By Alexandra Sharp
Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at rumors of U.S.-Iran peace talks, Red Cross access to Myanmar’s imprisoned former leader, and a dangerous heat wave on the Korean Peninsula.
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U.S. President Donald Trump prepares to board Air Force One at Morristown Municipal Airport in New Jersey on Aug. 2.Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Iran has denied it is engaging in direct talks with the United States to end months of war—a day after U.S. President Donald Trump called off plans for a massive military strike and said a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz was imminent.
“We had an attack that would be the biggest attack since World War II, and it would have been disastrous for them,” Trump told reporters on Sunday. But key Gulf leaders, including Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, reportedly told Trump that they would prefer diplomacy.
Trump said he acquiesced to their demands, announcing a new round of U.S.-Iran peace talks for Monday afternoon. “The deal is imminent, having to do with the Hormuz Strait and also, ultimately, the denuclearization of Iran,” Trump said on Sunday.
But Tehran begged to differ.
“We currently do not have negotiations with America,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said on Monday, adding that Tehran has no plans to send negotiators abroad or host foreign officials in the coming days. Baghaei added that Iran is currently in talks with Oman to establish a temporary safe route through the strait to help ease the global energy crisis.
Trump responded by calling the Iranian leadership “unbelievably duplicitous.”
“They ask for a meeting, some would say ‘beg,’ talks begin, with more scheduled in the immediate future, and they say, openly and proudly, that they’re not having any discussions, that nothing is being talked about, and they’re only dealing with ‘Oman,’” he wrote on Truth Social on Monday.
Trump went on to herald the efficacy of the U.S. military’s naval blockade, deny Iran’s claimed control over the Strait of Hormuz, and reiterate his opposition to Iran developing a nuclear weapon. “Nothing gets through to Iran, unless we want it to, and nothing will get through, unless a Deal, or Total Surrender, is accomplished,” Trump added.
Analysts believe that Iran is unlikely to capitulate unless the United States agrees to return to a June memorandum of understanding, which experts have described as largely in Iran’s favor. “They are ready for the war, and they won’t back down,” Amir al-Mousawi, a former Iranian diplomat who said he had met with Iran’s negotiating team over the weekend, told the New York Times on Monday.
Meanwhile, an Iraqi politician claimed on Monday that Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has recently ferried messages from Washington to Tehran as part of mediation efforts aimed at containing regional tensions and preventing the war’s further expansion.
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Tuesday, Aug. 4: European Union interior ministers hold a virtual meeting to discuss last week’s mass migration crisis in the Spanish territory of Ceuta.
Israeli and Lebanese officials hold another round of peace talks in Italy.
Wednesday, Aug. 5: The Organization of American States’ permanent council meets to discuss the situation in Nicaragua.
Taiwan begins its annual Han Kuang military exercise.
Thursday, Aug. 6: Myanmar’s leader, Min Aung Hlaing, begins a two-day trip to Thailand.
Friday, Aug. 7: Abelardo de la Espriella is sworn in as Colombia’s new president.
Monday, Aug. 10: Legislative elections conclude in Pakistan-administered Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
Proof of life. Myanmar’s junta allowed former leader Aung San Suu Kyi to meet with a representative from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Monday, temporarily quelling global concerns about her poor health. A spokesperson for the Red Cross confirmed the visit, saying that the Nobel Peace Prize laureate was able to exchange news with her family.
“As is customary in the ICRC’s detention work, observations and recommendations related to the visit are shared exclusively and confidentially with the detaining authorities,” said Red Cross spokesperson Francisco Javier Pavón. This was Aung San Suu Kyi’s first confirmed outside contact in more than two years.
In February 2021, military forces overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi’s democratically elected government and detained the popular leader on what rights activists claimed were manufactured charges. Although the ruling junta has since reduced her decades-long sentence and moved her to house arrest, Aung San Suu Kyi has still been denied access to her family and legal team, sparking speculations about the status of her health and prompting calls for proof of life.
Dangerous heat wave. Extreme temperatures scorched the Korean Peninsula on Monday, as a record-setting heat wave forced locals to stay indoors. In North Korea, state media reported temperatures of 104 degrees Fahrenheit, prompting officials to expand emergency measures. Meanwhile, the South Korean city of Yangsan hit 108.5 degrees Fahrenheit in the country’s highest-recorded temperature since it began weather observations 122 years ago.
The Korea Meteorological Administration ordered all residents on Sunday to “immediately stop all outdoor activities,” warning that “indoor spaces without air conditioning are dangerous” as well. More than 20 South Korean localities are under an emergency heat alert, including parts of Seoul and its neighboring Gyeonggi province.
Excessive heat is expected to continue in the coming days. South Korean Prime Minister Han Seong-sook has ordered ministries and local governments to mobilize all available resources, such as funding for relief efforts and more frequent inspections, to respond to heat and drought risks.
Restoring friendships. The Dominican Republic and Venezuela agreed on Sunday to begin working toward normalizing bilateral relations, marking a major shift in how regional countries view the once internationally ostracized Venezuelan government.
During Caracas’s 2024 presidential election, Venezuela’s opposition accused then-President Nicolás Maduro of withholding paper ballots that showed his rival in the lead. Rather than concede, Maduro issued arrest warrants for senior opposition figures and ordered a deadly crackdown on protesters. Dozens of countries around the world, including the Dominican Republic, announced that they would not recognize Maduro’s government over his actions. In response, Caracas slashed diplomatic ties with Santo Domingo.
But Venezuela’s global image appears to be shifting. Under Delcy Rodríguez, who replaced Maduro following his arrest in January by U.S. special forces, Caracas has prioritized improving relations with its once-estranged partners to encourage foreign investment and curry favor with Washington.
For 364 days of the year, Estonia is a united country. But on Aug. 1, the southeastern village of Mikitamae transforms into a symbolic kingdom to celebrate the unique culture and language of the Seto people. This year, the annual event required entry visas instead of tickets, used made-up currency, and displayed a mock military parade to lean into the village’s one-day sovereignty; it also hosted costume and dance performances, staged a concert in the Seto language, and held local elections. Fewer than 13,000 Seto people are believed to live in Estonia today.
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