Tuesday July 2, 2019 Newsletter Content  FACEBOOK | TWITTER | LINKEDIN  www.thecipherbrief.com

Expert Brief: Iran Strikes Back Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif confirmed Monday that Tehran has violated the limits imposed on uranium enrichment that were a key part of the 2015 nuclear deal.  The U.S. withdrew its support for the deal last year.  The Trump Administration on Monday responded to the confirmation of increased uranium enrichment, vowing ‘maximum pressure on the Iranian regime”.  A statement from the White House press secretary said “We must restore the longstanding nonproliferation standard of no enrichment for Iran.  The United States and its allies will never allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons.” Experts who have followed escalating tensions between Iran and the U.S. over the past several weeks have looked at the likelihood of retaliation and what form it might take. The Cipher Brief asked our new expert, Lieutenant General Vincent Stewart (Ret.), who just retired as Deputy Commander of U.S. Cyber Command, for his thoughts. Read the rest of 'Iran Strikes Back' here... ICYMI: Twitter Diplomacy and North Korea The significant weekend visit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un started with a Tweet last Thursday as President Trump was getting ready to depart the G20 conference in Osaka, Japan. “After some very important meetings, including my meeting with President Xi of China, I will be leaving Japan for South Korea (with President Moon.) While there, if Chairman Kim of North Korea sees this, I would meet him at the Border/DMZ just to shake his hand and say Hello(?)!” The impromptu meeting served as the first time a sitting U.S. President has crossed the DMZ and stepped foot into North Korea.  Now experts are asking whether it was a fantastic weekend photo op, or whether the meeting may in fact lead to the re-establishment of serious talks, as the President said it would.   The Cipher Brief tapped expert Ambassador Joseph DeTrani, who formerly served as Special envoy for Six Party Talks with North Korea and as the U.S. Special Representative to the Korea Energy Development Organization for his take on the meaning of the President’s weekend visit. Read the full piece here...