Live updates: European leaders hold talks with Iran as Trump sets two-week deadline for U.S. action
What we know
EUROPE-IRAN TALKS: Iranian Foreign MinisterAbbas Araghchi will be in the Swiss city of Geneva today for talks with his British, French, German and E.U. counterparts in an effort to end the weeklong Israel-Iran conflict although the U.S. envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, will not attend.
TRUMP MULLS U.S. ACTION: President Donald Trump said he was still considering a U.S. military strike on Iran's nuclear sites. 'I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks,' he said, according to the White House.
U.S. INTELLIGENCE UNCHANGED: The U.S. assessment of Iran's nuclear program remains unchanged since March, when the director of national intelligence told lawmakers that Tehran has not decided to rush toward building an atomic bomb even though it has large amounts of enriched uranium, according to the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee and a source with knowledge of the matter.
HUNDREDS KILLED: Israeli strikes have killed at least 639 people in Iran since the conflict began a week ago, The Associated Press reported, citing a Washington-based human rights group. The Iranian health ministry says more than 2,500 people have been wounded. The death toll in Israel from Iran's retaliatory strikes remains at 24.
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The Independent
32 minutes ago
- The Independent
Who's who in the secret group advising Trump on Iran - who has been left out of the planning?
President Donald Trump let it be known on Thursday that he will make a decision on whether to involve the U.S. in Israel's war with Iran within the next two weeks, as tensions over the question continue to divide conservatives. The president, who signed off on attack plans on Tuesday but resisted giving the go-ahead, is reportedly taking soundings from a small coterie of trusted advisers while also throwing the conversation open to fellow world leaders, as well as allies such as the hawkish Republican senators Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Tom Cotton of Arkansas. Outside of his inner circle, MAGA personalities Tucker Carlson, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Steve Bannon, and Candace Owens have been speaking out against the prospect of the U.S. wading into another prolonged Middle Eastern war. At the same time, other Trump cheerleaders on Capitol Hill and the media have made the case for intervention. Here's a look at the people Trump is listening to, according to NBC News. JD Vance Vice President Vance has previously struck a non-interventionist posture on foreign wars, notably opposing American support for Ukraine. He appears to favor a diplomatic solution to the dispute with Iran, applauding Trump for showing 'remarkable restraint' and making the safety of American troops and assets his top priority. Susie Wiles The president's White House Chief of Staff and former campaign manager is known as the 'Ice Maiden' and regarded as an important restraining presence, in place to shield Trump from his own worst instincts. Stephen Miller A senior adviser and Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, Miller is known as an anti-immigration hardliner and one of the faces of Trump's mass deportation push. A regular talking head on conservative media loathed by liberals, Miller has reportedly been nicknamed 'Weird Stephen' behind the scenes by the president, which does not suggest he commands the level of respect to which he aspires. Marco Rubio Once a bitter enemy of Trump and rival for the Republican nomination, the Secretary of State now has such a full plate he has been dubbed the 'Secretary of Everything.' Rubio was out quickly last week to deny American involvement in Israel's initial onslaught but has since largely left the public messaging to the president. Steve Witkoff Trump's Middle East envoy, like him, a former luxury real estate developer, has led talks with both Israel and Iran since taking office earlier this year and, like Rubio, has cut a busy figure, also serving as the president's de facto liaison with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Dan Caine The lieutenant general serving as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff boasts the tough-guy nickname 'Razin' Caine' and previously served as a counterterrorism specialist to George W. Bush's Homeland Security Council. He reportedly first befriended Trump at the Conservative Political Action Conference in 2019 and impressed him by suggesting that Isis could be stamped out within a week. ''One week? I was told two years!'' Trump marvelled. Erik Kurilla The head of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) is a career army officer who also has a cool nickname, 'The Gorilla.' He has reportedly been granted an unprecedented amount of leeway by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. He has seen an increasing allocation of resources to his areas of responsibility, which include the Middle East. John Ratcliffe The CIA Director is an influential voice, having also served in the first Trump administration. He was previously a Texas congressman and a mayor of a small town. Two names conspicuous by their absence from that list are Hegseth and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. Defense Department spokesman Sean Parnell has pushed back against the suggestion that Hegseth has been sidelined. 