Iran
Iranians protesting soaring food prices launched a spontaneous three-day boycott of milk and bread purchases, in a sign that growing economic hardship could lead to more civil disobedience. – Wall Street Journal
A sharp fall in oil prices is helping the U.S. and the European Union clamp down on Iranian oil exports in the coming days with less fear that the sanctions will spark a price rise that would harm the global economy. – Wall Street Journal (subscription required)
South Korea said Tuesday it will stop importing Iranian crude oil indefinitely as of July 1 after the European Union confirmed it will impose sanctions that will cut off insurance services for shipments carrying crude from Iran. – Wall Street Journal (subscription required)
Russia, Iran’s main remaining big-power friend, was disappointed in the results of multilateral talks with the Islamic Republic in Moscow last week. It had expected movement towards a compromise on disputed Iranian nuclear work that would have allowed the high-level negotiation to continue, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said. – AOL Defense
With the computer virus Stuxnet, which was designed to infiltrate and destroy Iran’s nuclear centrifuges, reportedly no longer operating as of midnight Sunday, Tehran is declaring that the cyber effort “failed” to derail its nuclear program. – DEFCON Hill
India has allowed state refiners to import Iranian oil, with Tehran arranging shipping and insurance, from July 1, keeping purchases of over 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) flowing after European sanctions hit insurance for the cargoes, government and industry sources said. – Reuters
Iran’s ambassador to Azerbaijan, withdrawn last month in protest at Baku’s hosting of the Eurovision Song Contest, has returned to his post in a sign of easing tension between the Caspian Sea neighbors. – Reuters
Mark Katz writes: [A]ny expectation that exists in Washington that Moscow can be persuaded to make a meaningful contribution either to inducing Tehran to cooperate on the nuclear issue or punish it for not doing so is simply misplaced. – The Diplomat
Syria
NATO on Tuesday condemned the downing of a Turkish jet by Syria as “completely unacceptable,” and Turkey put Syria on notice that it would retaliate for any future violations along its border. – Washington Post
As the crisis in Syria threatened to spill beyond its borders, Turkey sought support on Tuesday from its partners in the NATO alliance at an emergency meeting of envoys in Brussels called after Syria shot down a Turkish warplane over the Mediterranean Sea. – New York Times
Syria and Turkey are providing sharply conflicting accounts of the shoot-down of a Turkish F-4 Phantom fighter jet, with Turkey saying the plane was in international airspace, 13 miles from the Syrian coast when it was hit by a missile, and Syria saying it was in Syrian airspace, around a mile from the coast, when it was brought down by anti-aircraft machine gun fire. – Washington Post
Syria’s armed forces have been slowly bleeding defectors and deserters since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began 16 months ago. But now the military arrivals reaching Syria’s neighbors are more likely than ever to have stars on their epaulets. – New York Times
Gunmen threw up roadblocks, burned tires and fired into the air in downtown Beirut in the predawn hours of Tuesday morning, while in the eastern suburb of Jounieh, a land mine and grenades were found on the grounds of a hospital. – New York Times
The onetime ragtag militias of the Syrian opposition are developing into a more effective fighting force with the help of an increasingly sophisticated network of activists here in southern Turkey that is smuggling crucial supplies across the border, including weapons, communications gear, field hospitals and even salaries for soldiers who defect. – New York Times
Syria’s downing of a Turkish fighter-bomber has the feel of a turning point that could drag Western powers into a conflict that is spiraling out of control…But for all the hard talk, the prospect of Western military intervention in Syria remains remote, at best. – Associated Press
State forces and rebels were locked in heavy fighting in several areas outside Damascus on Tuesday, activists said, in the worst violence to hit the suburbs of the Syrian capital since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began 16 months ago. – Reuters
A top U.N. human rights investigator has been holding talks in Damascus with senior Syrian officials to pave the way for an investigation into atrocities in the country, U.N. and diplomatic sources said on Monday. – Reuters
Egypt
President-elect Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood on Monday toured his new office in a presidential palace once occupied by Hosni Mubarak, taking a break from the power struggle with Egypt’s ruling generals to savor, for a moment at least, his electoral victory. – New York Times
U.S. officials and analysts express guarded optimism that Washington can build a strong working relationship with the veteran Muslim Brotherhood politician, whose victory was confirmed Sunday. Morsi and his aides say that they, too, are upbeat about the future of Egypt’s relationship with the United States, though not without caveats. – Washington Post
