Today's Headlines and Commentary

The battle over the Iran deal begins. And yesterday, President Barack Obama came out swinging, suggesting the only real alternative to a nuclear deal was military conflict. During a 60-minute and surprisingly spritely news conference, Obama said: “Without a deal, we risk even more war in the Middle East.” He encouraged Congress to evaluate the deal based on facts, rather than politics and to explain specific concerns and propose viable alternatives. He went on to say that, “We’ve got a historic chance to pursue a safer and more secure world, an opportunity that may not come again in our lifetimes.”

President Obama has a lot on his plate over the next 60 days as his administration attempts to win over critics and opponents of the deal, both domestic and international. While the the agreement is “expected to win enough votes to sustain a veto of any legislation rejecting the deal,” President Obama’s aim “over the next two months is to persuade enough Democrats to support the accord so that he can paint opponents as driven by politics rather than diplomacy.” The Times has the story.

Meanwhile, National Security Adviser Susan Rice sat down for a full interview with Reuters, in which she outlined a strident defense of the deal, noting that Iran will ship its uranium stockpile to Russia, that inspectors will have access to the entire supply chain of Iran’s nuclear program, and exactly how the Joint Commission will determine whether Iran is in violation.

Yesterday, Vice President Joe Biden pitched the deal to skeptical House Democrats. DefenseOne notes that “Biden’s appearance was part of a multifaceted Obama administration lobbying effort.” Following the Vice President’s address, Congressman Steve Israel (D-NY) said, “The vice president made as convincing an argument as he can make, but I think there’s still a lot of questions to be answered. I’ve been skeptical from the beginning of this. I’m still skeptical. … He did as good a job as he could do under that circumstances.”

U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter will head out to sell the Iran deal internationally, stopping in both Saudi Arabia and Israel. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has embarked on a U.S. media blitz in an effort to explain to the American people why Israel believe this is a “bad, bad deal.” The New York Times informs us that Obama called Netanyahu on Tuesday and offered to help Israel bolster defenses with increased military aid. However, Netanyahu refused to speak on the subject “at this juncture,” citing the agreement as a “historic mistake.”

A U.N. Security Council (UNSC) Resolution that circulated yesterday would allow any permanent member of the UNSC to use its veto to restore U.N. sanctions on Iran if Tehran is seen to be violating the nuclear deal. In the meantime, though, most U.N. sanctions on Iran will be lifted over the next decade. The Wall Street Journal has the story.

David Frum of the Atlantic considers what the next U.S. President can do with the Iran Deal. He concludes America has surrendered much of its leverage over Iran and “the next president will have fewer and worse options, because the most effective sanctions against Iran will have been suspended in a way that is very difficult to reimpose.” The next president may instead try to patch up diplomatic consequences of the deal, such as rifts with Israel and the Gulf states.

The deal is done, but what did it take to get there? The Washington Post provides a rare look behind closed doors at the emotions, tempers and personalities cooped up in a hotel room during the 17-day marathon talks that led up to the final agreement.

The Journal explains that Iran’s sway has increasingly been undermined by the growing Sunni-Shiite split. Once considered the symbol of opposition to Israel and the West, many Sunni countries in the region perceive Iran now as the biggest threat of all, while the Islamic State is more focused on the destruction of Iran than of America. Most of its surrounding neighbors view Iran in a negative light. A former chief nuclear negotiator with Iran says Iran is not seen “by the Arab world as a revolutionary Muslim power. They are seen as a Shiite power. The Iranians are in danger of overplaying their hand here, and they have united the moderate Arabs against them.”

New WikiLeaks documents reveal just how deep the Saudi obsession with Iran truly is, the New York Times tells us. Saudi Arabia is worried that relief from sanctions will give Iran more money to build up its military capabilities and proxies such as Hezbollah. The kingdom has poured billions of dollar of oil revenue into initiatives such as “putting foreign preachers on the Saudi payroll; building mosques, schools and study centers; and undermining foreign officials and news media deemed threatening to the kingdom’s agenda.”

