By Alexandra Sharp
Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at a potential deal to extend the U.S.-Iran cease-fire, Canada’s exclusion from U.S.-Mexico trade talks, and the threat of near-record-high temperatures over the next five years.
Have tips or feedback? Hit reply with your thoughts.
People walk past an anti-U.S., anti-Israel mural depicting missiles hitting an aircraft carrier in Tehran on May 26.Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images
U.S. and Iranian negotiators have tentatively agreed to a 60-day memorandum of understanding to extend the two sides’ cease-fire, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and kick-start nuclear talks. However, U.S. President Donald Trump has yet to sign off on the deal, and Iran has not publicly committed to the plan yet either.
“This is an agreement to get everybody to the table,” an unnamed U.S. official told Axios on Thursday. “We will work out the details in the negotiations.” At a White House press briefing later that day, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent repeatedly declined to confirm that a deal had been agreed to, saying, “Everything depends on what the president wants to do.”
The White House has previously claimed to be close to a deal with Iran, only to have talks stall. U.S. negotiators reportedly briefed Trump on the details of the 60-day plan on Tuesday, but the president did not immediately sign off on it, instead saying that he wanted a few days to think it through. On Wednesday, Trump told reporters that the Iranians “want very much to make a deal” but that “we’re not satisfied with it.”
In theory, the memorandum would extend the cease-fire to allow the two sides to hold nuclear talks. In practice, though, both countries have already accused the other of violating the existing truce. On Tuesday, U.S. forces carried out so-called “self-defense” strikes on southern Iran that targeted missile launch sites and boats. The following day, the U.S. military conducted a second round of strikes, intercepting five drones and hitting an Iranian ground-control station near Bandar Abbas International Airport that Washington said was about to launch a sixth drone.
“These actions were measured, purely defensive, and intended to maintain the cease-fire,” a U.S. official told Reuters on Thursday. In response, Iran targeted a U.S. military base in Kuwait on Thursday, forcing Kuwaiti troops to intercept Iranian missiles.
Such attacks risk undermining talks to end the war, even as U.S. officials claim that a deal is in reach.
Besides a cease-fire extension, the memorandum would reportedly state that shipping through the Strait of Hormuz must be “unrestricted,” meaning that Tehran would not be allowed to harass ships or charge tolls. Iran would also be required to remove all mines from the strait within 30 days, and the United States would lift its naval blockade of Iran in proportion to the restoration of commercial shipping.
Tehran would also pledge not to pursue a nuclear weapon. Iran has repeatedly claimed that its nuclear program is for civilian use only; however, the memorandum would require Iranian officials to discuss how to dispose of the country’s highly enriched uranium as well as address other U.S. concerns about Iran’s enrichment capabilities.
In exchange, the United States would agree to discuss sanctions relief, the release of frozen Iranian funds, and the establishment of a mechanism to help Iran begin receiving humanitarian aid and other goods. Trump, though, appeared to rule out such concessions on Wednesday, telling reporters that “we’re not talking about any easing of sanctions, no money, no nothing.”
As for other conflicts in the Middle East, the memorandum would commit both countries to promoting “regional peace,” which the Trump administration would likely use to push for Iran to end its support of proxy groups. The deal would also declare an end to the Israel-Hezbollah war in Lebanon, even as Israel expanded its offensive against the militant group on Thursday by attacking Beirut and pushing farther into Lebanon.
Sponsored |
 |
Register Now: AI and Investment in Latin America |
On June 3, join Global Americans at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, DC, for The Digital Convergence Agenda, a public conversation about AI, infrastructure, and strategic investment opportunities in Latin America, in partnership with Foreign Policy and GWU’s Graduate School of Political Management. Details and free registration at GlobalAmericans.org. Seats are limited. |
Sidelining Ottawa. U.S. and Mexican officials kicked off formal talks on Thursday to modify the U.S.-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement, which accounts for nearly $1.6 trillion in annual trilateral trade. But without representatives from Ottawa present, it is unclear how much headway will be made, as experts worry that after a year of turbulent U.S.-Canada relations, the agreement’s most northern member will be left behind.
The three countries’ free trade agreement is up for joint review on July 1. But there continue to be no efforts to begin formal U.S.-Canada talks. “Two countries in the world retaliated against us: the People’s Republic of China and Canada,” U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Tuesday, referring to the countries’ responses to Washington’s tariffs. He added that “significant” differences between the United States and Canada may be difficult to resolve.
Sources told Reuters on Thursday that Washington seeks stronger regional rules of origin to boost manufacturing in the United States. Under the current deal, 40 percent to 45 percent of North American-built passenger cars must be made in higher-wage factories, effectively excluding facilities in Mexico. Greer also stressed on Tuesday that the White House plans to maintain at least some of its tariffs on Mexican and Canadian industrial products, though he said that these countries could receive preferential treatment if they take steps to limit China’s influence in the region.
A warming planet. Average global temperatures over the next five years are expected to reach near-record highs, the World Meteorological Organization warned in a report on Thursday. The new projections suggest that the planet will repeatedly surge past the international threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels, which the 2015 Paris Agreement established as the benchmark to prevent irreversible climate change damage, such as species loss, extreme weather events, and the decimation of critical ecosystems.
According to the report, the Arctic is likely to warm faster than other regions on Earth, meaning that further reductions in sea-ice are expected in the Barents, Bering, and Okhotsk seas. Heavy precipitation that could lead to devastating floods is anticipated in Northern and Southeastern Europe as well as in Africa’s Sahel region. Warming waters in the Pacific Ocean are likely to foster strong El Niño conditions. And droughts may become more common over the Amazon rainforest, increasing the likelihood of fires.
Scientists have long attributed the rise in global temperatures to the continued use of fossil fuels. On Tuesday, meteorologists cited “human-driven climate change” as the reason for unprecedented temperature spikes across Europe this month. Experts consider the timing of the continent’s heat wave, which has led to at least seven deaths in France since Saturday, to be particularly concerning, as the summer season has not even started yet.
The end of Code Noir. French lawmakers voted on Thursday to abolish a colonial-era law that classified humans as “movable property.” In a rare unanimous vote, the National Assembly adopted a bill that repeals the Code Noir, which King Louis XIV signed in 1685 to allow the ownership of enslaved people in French colonies. The code’s 60 articles “should never have survived the abolition of slavery,” French President Emmanuel Macron said last week. France outlawed slavery in 1848.
The bill’s passage, while largely symbolic, serves as a reminder of how conditions remain unbalanced between mainland France and some of its overseas departments. Four of France’s oldest former slave colonies—French Guinea, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Réunion—are among the country’s poorest territories, with unemployment rates roughly double that of the mainland. In the Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte, more than 75 percent of all households live below the poverty line.
To mark the 25th anniversary last week of France passing the Taubira law, which recognizes slavery as a crime against humanity, Macron called for the country to discuss the issue of reparations, though he did not recommend specific proposals for how to do so. Last month, France abstained from a U.N. General Assembly vote on a resolution calling the trans-Atlantic slave trade the world’s gravest crime against humanity. Paris said at the time that it did not want to create a “hierarchy among crimes.”
Sometimes, waiting just isn’t an option. French tennis player Arthur Gea was in the middle of his first set during the French Open on Sunday when the athlete all but ran off the court. “I need to go to the bathroom,” Gea told the chair umpire. “I can’t move anymore. I’m going to [go] on the court.” Usually, bathroom breaks are only allowed between sets, but the umpire ruled that Gea could temporarily leave the match due to “medical circumstances.” When you’ve got to go, you’ve got to go.
No comments:
Post a Comment