'This claim is completely false,' he told NBC. 'The secretary is speaking with the president multiple times a day, and has been with the president in the Situation Room this week. 'Secretary Hegseth is providing the leadership the Department of Defense and our Armed Forces need, and he will continue to work diligently in support of President Trump's peace through strength agenda.' Trump is meanwhile reported to have fallen out with Gabbard for going 'off-message' after she posted a video on X attacking the 'political elite and warmongers' for 'carelessly fomenting fear and tensions between nuclear powers' and placing the world 'on the brink of nuclear annihilation.' Asked by CNN's Kaitlan Collins aboard Air Force One about Gabbard's statement to Congress in March that, although Iran 's enriched uranium levels are at an all-time high, the expert opinion is that Tehran is not currently seeking to develop a nuclear bomb. 'I don't care what she said,' the president snapped. 'I think they were very close to having a weapon.' One Trump supporter to deny any involvement in Trump's discussions about the conflict is MAGA die-hard Laura Loomer, who attacked former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson on X on Thursday night for reporting that she was playing an advisory role, dismissing the claim as 'fake news.'
Telegraph
34 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Young, ambitious, earn a high-income? Starmer's Britain is out to crush you
Today's borrowing figures, with the deficit rising even though tax levels are at a record high, makes it seem ever-more inevitable that Chancellor Rachel Reeves will seek to raise taxes further this autumn. High taxes have already driven away many non-doms and many millionaires – contributing to Reeves' previous tax rises raising less than was hoped. But could high taxes and a declining lifestyle in the UK drive away people further down the income scale? Could a 'wealth drain' become more widespread? One emerging candidate is the so-called 'Henry' – someone who is a High Earner but Not Rich Yet. Political analysis suggests that this group is starting to feel let down by Starmer's Government, despite many of them having voted Labour in 2024. Could this discontent lead to many of them leaving the country? There may be some scope. Some of the trade agreements the UK has signed in recent years include provision for fairly easy migration for work for young professionals. The American H-1B visa scheme for high-skill professionals has been streamlined recently and there has been speculation that it could be eased for British applicants – perhaps as part of a wider UK-US trade deal. High earning young British professionals would be welcomed in many countries. On the other hand, some of the same factors that mean these people are not rich yet may tend to make a move out of the UK an upheaval. Often they are not rich yet because they have children, for whom moving abroad may be a wrench. Also, since by definition they are not rich yet, they may lack resources to make a move and provide a buffer in the early months and years. Maybe it wouldn't be the Henrys themselves who would move? Perhaps by the time one is a Henry it's already too late? Maybe the time to move is a little earlier, when a Henry future can be seen awaiting – decades of financial struggle despite high income; what a friend of mine once referred to as 'being broke at a higher level'. Young professionals on the way up may be able to move abroad when Henrys could not. Either way, it's a grim time to be in the earnings brackets that the Government is targeting to raise taxes. And with unsustainable finances, no political appetite to cut spending, and persisting threats of an economic downturn – whether from Trump's tariffs, the Iran situation or the broader economic backdrop – things seem likely to get worse for high tax payers before they get better.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Israeli strikes on Iran stir anxiety in LA's ‘Tehrangeles': ‘We're worried 24 hours a day'
