Happy Wednesday and welcome to Overnight Defense. I’m Rebecca Kheel, and here’s your nightly guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond. CLICK HERE to subscribe to the newsletter.
THE TOPLINE: The Trump administration dealt another blow Wednesday to the Iran nuclear deal, ending waivers that allowed European, Chinese and Russian companies to work on Iranian civil nuclear projects without risking U.S. sanctions.
The projects were meant to repurpose nuclear sites for peaceful means and improve infrastructure to comply with safety regulations. But the Trump administration argued they allowed Tehran to continue its efforts to pursue a nuclear weapon.
“Today, I am ending the sanctions waiver for JCPOA-related projects in Iran, effective in 60 days,” Pompeo tweeted Wednesday, using the acronym for the official name of the nuclear deal. “Iran’s continued nuclear escalation makes clear this cooperation must end. Further attempts at nuclear extortion will only bring greater pressure on the regime.”
The specifics: The waivers being eliminated relate to projects at Iran’s Arak heavy water research reactor, regulation of enriched uranium at the Tehran Research Reactor and the disposal of spent and scrap research reactor fuel out of Iran. The U.S. will give companies working at these sites 60 days to come into compliance before risking sanctions.
A separate waiver for the Bushehr nuclear power plant “to ensure safety of operations” is being extended for another days 90 days.
“We will continue to closely monitor all developments in Iran’s nuclear program and can modify this waiver at any time,” Pompeo said in a statement released by the State Department.
Hawks cheer: Iran hawks have been pushing the Trump administration to end the waivers for months.
Sen. Ted CruzRafael (Ted) Edward CruzWSJ editorial board condemns Trump for ‘trash’ Scarborough tweets: ‘Ugly even for him’ Progressives raise alarm over letting lobbying groups access PPP funds Green group proposes nearly T infrastructure and clean energy stimulus plan MORE (R-Texas) applauded Wednesday’s announcement as t a “critical step toward tearing up the catastrophic Obama-Iran nuclear deal once and for all.”
“Enough was enough. Now it’s time for the U.S. to finally and irreversibly end what remains of the deal and the benefits that Iran gets from it by invoking the sanctions snapback described in the deal’s United Nations resolution,” Cruz said in a statement. “Unless we do so the U.N. arms embargo and ballistic missile bans will inevitably expire, allowing Russia and China to start selling billions of dollars of weapons to Iran.”
TOP DEM ALLEGES NEW SAUDI ARMS SALE IN THE WORKS: The Trump administration is pursuing another arms sale to Saudi Arabia, a top Democratic senator said Wednesday.
In an op-ed published on CNN’s website Wednesday, Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member Sen. Bob MenendezRobert (Bob) MenendezSenate panel approves Trump nominee under investigation Hillicon Valley: Trump threatens Michigan, Nevada over mail-in voting | Officials call for broadband expansion during pandemic | Democrats call for investigation into Uber-Grubhub deal Senate chairman schedules vote on Trump nominee under investigation MORE (D-N.J.) said he has received a draft document that shows the administration is pursuing a previously undisclosed sale.
“Before we went into pandemic lockdown, I received draft State Department documentation that it is now pursuing this previously undisclosed sale — details of which have not yet been made public — even though the Saudis seemingly want out of their failed and brutal war in Yemen, and despite the fact that a bipartisan majority in Congress rejected previous sales of these weapons,” Menendez wrote.
“The administration has refused to answer our fundamental questions to justify this new sale and articulate how it would be consistent with U.S. values and national security objectives,” he added.
The State Department declined to comment on the op-ed, with a spokesperson saying that “as a matter of policy, we do not comment upon or confirm proposed defense sales until they have been formally notified to Congress.”
Context: Menendez’s op-ed comes as a 2019 arms deal with the Saudis and other Gulf allies is under new scrutiny following President TrumpDonald John TrumpJustice says it will recommend Trump veto FISA bill Fauci: Nominating conventions may be able to go on as planned Poll: Biden leads Trump by 11 points nationally MORE’s firing of State Department Inspector General Steve Linick. After Linick was fired, congressional Democrats revealed he was investigating the sales and suggested his ouster was related to the investigation.
The 22 arms sales, worth $8.1 billion, were controversial because Secretary of State Mike PompeoMichael (Mike) Richard PompeoGrassley: White House ‘failed to address’ if there was a ‘good reason’ for IG firings Overnight Defense: Pentagon watchdog sidelined by Trump resigns | Plan would reportedly bring troops in Afghanistan back by Election Day | Third service member dies from COVID-19 Ex-Pompeo staffers asked to sign letter against ‘smear campaign’ MORE invoked little-used emergency authorities to push them through without a 30-day congressional review period.
LATEST MILITARY CORONAVIRUS FATALITY ID’D: The Army has identified the third service member to die from the coronavirus as a 34-year-old reservist from Illinois.
Sgt. Simon Zamudio died Friday from complications related to COVID-19, the Army Reserve said in a statement Wednesday. The Pentagon first noted the death in figures released Tuesday.
An online obituary shared by the Army Reserve said Zamudio, who was born in Phoenix and was living in Carpentersville, Ill., died at a hospital in suburban Chicago. He is survived by a wife and a daughter, according to the obituary.
Zamudio was not on active orders at the time of his death, nor had he been one of the 3,000 Army reservists mobilized as part of the military’s domestic coronavirus response, Army Reserve spokesman Lt. Col. Simon Flake confirmed.
Zamudio enlisted in the Army Reserve in October 2015 and was assigned to the 371st Theater Movement Control Element at Fort Sheridan, Ill., the statement said.
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He was promoted to the rank of sergeant April 1 and was awarded the National Defense Service Medal and the Army Service Ribbon, the statement added.
Latest numbers: In the total, the Pentagon reported 9,276 cumulative coronavirus cases Wednesday.
That includes 6,168 service members, including 169 who have been hospitalized and 3,474 who have recovered.
The death toll did not increase Wednesday, standing at 35 people. In addition to the three service members, 18 civilians, five dependents and nine contractors have died.
ON TAP FOR TOMORROW
Defense Secretary Mark EsperMark EsperTrump marks Memorial Day at Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Fort McHenry Pentagon charts its own course on COVID-19, risking Trump’s ire Birx: ‘I’m very concerned when people go out and don’t maintain social distancing’ MORE, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley and senior enlisted advisor to the chairman Ramón “CZ” Colón-López will hold a virtual town hall about COVID-19 at 9:30 a.m. Livestream at https://bit.ly/2B2E2sk.
The Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments will host a virtual roundtable on the U.S.-China strategic balance after COVID-19, featuring deputy assistant secretary of Defense for East Asia Heino Klinck, at 2 p.m. https://bit.ly/3er54rT
Gen. Joseph Lengyel, chief of the National Guard Bureau, will speak about the Guard’s coronavirus response at 3:30 p.m. in a webinar hosted by the Atlantic Council. https://bit.ly/2ZIu35W
ICYMI
— The Hill: Air Force documents acknowledged ‘persistent’ racial bias in justice system
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— The Hill: House FISA bill suddenly on life support
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— Associated Press: Some US bases to take steps to normal operations this week
— Stars and Stripes: New Navy guidance aims for ships at sea to be ‘bubbles’ free of the coronavirus
— Associated Press: Trump committed to July 4 celebration despite lawmaker alarm
— New York Times: How the Taliban outlasted a superpower: tenacity and carnage