America has long stood for freedom and prosperity, but under Trump insults, threats and unpredictability have become the new norm. As the US marks its 250th anniversary, Guardian correspondents around the world report on how it is perceived elsewhere Amy Hawkins in Beijing Continue reading...
Huge scale of funeral for supreme leader across five cities is intended to relay message of resistance to rest of the world In the small hours of Friday the police roadblocks, stalls, posters and army vans were starting to appear across Tehran as millions of Iranians prepared to attend the long-delayed six-day funeral ceremony for Ali Khamenei’s, Iran’s supreme leader for 36 turbulent years. Killed in the opening salvo of the US-Israeli attack on the country in February, the funeral is intended to be an epic display of personal mourning, national power, resilience and social cohesion. Small groups of mourners carrying flags were gathering along the roads festooned with the red fist, the symbol of the funeral alongside the slogan “We must rise”.
The likely next prime minister would rather be in Warrington than Washington, but foreign policy will dominate his agenda more than he thinks If Andy Burnham is lucky, he will get some time to adjust to the pace of life as prime minister before dealing with his first international crisis. It won’t be long. Donald Trump is an engine of constant turmoil.
Two sides yet to have face-to-face meeting since signing deal to reopen strait of Hormuz Talks at an indirect level between US and Iranian officials over unfreezing at least $6bn Iranian assets will recommence on Wednesday in Doha, Iran has said. The two sides are yet to have their first face-to-face meeting since signing a deal to extend the ceasefire and reopen the strait of Hormuz. US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were in Qatar on Tuesday for talks covering regional issues including the Iran ceasefire and Lebanon, but Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman, Majed Al-Ansari, stressed these were with Qatari mediators.
Tehran believes it should control the shipping route but its neighbour has its own plans for reopening it The strait of Hormuz is Iran’s chief bargaining tool in the negotiations with America and so it was always likely to be the greatest point of contention. Every metre of the 39-kilometre-wide waterway is being contested in a test of wills and patience. For Iran, the continuation of the dispute is not a problem so long as it does not lose control.
US president posts that meeting will take place on Tuesday in Qatari capital after exchange of fire in strait of Hormuz Donald Trump has claimed that Iran has agreed to hold talks in Doha after the US and Iran traded fire in the strait of Hormuz this weekend threatening the collapse of a ceasefire meant to keep open the strait of Hormuz and pave the way for peace talks. In a terse post on Truth Social, the US president claimed that the meetings would take place in the Qatari capital, as US media reported that the two sides had agreed to halt strikes following tit-for-tat attacks that once again cut off shipping through the crucial waterway. Continue reading...
Analysts and western leaders believe Iran will increase support of militia groups despite deal between US and Iran As Marco Rubio ended his brief visit to the Middle East on Friday, he sought to cast in the best possible light his discussions with leaders of the Gulf states. Those leaders are deeply anxious that the deal agreed earlier this month between Iran and the US fails to address their worries about continued Iranian efforts to project power and influence throughout the region. “They’ve shared with us some very concrete concerns,” the US secretary of state admitted, and insisted that any definitive agreement will require Tehran to not only restrict its nuclear programme but also halt its support of Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, militia in Iraq and the Houthis in Yemen.
Vice-president appeared on Bill Maher’s show hours before more military strikes were exchanged in strait of Hormuz JD Vance said on Friday that the US wins “either way” regarding negotiations with Iran , pointing to what he called the destruction of its nuclear program and diminishment as a country. “If we make the final deal, then great,” the US vice-president told HBO’s Bill Maher . “If we don’t make the final deal, their nuclear program is still destroyed.
As long as Israel continues its attacks on Lebanon, any deal between the US and Iran will be at risk On 18 June, JD Vance stood in the White House press briefing room and tore into Israeli critics of the Iran deal that his boss, Donald Trump, had signed the previous day. The vice-president argued that Trump was the only world leader who was still sympathetic to Israel after nearly three years of wars and destruction across the Middle East. “If I was in the cabinet of the Israeli government,” Vance said, “I might not be attacking the only powerful ally that I have anywhere left in the entire world.
The vice-president, leading a foundering peace deal to end the kind war he’s opposed in the past, is left holding the bag JD Vance has taken the greatest gamble of his vice-presidency by making himself the face of the Iran ceasefire deal – a shaky agreement that already seems to be unraveling at the seams. But after months spent in limbo due to the war, it may be the best chance for him to find his feet again. Continue reading...
US secretary of state to reassure UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain that his country remains committed to their security Middle East crisis live – latest updates Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, is to meet Gulf allies on Tuesday and Wednesday in an attempt to reassure them that the US remains committed to their security and the 60-day ceasefire deal struck with Iran last week will not embolden Tehran. The Gulf is divided over the deal. While Qatar has played a central role in mediating the agreement, some countries – notably the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain – are fearful it hands Iran substantial sums that may be ploughed into its military.
