Subject: Morning Brief: Obama Sends Secret Letter to Iran Supreme Leader
From: "Foreign Policy" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 7 Nov 2014 09:15:55 -0500 (EST)

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MORNING BRIEF

Today's Global News from Foreign Policy <http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71yvwj.2i2q/UlMc6uYQJxFs8sWzF6ea0>

TOP NEWS

Obama Sends Secret Letter to Iran Supreme Leader

Obama Sends Secret Letter to Iran Supreme Leader

 <p>  <b>Top News:</b> The Wall Street Journal <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71yvwj.2i2q/VFzS1sPoxNH4A7JlA0780 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">reported</a>  on Thursday that President Obama wrote a secret letter to Ayatollah Ali  Khamenei, Iran's Supreme Leader, concerning the fight against the Islamic State  (IS) and the ongoing nuclear negotiations with Tehran. Sent in mid-October, the  letter emphasized that Iran's ability to strike a comprehensive agreement on  its nuclear program by Nov. 24 was a necessary precondition to any military cooperation  in taking on IS. The letter, at least Obama's  fourth to Khamenei since he taking office in 2009, also reportedly assured  Khamenei that the United States' ongoing air campaign against IS targets in  Syria would not extend to positions held by President Bashar al-Assad, an ally  of Iran.   </p><br><p>  Obama's overture to Iran would seem to acknowledge its centrality in  any serious effort to contain or limit IS: Tehran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has already sent  military advisors to aid Iraqi forces. While Obama's letter did not propose  outright military coordination between Iran and the United States, a source  familiar with its contents <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71yvwj.2i2q/VFzS1sPoxNH4A7JmA2127 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">told  Foreign Policy</a> on Thursday that such a possibility was  strongly implied.  </p><br><p>  After the Journal story went  live, White House spokesman Joshua Earnest was quick to respond that U.S.  policy towards Iran <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71yvwj.2i2q/VFzS1sPoxNH4A7JnA1fa7 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">"remains  unchanged"</a> and that the United States has no plans to cooperate militarily  or share intelligence with Iran.  </p><br><p>  It remains to be seen how the United States' key regional allies,  Israel and Saudi Arabia among them, will respond to being kept in the dark  about the letter. It is also unclear how the  chances of a nuclear deal will be impacted by the results of this week's  midterm elections, which saw Republicans -- may of whom are hostile to a deal  with Tehran -- take control of the U.S. Senate.   </p><br><p>  <b>German rail  strike: </b>Late on Thursday in Frankfurt, German labor court Judge Ursula Schmidt  ruled that the ongoing nationwide rail worker <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71yvwj.2i2q/VFzS1sPoxNH4A7JoA9244 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">strike  is not illegal</a>. The decision goes against the state-owned rail operator  Deutsche Bahn, and will likely present a major obstacle to Germans headed to  celebrations for the <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71yvwj.2i2q/VFty7MPohQdh1YqnAf4b6 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">25th  anniversary</a> of the fall of the Berlin Wall. "Strikes  have major impacts and cause major damage . . . But that's what strikes are all  about," Schmidt said after deliberating for six hours. Deutsche Bahn is  expected to appeal Schmidt's decision.  </p><br><p>  Negotiations over pay and fairer work hours will stretch  on through the weekend, meaning that Deutsche Bahn's 196,000 workers,  represented the 20,000-member GDL union, will continue to stay at  home. The four-day strike will now become the longest in the German history  since World War II. Economists estimate that a strike of over three days would  have cost Germany some $126 million a day, and Chancellor Angela Merkel has  urged the workers to reach an agreement soon.  </p><br> 
 
  Africa  

<ul><p> &bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;Just as Libya's Supreme Court declared its <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71yvwj.2i2q/VFzS1sPoxNH4A7JpAc67a style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">parliament   unconstitutional</a>, U.S. officials said on Thursday that they are considering   <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71yvwj.2i2q/VFzS1sPoxNH4A7JqAa8fd style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">bringing   sanctions</a> against the country's warring factions to prevent its ongoing   conflict from sliding into civil war. </p><br>   <p> &bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;Doctors at a meeting of the World Health Organization's   ethics working group said that scientists conducting randomized and controlled trials   of experimental Ebola drugs should not be forced to <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71yvwj.2i2q/VFzS1sPoxNH4A7JrAf678 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">withhold   treatment</a> from some patients, contrary to customary practice for such   research.&nbsp;&nbsp; </p><br>   <p> &bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;South Africa's capital city of Pretoria may   begin <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71yvwj.2i2q/VFzS1sPoxNH4A7JsA519f style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">cutting   off electricity</a> to some one million people, due to $583 million in unpaid   power bills. </p><br>  </ul>     
  Asia  