Standard & Poor’s placed its rating of Egypt’s long-term debt on watch for possible downgrade, citing an uncertain political transition following the recent election results. – Wall Street Journal (subscription required)
The White House defended its support of the newly elected Egyptian president amid Republican criticism Monday, saying he will be judged by his actions, not religion. – DEFCON Hill
Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) over the weekend said the United States should cut off foreign aid to Egypt and denounce the results of the country’s presidential election. – The Hill’s Blog Briefing Room
Egypt’s new Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated president likely will implement a foreign policy that is more independent—and less in line with U.S. whims, experts say. – DOTMIL
Egypt’s new president has a window of opportunity to pull the economy from the brink of disaster, but he will have to chart a careful path to convince a host of deeply skeptical players at home and abroad that his is a government they can trust. – Reuters
An Iranian news agency said Egypt’s Islamist President-elect Mohamed Mursi had voiced interest in restoring long-severed ties with Tehran to create a strategic “balance” in the region, but a Mursi aide denied the interview ever took place. – Reuters
Fouad Ajami writes: Many are eager to rebuke this Egyptian interlude. Those who had given the reign of Hosni Mubarak three decades of indulgence are unwilling to see in the last 18 months the birth pangs of a democratic possibility. They forget or ignore even recent history, how the Egyptian people had abandoned politics and all but given up on their country. A new hope has arisen in that weary country. Are Egyptians not entitled to a decent interval before we consign them, yet again, to a despotic fate? – Wall Street Journal (subscription required)
Kori Schake writes: Egypt’s transition is disconcertingly messy. Both the process and the victors raise a serious question about how worried Americans should be about Egyptians’ commitment to democracy. But with the advocates of representative government is still where we should place our bets, and offer our assistance. – Shadow Government
Gulf States
Kuwait’s cabinet submitted its resignation to the Gulf state’s ruler on Monday in a move some parliamentarians believe could be a first step out of the latest crisis that has stalled legislation and blocked reforms in the major oil producer. – Reuters
Oman is investigating reports that members of al Qaeda fleeing a U.S.-backed army offensive in neighboring Yemen have crossed into Omani territory, a local newspaper reported on Tuesday. – Reuters
Editorial: Strict interpretations of Islamic law and deeply rooted traditions, including rigorous separation of men and women, have stifled the rights of women for a long time. It is hardly sufficient for Saudi Arabia to announce that women can participate, just weeks before the London games open, while it continues to deny them basic rights at home. The true spirit of the Olympic movement dictates that in athletics, and in all of society, the kingdom needs to do more. – Washington Post
Dov Zakheim writes: With so much turmoil in the region, the smooth Saudi transition is to be welcomed. Hopefully when the time for another such transition takes place, it will be equally smooth. – Shadow Government
Yemen
FPI Executive Director Jamie Fly signed an open letter organized by POMED and the Atlantic Council that reads, in part: “The US should fundamentally shift its approach beyond the narrow focus on counterterrorism and should clearly articulate that it seeks to advance Yemen’s social, economic, and political development. The US should recalibrate its economic and governance assistance so that it represents a greater proportion of overall assistance compared with military and security assistance. The US needs to ensure that its focus is on achieving long-term goals, not only short-term objectives.” – Open Letter
North Africa
The release by NATO of a list of unexploded munitions from the alliance’s military action in Libya has been both welcomed as a step toward postconflict accountability and criticized as a half-measure that falls short of protecting civilians and specialists trying to rid the country of its hazards. – New York Times
The extradition of Libya’s former prime minister from Tunis on Sunday has raised concern about his safety and created a rift between Tunisia’s Islamist prime minister and its liberal president. – Washington Times
Sudan’s finance minister said on Monday the government would stick to its decision to cut fuel subsidies despite more than a week of anti-austerity protests in Khartoum and other cities. – Reuters
Iraq
Cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, head of a powerful Shi’ite movement in Iraq, on Sunday called for more political reforms, saying he would back a no-confidence vote against the prime minister if they were not made. – Reuters
