Trump pulls Vance from Iran talks, says no deal needed

Summary

Trump has removed Vice President JD Vance from the Iran negotiations and said Washington no longer needs a deal, pushing a stalled US-Iran channel toward open confrontation.⁠12

Vance had reportedly been trying to meet senior Iranian officials for peace talks, but Trump, in a Truth Social post, told him to focus on what he called massive corruption and crime in Democrat-run cities and states, and said the US no longer seeks a deal to end the war.⁠13

Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei warned countries against taking part, directly or indirectly, in US attacks or 'economic terrorism' against Iran, which extends the standoff to third countries.⁠4

Israeli officials, however, believe the talks have not yet collapsed and say Iran has not softened its conditions, leaving the channel less settled than Trump's remarks suggest.⁠5

In Indonesia, Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka submitted his resignation to the upper house after court rulings questioned his educational credentials.⁠6

On climate, a Taipei Times headline reported that the world is nearing a heat point of no return.⁠7

The next checkpoint for Iran is whether Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping meet at the APEC summit in Shenzhen next week.⁠8