CBS News report says administration official told her arrests were made for vandalizing pool and another five federal citations issued Trump says repair work to begin ‘immediately’ on beleaguered reflecting pool Sign up for the Breaking News US email Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog. Five people have reportedly been arrested for vandalizing Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool in Washington DC , with Donald Trump insisting repair work will begin “immediately”. Continue reading...
Negotiations due to continue for rest of week in Switzerland after tense start as Iranians protest against threat from Donald Trump Iran hails ‘progress’ as first day of talks with US conclude after shaky start The first round of face-to-face talks between the US and Iran ended in Switzerland on Monday, mediators said, after a tense opening marked by Tehran saying it had again closed the strait of Hormuz and Donald Trump repeating his threats to resume attacks on Iran. Mediators Qatar and Pakistan said Washington and Tehran agreed to a roadmap towards a final deal within 60 days and that technical talks would continue for the rest of the week in the Swiss mountain resort of Buergenstock . The talks had a tense start, with Iranian negotiators walking out in protest against Trump’s threats .
If war triggered a rare moment of solidarity in the divided country, many doubt it will be used for reform The Islamic Republic regime in Iran may have survived the war , but it now faces an even greater challenge: making peace with its own population. Iranians are reeling not just from the shock of the war but also the killing of thousands of protesters by the authorities at the start of the year, and an economy in free fall. Instead of removing the regime, an initial declared aim of Donald Trump and Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu, the war showcased the Islamic Republic’s durability after its leader and layers of other top officials were killed.
Brent crude prices fall below $80 per barrel on after Iranian negotiators said progress had been made in peace talks with US Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy. Investors are pegging hopes onto reports of progress in the US-Iran peace talks, helping ease market jitters that have weighed on stock and sent energy prices soaring. The week starts on a surprisingly positive note despite the uncertainty surrounding the US/Iran peace talks, which took several twists over the weekend.
Mediators Pakistan and Qatar issue statement saying talks will run for rest of the week, as fighting in Lebanon continues to threaten agreement Iran’s foreign minister has declared “progress” after the first day of talks between high-ranking officials from Washington and Tehran ended in Switzerland, despite a tense opening marked by Donald Trump threats to restart attacks. A joint statement from mediators Qatar and Pakistan said the US and Iran agreed to a roadmap towards a final deal within 60 days. Technical talks between lower-ranked officials will continue for the rest of the week, according to the statement, with fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon at the top of the agenda.
Objections comes as Trump threatens to renew attacks on Iran if it doesn’t rein in its proxy in Lebanon US political figures from left and right voiced fresh objections on Sunday to Donald Trump’s provisional deal with Iran – even as the US president made fresh threats while Vice-President JD Vance hailed progress during the first round of direct peace talks in Switzerland. Senator John Cornyn, a Texas Republican who recently lost his primary battle for re-election, posted a line on X from a Wall Street Journal article on how rogue regimes evade US economic warfare. It said: “Iran’s ability to withstand sanctions so far exposes a hard fact for Washington: economic pressure has largely failed to cow rogue regimes, as they game out more ways to sidestep US restrictions.
Former negotiating team member gives shock interview claiming supreme leader’s instructions were not followed Middle East crisis – live updates A former member of Iran’s negotiating team in the previous round of talks in Islamabad is facing the threat of prosecution and dismissal from parliament after he went on the main state broadcaster to reveal what he claimed were confidential letters from the country’s supreme leader. The interview with Mahmoud Nabavian, the deputy chair of Iran’s national security council, was eventually cut off, but only after he said he had seen secret correspondence written by Mojtaba Khamenei in which the ayatollah allegedly said Iran’s negotiating team had overstepped its mandate Continue reading...
The US vice-president and special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Pakistan's prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, and the head of the country's army, Field Marshal Asim Munir, at the Bürgenstock resort in Switzerland before talks with Iranian officials US-Iran talks in Switzerland to get under way as strait of Hormuz remains closed Middle East crisis – live updates Continue reading...
JD Vance says talks aim to ‘make progress on the nuclear issue, make progress on the Lebanon ceasefire issue’ Middle East crisis – live updates Talks between Iran and the US aimed at building out the fragile interim deal to end the war are due to get under way in Switzerland, beset by difficulties including an Iranian decision to keep the strait of Hormuz closed in protest at Donald Trump’s inability to force Israel to end the fighting in Lebanon. The US vice-president, JD Vance, leading the US delegation, said he was adding Lebanon to the agenda, which had originally been conceived to focus on the opening of the strait, the lifting of US sanctions on Iranian oil exports and the unfreezing of Iranian assets held overseas. Continue reading...