<ul><p> &bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;Indian   Prime Minister Narendra Modi has named <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71yvwj.2i2q/VFzS1sPoxNH4A7JtAe276 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Manohar   Parrikar</a>, the 58-year chief minister of Goa, to replace Arun Jaitley as   defense minister.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </p><br>   <p> &bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;Brazilian   mining giant Vale will open a <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71yvwj.2i2q/VFzS1sPoxNH4A7JuA5e50 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">$1.4   billion port terminal</a> in Malaysia's Strait of Malacca to both trim the cost   of selling iron ore to Asian markets and shore up its competitive position against   rivals BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto.</p><br>   <p> &bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;China and   Japan <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71yvwj.2i2q/VFzS18PoxNH4A7JvAc05d style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">struck   an agreement on Friday</a> to improve relations and set aside long-standing   territorial disputes, clearing the air ahead of next week's Asian-Pacific   summit.</p><br>  </ul>     
  Americas  

<ul><p> &bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;The   Pentagon disclosed on Thursday that it failed to <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71yvwj.2i2q/VFzS18PoxNH4A7JwA28b8 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">treat   and respond</a> to the over 600 cases of chemical weapons-exposure reported by   American service members in Iraq since 2003.</p><br>   <p> &bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;The U.S.   Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71yvwj.2i2q/VFzS18PoxNH4A7JxA9829 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">upheld   bans on same-sex marriage</a> in Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, and Kentucky on   Thursday, likely forcing the Supreme Court to take up the issue.</p><br>   <p> &bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;Robert   O'Neill, a highly decorated former SEAL Team 6 member, publicly confirmed in an   interview with the Washington Post   that he is <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71yvwj.2i2q/VFzS18PoxNH4A7JyAbe56 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">the   man who killed Osama bin Laden</a>.</p><br>  </ul>     
  Europe  

<ul><p> &bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;European   Central Bank President Mario Draghi signaled on Friday that he may introduce <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71yvwj.2i2q/VFzS18PoxNH4A7JzA3672 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">additional   economic stimulus</a> measures by approving the purchase of some $1.2 trillion   worth of bonds in December.</p><br>   <p> &bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;Plagued by   record-low approval ratings, French President Francois Hollande made a   live, one-and-a-half hour television appearance on Thursday to announce that he   would introduce <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71yvwj.2i2q/VFzS18PoxNH4A7J0Add61 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">no   new taxes</a> next year and would not run for re-election in 2017 if he failed   to curb the current 10 percent unemployment rate.</p><br>   <p> &bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;Former Luxembourg finance minister-turned   European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker faced <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71yvwj.2i2q/VFzS18PoxNH4A7J1Aaed5 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">a   torrent of questions and accusations</a> on Thursday after the Guardian newspaper published a <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71yvwj.2i2q/VFzS18PoxNH4A7J2A5ef1 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">massive   investigation</a> into the country's history as a corporate tax haven.</p><br>  </ul>     
  Middle East  

<ul><p> &bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kurdish   peshmerga fighters have made progress one week into their campaign against IS   forces in control of the <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71yvwj.2i2q/VFzS18PoxNH4A7J3Af85e style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Syrian   border city of Kobani</a>, but are far from taking it back.</p><br>   <p> &bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;Unidentified attackers <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71yvwj.2i2q/VFzS18PoxNH4A7J4A29c9 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">bombed   the homes and vehicles</a> of several Fatah officials in Gaza on Friday, just   four days before the tenth anniversary of the death of former Palestinian   President Yasir Arafat.</p><br>   <p> &bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;In an interview set to air on the   France-based Euronews on Friday, Iran human rights chief Mohammed Javad Larijani said that detained Washington   Post reporter Jason Rezaian may be released in <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71yvwj.2i2q/VFzIMEmOi99hlMwiA27e2 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">less   than a month</a>.</p><br>  </ul>     
- By Siddhartha Mahanta 

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