Elsewhere in the region, the Israeli air force targeted “terror infrastructure” in the Gaza Strip after a rocket hit the coastal city of Ashkelon. No injuries were reported on either side and there were no immediate claims of responsibility for the rocket that hit Israel. The Associated Press has more.

A New York Times report examines the dramatic increase in U.S. airstrikes over Afghanistan in recent months. While strikes have decreased from past years, activity in June still represented a high point for 2015, with more than twice as many strikes fired last month than any other month this year. Notably, U.S. forces have conducted a number of strikes against the ISIS fighters who recently claimed territory in southeastern Afghanistan.

The ISIS-affiliated militant group Sinai Province claims to have fired a missile at an Egyptian navy ship. The group has posted photos on Twitter that appear to show the ship catching fire after being hit by a rocket. While the Egyptian navy released a statement declaring that no crew members had been killed, the ISIS-affiliated group claimed the vessel to have been “destroyed.” The extremist organization has recently risen to prominence after conducting a series of attacks on Egyptian military checkpoints in the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula.

After facing a volley of international condemnation, Egypt has amended a draft anti-terrorism law---passed after ISIS’s initial volley of attacks---that would have jailed journalists for contradicting official reports of armed attacks. Now, Al Jazeera tells us, the law only holds that journalists will be fined, rather than imprisoned. Undoubtedly, a historic victory for freedom of the press.

The first contingent of U.S.-trained Syrian rebels have arrived on the scene to fight ISIS within Syria, the Post writes. The fighters apparently number “about several dozen,” consistent with reports that the United States has had a difficult time putting moderate Syrian fighters through the training program.

The United Kingdom is preparing to increase surveillance missions over Iraq and Syria, the Guardian says, possibly in response to U.S. criticism over Britain’s reduced role in the air campaign. U.K Minister of Defence Michael Fallon described the efforts as “a new Battle of Britain” against a “fascist enemy prepared to kill civilians and opponents alike.”

The United States is preparing criminal charges against Umm Sayyaf, widow of a former ISIS leader, for her role in taking hostage an American aid worker Kayla Mueller. The charges are not yet a done deal, the Washington Post reports: there’s a chance Baghdad might object to her extradition and instead seek to put her on trial in Iraq. Umm Sayyaf is currently in custody in Iraq, where U.S. authorities have been questioning her for intelligence purposes.

The BBC tips us off to recently leaked U.S. documents revealing the responsibility of Israeli commandos for the assassination of a Syrian military official in 2008. Israel has never commented on the suspicions that it may have been involved.

Several ministers of Yemen’s government-in-exile have returned to the country, reportedly on instructions from President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi to “prepare the security situation and ensure stability ahead of a revival of the institutions of state in Aden.” Over the past three days, forces loyal to the Yemeni government have continued an offensive aimed at regaining control of Aden, a major port city.

The BBC reports that at least two senior al Shabaab commanders have been killed in a drone strike in Somalia. In total, 30 Shabaab militants were killed. While a Kenyan official initially said that the attack had killed the mastermind of al Shabaab’s recent attack on Garissa University College in Kenya, the Kenyan government has now retracted the statement.

French security forces arrested four individuals planning to conduct an attack on a French military installation and a senior military official, Reuters writes. According to French officials, the group’s leader had links to jailed extremists. France has increased internal scrutiny on security measures after an extremist attack on a gas plant in Lyons last month.

Greek parliament members passed sweeping austerity measures that were needed to access a third EU bailout, but a quarter of the members in the ruling Syriza party deserted Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. The EU Observer brings us news that the vote was passed with support from opposition party leading to questions about the political viability of Syriza. EU finance ministers authorized a $7.6 billion bridge loan to Greece that may allow the country to remain in the common currency.

Remember South Ossetia? The disputed region of Georgia, over which Russia gained de facto control during the 2008 conflict, is now back in the news after Russian forces moved border markings 980 feet farther south toward Georgia’s main highway. The change allows Russia to declare control over a 1.5 mile section of a major oil pipeline. The Guardian has the story, along with a helpful map of the pipeline and South Ossetia’s (ostensible) borders.

