prince urged a cease-fire, and is now pursuing his security priorities.
The trigger for President Trump's strikes on Iran was the downing of a U.S. helicopter, but behind the scenes Trump had been growing more and more frustrated over nearly two weeks of waiting for an Iranian response to his latest offer that still has not arrived. Why it matters: The strikes on Tuesday evening were intended to restore some leverage, but be calibrated such that no one would be killed and the possibility of a deal would not be foreclosed, a senior U.S. official told Axios. - At the same time, Qatari mediators were holding talks in Tehran in hopes of getting the negotiations back on track and closing the remaining gaps. - As the Qataris and Iranians met on Wednesday, Trump made new threats. "We're going to hit them again…
Iraq's Kurds are caught in a three-way vice in the cross-border Iran War: - They think President Trump's messaging isn't clear about regime change next door in Iran. - They're under pressure to open the border from Iranian Kurds, who want to fight the regime. - And Tehran's military Friday threatened the Iraqi Kurds if they allow those Iranian Kurds to plan an attack. Why it matters: The Iranian warning —the first of its kind issued to Iraq's Kurds across the border— threatens to widen the war. Iraqi Kurds want to avoid that. - "The Kurds must not be the tip of the spear in this conflict," a senior Iraqi Kurdish government official told Axios. Zoom in: Iraq's Kurdish government, which rules a semiautonomous region in the north of…
President Trump presented on Sunday his case for going to war with Iran and toppling the current regime — and warned more U.S. soldiers will likely die before the operation ends. Why it matters: Trump is publicly bracing the country for a sustained, costly military campaign , a sign America has entered an open-ended war with a rising human cost . - Trump touted the elimination of Iran's supreme leader , Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and framed the war as the only way to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear-armed terrorist state. Driving the news: Trump spoke hours after the U.S. military announced three U.S. service members were killed and five wounded in the fighting. - "Sadly, there will likely be more before it ends," the president…
Original interview by Washington Watch With Tony Perkins
Christopher Holton, Senior Analyst at the Center for Security Policy, reviews the U.S.-Iran negotiations as the American military build-up continues in the Middle East and previews Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s upcoming trip to Israel.Open
The top U.S. military commander in the Middle East briefed President Trump on Thursday about the options for military action against Iran, according to a U.S. official and a source with knowledge of the meeting. Why it matters: This was the first time the commander of the U.S. military Central Command Adm. Brad Cooper briefed Trump since the beginning of the crisis with Iran last December. - Trump has order a massive U.S. military build up in the Middle East and he is considering ordering a military campaign against Iran. Behind the scenes: Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine also attended the briefing, the U.S. official said. - ABC News first reported on the briefing. Driving the news: Cooper and Caine briefed Trump while the third…
Havana Docks Corporation v. Royal Caribbean Cruises and Exxon Mobil v. Corporacion Cimex challenged laws that allowed U.S. citizens to bring lawsuits against anyone who trafficked in property that was confiscated by the Cuban government on or after Jan. 1, 1959.
Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman (KBS) said in a private briefing on Friday in Washington that if President Trump doesn't follow through on his threats against Iran , the regime will end up stronger, four sources in the room tell Axios. Why it matters: This is a reversal from the public Saudi talking points cautioning against escalation and from the deep concern Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) expressed to Trump three weeks ago. That warning was one reason Trump decided to delay a strike. Catch up quick: KBS, the crown prince's younger brother and closest confidant, was visiting Washington for meetings on Iran as the region braces for U.S. military action, and a response Tehran has vowed would be "unprecedented" in…