Nine young soccer players and fans were killed when a bomb exploded near a pitch in southern Iraq, health officials said, in the latest of a wave of attacks raising fears of a return to widespread sectarian violence. – Reuters
Israel
President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia conferred with Israeli leaders on Monday during a 24-hour visit that juxtaposed the much improved ties between the countries with their sharp differences, chief among them the Iranian nuclear program. – New York Times
Israel fears that the victory of Islamist Mohammed Morsi in Egypt’s presidential election is likely to erode the already delicate ties between the two countries, testing one of the Middle East’s important strategic links. – Wall Street Journal (subscription required)
The moving trucks arrived here Tuesday morning while the men were in the middle of morning prayers, their heads covered by prayer shawls, and so began the first peaceful evacuation of a Jewish settlement from the occupied territories in memory. – New York Times
Afghanistan
Insurgent attacks in Afghanistan rose in April and May, the U.S.-led coalition reported, indicating a Taliban comeback after months of declining activity. – Wall Street Journal (subscription required)
U.S. Marines at Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan, recently transferred more than $85,000 worth of consumable medical supplies to the Afghan National Army. – Defense News
It is here and in other eastern Afghanistan provinces where the Taliban and assorted militants coming in from Pakistan are making a stand in safe havens, and it is here that the U.S. military hopes to dislodge the remainder of an insurgency that threatens to derail plans for a U.S. withdrawal. So far their efforts have brought some successes, soldiers here say, though militant bombings are an everyday reality and training for an eventual turnover to Afghan security forces is far from complete. – USA Today
As President Obama considered adding as many as 40,000 U.S. forces to a backsliding war in Afghanistan in 2009, Vice President Joe Biden warned him that the military rationale for doing so was flawed, a new book about Obama’s expansion of the conflict says. – Associated Press
South Asia
A relatively rare cross-border raid into Pakistan by Afghan-based Taliban militants killed at least 13 Pakistani soldiers, the military said Monday. – New York Times
Police said Monday that they have arrested an Indian man suspected of playing a key role in directing the Pakistani militants who launched a series of deadly attacks in Mumbai in 2008 that killed 166 people, including six Americans. – Washington Post
After decades of war, Kashmir is blooming again. Hotels are bursting, roads are being fixed and offices rebuilt. But with the guns silenced, India must soon decide whether justice will be as welcome as the tourists. – New York Times
East Asia
Japan’s new defense minister said the government is preparing to enhance its air and sea defense capabilities to protect islands and waters in the nation’s southwest, part of the broad swath of the western Pacific where China has increased its maritime activities in recent years. – Wall Street Journal (subscription required)
The nine people selected later this year as China’s top leaders will largely determine if, and how much, the country’s authoritarian political system yields to demands for change. And pushing them from the bottom will be a growing grass-roots army of bloggers, microbloggers and on-line activists who are demanding more accountability and gradually pressing the boundaries of freedom in this tightly controlled Communist-ruled country. – Washington Post
Hong Kong’s next leader Leung Chun-ying, already fighting political opponents over his plans to restructure the government, now faces tough new questions from lawmakers on his credibility after his luxury home recently was found to contain illegal structures, contradicting comments made during his campaign. – Wall Street Journal (subscription required)
Taiwan and the U.S. are expected to sign a military contract next month as part of the $5.8 billion arms sales that had irked rival China, media reported June 25. – AFP
Hugo Restall writes: Leung Chun-ying will be sworn in as Hong Kong’s chief executive in five days, and Beijing’s Central Government Liaison Office is pressuring community leaders to support the incoming government. In coming years the Post’s accelerating decline and the community’s response will be one of the key indicators of whether Hong Kong’s core values are eroding. – Wall Street Journal Asia (subscription required)
North Korea
Prospects for resuming multilateral talks over North Korea’s nuclear weapons are not “bright,” says South Korea’s top negotiator, offering a gloomy assessment of the North’s behavior in the wake of its recent leadership change. – Washington Times
North Korea on Sunday renewed its threat to bolster its nuclear force, as South Korea and the United States carried out a set of military exercises against their longtime foe, Agence France-Presse reported – Global Security Newswire
For North Koreans, the systematic indoctrination of anti-Americanism starts as early as kindergarten and is as much a part of the curriculum as learning to count. – Associated Press