Over the past two days, the India-Pakistan border in the disputed Kashmir region has been plagued by a series of firefights. At least five civilians have been killed and five were injured, the BBC reports. Yesterday morning, the Pakistani military claimed to have shot down an Indian surveillance drone, which the Times describes as a commercial device produced for aerial filming and photography. Both countries have traded blame over the incidents.

Those living in the Indo-Bangladeshi enclaves are beginning to choose between citizenship in either country, as India and Bangladesh prepare to swap sections of territory at the end of July. The BBC writes that over 50,000 villagers will have the opportunity to declare their nationality and cross the border.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is continuing to push forward controversial legislation expanding the role of Japan’s military and allowing the country to deploy soldiers abroad. The lower house of Japan’s Parliament passed the bill on Thursday, despite what the Wall Street Journal describes as “scant public support and doubts about its constitutionality.” The Times notes that the Japanese public disapproves of the bill at a ratio of roughly two to one. Prime Minister Abe justified the legislation on the grounds of regional security concerns, despite its possible contradiction with the famously pacifist Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution.

China, predictably, is not happy over Abe’s bill. The Guardian tells us that the Chinese government has released a statement “solemnly urging” Japan to reconsider the legislation, which it described as “crippling regional peace and stability.” Of course, responding to regional security threats is the Prime Minister’s stated region for putting forward the bill in the first place.

Google has changed the listed name of a shoal in the disputed South China Sea, under pressure from an online petition. The shoal will now appear on Google Maps under its original name of “Scarborough Shoal,” reverting back from Google’s controversial designation of the spit of land as part of China’s Zhongsha island chain.

Cuban President Raul Castro has called on President Obama to use his “executive authority” to “dismantle” the economic embargo on Cuba, which “causes harm and privation to our people.” The embargo has been in place since 1962. Castro's comments came ahead of the opening of embassies between the two countries on Monday. The Latin American Herald Tribune has the story.

An international operation involving the United States and 19 other countries succeeded yesterday in shutting down a major online hacking forum, “Darkode.” The Justice Department described the takedown as the largest international operation of its kind, the Post writes. 28 individuals associated with the forum have been arrested. The Journal notes that Russia was not involved in the operation and quotes cybersecurity expert James Lewis as stating that, while those involved with Darkode-like endeavors who “live in the U.S. or western Europe will end up in jail… the smart ones live in Russia.”

United Airlines has awarded the two hackers who identified security holes with a million flight miles each. According to the BBC, these “bug bounty” schemes are common among technology companies, but are becoming more prevalent in other industries as part of efforts to increase online security. Last week, all United flights were grounded for two hours due to unnamed technical problems.

On a similar note, the Journal examines the rising demand for security startups in the wake of a string of high-profile data breaches. As cybersecurity increasingly becomes a front-page issue, investors are more and more willing to put large sums of money into startups focusing on the area.

The House Homeland Security Committee voted yesterday to advance a bill aimed at countering “lone wolf” attacks. The Hill suggests that the legislation was spearheaded by FBI concerns over a rise in ISIS-expired extremist violence, though critics have expressed worry that the bill will lead to disproportionate scrutiny of Muslims. The bill’s proponents argue that its wording is expansive enough to cover plots by extremists of different ideological convictions, such as the Charleston church shootings last month.

Parting shot: The day we’ve all been dreading has come, perhaps a little sooner than expected: “Drone Firing Handgun.”

ICYMI: Yesterday, on Lawfare

Aaron Zelin posted Mullah Omar’s Eid message in support of peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government.

Wells alerted us that the U.S. District Court for Eastern Virginia has denied motions to dismiss in the Hamidullin case.

Ben wrote a response to Conor Friedersdorf’s recent piece in the Atlantic, itself a response to Ben’s earlier post on encryption and “going dark.”

Susan Landau also responded to Ben’s thoughts on encryption.

Stewart Baker posted the Steptoe Cyberlaw Podcast, this week featuring Michael Casey on bitcoin.

Eugene Kontorovich considered an interesting Dutch Supreme Court ruling on whether Israel has criminal jurisdiction over the West Bank.

Yishai, Quinta, and Staley provided a comprehensive summary of the Iran deal. No need to read through all 159 pages on your own!

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