In uncertain times in Persian Square, in the Iranian enclave on the west side of Los Angeles, there is always hope – and ice cream. Farbod 'Freddy' Papen is happy to dole out scoops of cucumber ice cream at Saffron and Rose, just as his grandfather once did in the same neighborhood affectionately known by many nicknames: Little Tehran, Tehrangeles, or Little Persia. But for a week now, the joy of serving colorful Persian dessert has been tempered by a sense of dread over the growing devastation in the Papen family's homeland of Iran. Every morning since Israel launched its attack on Iran, Papen, 38, has been scanning the headlines, anxious for updates on the escalating hostilities between both countries. So far, his family members in Iran are safe. 'Who knows what's going to happen tomorrow?' said Papen. Papen's family established roots in Los Angeles before the 1979 Iranian Revolution led to a significant growth in the Iranian American population, he said. His mother has long dreamed of returning to Iran. 'God forbid something bigger escalates from where we stand now,' he said. 'She might not ever get that chance to see her cousins that she grew up with, and nieces, and nephews.' Southern California is home to the largest Iranian diaspora in the world, and in this West Los Angeles neighborhood, Iranian Americans have built a tight-knit community. One of the main thoroughfares, Westwood Boulevard, is lined with Persian grocery stores, bakeries and restaurants that preserve the tastes and traditions of a faraway homeland. For residents and community members, it's more than a place – it's a cultural hub and a meeting point of diverse identities and histories. The Iranian diaspora in the US is diverse. After the Iranian revolution led to the establishment of an Islamic Republic in 1979, a wave of Iranians fled to the US. They, and the subsequent generations of Iranian Americans, have varying levels of connection to their ancestral homeland, said Kevan Harris, a historical sociologist and author of A Social Revolution: Politics and the Welfare State in Iran. Today, a third of Iranian Americans in the US today are first-generation who grew up under the Islamic Republic, Harris added. A diverse diaspora means a multiplicity of opinions about the escalating conflict – in addition to the anxiety over the threats to their homelands, some Iranian American community members expressed hope for a regime change. Others are worried about potential backlash or scapegoating of their community if the US enters the conflict. 'I think everyone's pretty much glued to their TVs and their news media to figure out what's going to happen next,' said Sean Tabibian, 53. For many of the neighborhood's residents, the uncertainty is amplified by the complexities of intersecting identities – Tabibian has family members living in Iran and in Israel. On Wednesday, while Donald Trump was still undecided on the possibility of the US joining Israel's assault, he said he was hoping for regime change in Iran. One business owner, who asked to remain anonymous out of fear of reprisal by the Iranian regime, asked an existential question: 'Who do you root for?' She is Persian and Jewish and has family members who live in Israel, so she worries about the possibility of Iran launching a nuclear attack on Israel – the place that her other family members also call home. 'You're worried about this side. You're worried about that side. We're just worried 24 hours a day,' she said. Harris, the sociologist, said that while many Iranian Americans supported the anti-government protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022, the backdrop to the conflict between Israel and Iran is different, and the community is less united in its hopes for the future. 'Israel's air campaign and the possibility of US direct attack on Iran frame not only the government but the national territory [as] a target of foreign attack,' said Harris. 'Some in the diaspora rally around Iran's right to defend its territory – even though they claim to loathe the regime – while others outside dream that foreign coercion will hasten internal regime change.' Amid the heightened anxiety, Rabbi Refael Cohen, the senior rabbi at Sephardic Temple Tifereth Israel, a synagogue in the Westwood neighborhood, said he and his members have been praying for peace and stability for Israel. At the same time, he wants to see Iranian people live freely. 'I think there is a mutual understanding that the same anxiety and the same fear that the civilian people feel in Iran, in this time, is the same feeling that the civilian people feel in Israel in this time,' said Cohen, 53. 'Both of them are suffering.' A few blocks away from the Saffron and Rose ice cream shop, marines are stationed in front of a federal building as part of Trump's order to protect immigration agents. For Papen, it's another signifier of uncertainty. Through all the difficulties, he just opened a new ice cream shop location in Del Mar, California. 'What are the odds of this?' Papen said wryly. 'The timing of our new store opening up right when what looks to be a full-blown war is starting.' But he must keep the ice cream moving, just like his grandfather once did – while keeping vigilance over the rapid developments in the Middle East. 'For me, it doesn't make a difference whether a bomb gets dropped in Tehran or gets dropped in Tel Aviv,' said Papen. 'These are people's lives that are being sacrificed.'