Michael Mazza writes: Last Tuesday, U.S. Congressman Hank Johnson and his adviser Jonathan Ossoff criticized what they described as a “dangerous provision” in this year’s house version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The provision, which calls for the Obama administration to consider deploying additional conventional and nuclear forces to the Western Pacific, isn’t nearly as “dangerous” as Johnson and Ossoff make it out to be. It is, instead, a reasonable effort to pursue U.S. policy goals in Northeast Asia. – The Diplomat
Southeast Asia
Plans for the U.S. government to expand its use of a Thai military airbase have created a stir in Thailand, with domestic politics likely playing a significant role in the controversy, according to a Thailand security expert. – WSJ’s Southeast Asia Real Time
Chinese authorities have forced back into Myanmar some ethnic Kachin refugees who have fled across the border to escape civil war, and China is denying basic care to many who remain, a human rights group said on Tuesday. – Reuters
Malaysia’s government will address allegations on Tuesday over its purchase of two French submarines, responding to a scandal that threatens to tarnish Prime Minister Najib Razak ahead of elections he is expected to call later this year. – Reuters
Max Boot writes: No one is suggesting that either the Philippine or U.S. navies should have opened fire over the Scarborough Shoal dispute. But it is a sad day when Palau (population 20,000) is more assertive in standing up to Chinese aggression than the United States of America. The nations of Asia are watching carefully and making their calculations accordingly. In their eyes, the U.S. just became a less reliable friend. – Wall Street Journal (subscription required)
Russia
Russia fired back Monday after the United States put it on a watch list for human trafficking for the ninth year in a row, saying the American government’s report was biased and driven by politics. – LA Times’ World Now
A prominent international investor who has been instrumental in the push for human-rights legislation related to Russia is exhorting lawmakers to stand their ground against White House and business efforts to weaken the bill. – The Hill’s On the Money
Russian strategic nuclear bombers threatened U.S. airspace near Alaska earlier this month and F-15 jets responded by intercepting the aircraft taking part in large-scale arctic war games, according to defense officials. – Washington Free Beacon
Ukraine
Jailed Ukrainian opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko on Tuesday sought to have her conviction for alleged abuse-of-office overturned even as authorities readied other serious charges against her. – Reuters
A Ukrainian court on Tuesday adjourned hearings to July 12 into former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko’s appeal against the verdict and seven-year prison sentence handed down to her last October on abuse-of-office charges. – Reuters
United States of America
The director of national intelligence on Monday instituted a series of new policies aimed at deterring leaks and detecting those who provide classified information to the news media without proper authorization. – Washington Post
A Washington-based foundation has canceled a meeting with Syria’s top Islamic cleric, a close ally of embattled President Bashar Assad who has vowed to unleash suicide bombers against the U.S. and Europe if the West attacks his country. – Washington Times
Defense Department officials are under a Justice Department order to preserve all e-mails and documents that may be related to the ongoing investigation into leaks to the news media of national security information, a senior Pentagon official confirmed Monday. – CNN’s Security Clearance
Paraguay
Paraguay’s ousted president, Fernando Lugo, lashed out on Monday at the political establishment that removed him from office after a hastily arranged trial, saying he would forge a popular movement aimed at regaining power. – New York Times
The governments of South America have united to punish Paraguay for removing President Fernando Lugo on Friday, suspending the country’s membership in regional organizations for what some leaders are calling a coup. – LA Times’ World Now
East Africa
Uganda has arrested five Pakistanis suspected of militant links, police said on Tuesday, two weeks before the second anniversary of a bombing attack in Kampala for which Somali Islamist rebel group al Shaabab claimed responsibility. – Reuters
Nearly 900 South Sudanese died during a burst of violence between rival cattle herding tribes in late 2011 and early 2012, the United Nations said on Monday, criticizing the newly formed state’s army for failing to protect civilians. – Reuters
Southern Africa
A group of legislators in Zimbabwe had themselves circumcised last week to set a good example for the country, most in an impromptu surgical theater in a tent in Parliament House. – New York Times
South Africa’s economy is still mostly under the control of whites who held power under apartheid and the government needs to take more drastic steps to make sure the black majority can benefit from its wealth, President Jacob Zuma said on Tuesday. – Reuters
