Trump's Iran policy has devolved into a cycle of repetitive rhetoric without resolution
President Donald Trump's latest announcement that he is canceling planned strikes against Iran—provided the two sides "rapidly" reach a deal—is less a diplomatic breakthrough than another chapter in a familiar pattern that has defined his Iran policy. For months, Trump has alternated between declaring that a deal is imminent, threatening overwhelming military force if one is not reached, and then returning to negotiations without producing a lasting resolution, after a series of provocations, many of which have been instigated by Tel Aviv. As Iran immediately disputed the latest account and mocked Trump again, and Israeli officials have publicly disputed the existence of any agreement to halt military operations in Gaza, it seems that Trump's latest announcement follows that same script.
A mining company says it has discovered America’s largest deposit of tungsten, a crucial defence industry metal in severe shortage, but US space agency Nasa is blocking development on a large swath of its claims.
President Donald Trump publicly pressured Senators Thom Tillis and John Cornyn by threatening to revive his controversial "anti-weaponization fund" unless they vote to confirm Todd Blanche as attorney general.
The threat came just one day after Trump and Blanche had insisted the nearly $1.8 billion fund was effectively dead. Blanche told the Senate Judiciary Committee that the fund was "not moving forward," and the Justice Department had previously informed a federal court that it had been abandoned. Now, Trump is reversing course.
Italy's Interior Ministry has ordered the closure of the country's sea and air borders with Spain, temporarily suspending the Schengen free movement regime between the two countries.
