politics

US–Iran ceasefire talks begin in Pakistan

High-level US and Iranian delegations have arrived in Pakistan, ahead of negotiations aimed at easing escalating tensions. Iranian and US negotiators are also expected to participate in the Islamabad talks, which come amid a fragile and fast-moving diplomatic environment. JD Vance was received upon arrival by Pakistan’s foreign minister as both sides prepare for high-level engagement in Islamabad. Follow our live coverage for the latest developments in the region.

03:18 PM, 11 April 2026

Lebanon says 10 killed including 3 emergency workers in Israeli strikes on south

Lebanon’s health ministry said 10 people including three emergency workers were killed by Israeli strikes on south Lebanon on Saturday, as state media reported raids on more than a dozen locations.

The ministry said three deadly strikes hit locations in the Nabatiyeh district, with the dead including a member of the Lebanese civil defence and two paramedics from the Hezbollah-affiliated Islamic Health Committee, decrying what it said was Israel’s “systematic” targeting of emergency workers.

02:12 PM, 11 April 2026

Pakistan PM meets JD Vance at Islamabad talks

As the Islamabad talks commenced, Pakistan Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif held a meeting with US Vice President JD Vance.

The US delegation included Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, while the Pakistani side was represented by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar and Interior Minister Senator Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi.

As the Islamabad Talks commenced today, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif held a meeting with His Excellency JD Vance, Vice President of the United States of America.

Commending both delegations for their constructive engagement, the Prime Minister expressed hope that the talks would serve as a stepping stone toward durable peace in the region. He also reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to facilitating progress toward sustainable regional stability.

02:07 PM, 11 April 2026

Bahrain says 194 missiles, 516 drones intercepted amid Iranian strikes

The General Command of the Bahrain Defence Force (BDF) announced that all its units and formations are at the highest levels of readiness and full defensive preparedness. It confirmed that since the onset of the hostile Iranian aggression, it has intercepted and destroyed 194 missiles and 516 drones that targeted the Kingdom of Bahrain.

The General Command urged the public to exercise caution regarding any unfamiliar or suspicious objects resulting from the attacks, and to avoid approaching or handling them.

It affirmed that personnel of the Royal Field Engineering Unit remain fully prepared to safely deal with such objects, ensuring the safety of all citizens and residents.

02:05 PM, 11 April 2026

Qatar announces return to in-person classes

The Ministry of Education and Higher Education in Qatar has announced the resumption of in-person classes and services starting Sunday, April 12, 2026.

The return applies to nurseries, kindergartens, public and private schools, and educational service centres in line with the approved academic calendar.

02:01 PM, 11 April 2026

Iraq official says drone crashed near US diplomats at Baghdad airport

A senior Iraqi security official told AFP that a drone crashed near a group of US diplomats inside the grounds of Baghdad’s airport earlier this week as they were escorting an American journalist freed after a recent kidnapping.

According to the Iraqi official, “the diplomatic support centre was targeted on Wednesday by three drones”.

“One of them fell at least 50 metres from a diplomatic team accompanying the American journalist Shelly Kittleson,” they added.

Kittleson had been released by the powerful pro-Iranian group Kataeb Hezbollah on Tuesday, a week after she was kidnapped in Baghdad.

The attack delayed her departure from Iraq, though she was able to leave a few hours later, the source said.

01:17 PM, 11 April 2026

Iran delegation meets Pakistan PM ahead of talks with US

Iranian semiofficial media reported that Iran’s negotiating team chaired by parliament speaker Mahammad Bagher Qalibaf, met on Saturday with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Neither the Iranian delegation nor the prime minister’s office commented on the meeting in the Pakistani city city of Islamabad.

The meeting came as the US and Iranian officials are set to start indirect high-stakes talks Saturday afternoon on ending the war in the Middle East.

01:15 PM, 11 April 2026

Regional mediators in Pakistan to assist peace talks

Officials from the region said on Saturday that Egyptian, Saudi Arabia, Chinese and Qatari officials are in Islamabad to indirectly facilitate the talks.

The officials were speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the matter.

12:47 PM, 11 April 2026

European airports warn of jet fuel crunch

The head of Airports Council International-Europe, Olivier Jankovec, warned the European Union that a ”systemic jet fuel shortage’’ could come within three weeks because of the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz.

Jankovec said that the crunch could impact the summer travel season and ”significantly harm the European economy.’’

He urged the EU to organise collective purchases of jet fuel for European countries, track stocks and identify alternative sources of jet fuel, among other measures.

The EU’s Energy Union Task Force said there is ”no immediate risk to the EU’s security of oil and gas supply’’ from the Mideast conflicts and no need to release additional stocks.

But it warned of possible longer-term risks, and said ”jet fuel remains the primary concern’’ because of its reliance on imports.

12:37 PM, 11 April 2026

Iran’s foreign minster says ‘deep distrust’ in US

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says Iran enters Saturday’s talks with the US with “deep distrust” because of a pair of attacks his country sustained in the middle of negotiations over its nuclear program.

Araghchi’s office said in a post on Telegram that Iran would fight back if it was attacked.

He also called for Israeli attacks on Lebanon to stop.

12:34 PM, 11 April 2026

Iranian delegation departs for meeting with Pakistani PM

Iranian delegation has departed for a meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad, according to Iran’s ISNA news agency.

The talks come as Pakistan continues its role in mediating discussions between Iran and the United States over a proposed ceasefire framework. Sharif and senior government officials are expected to hold discussions with the visiting delegation as diplomatic efforts intensify in the capital.

12:22 PM, 11 April 2026

Iranian official says deal is possible if US puts ‘America First’

Mohammad Reza Aref, Iran’s first vice president, says peace talks between the US and Iran could produce a deal if Washington worked to fulfill American interests in line with President’s Donald Trump’s “America First” doctrine.

Aref wrote in a social media post that there would be no deal “if we face representatives of ‘Israel first’.”

He warned “the world will face greater costs” if the talks failed and the U.S. and Israel resumed the war on Iran.

11:42 AM, 11 April 2026

Hospital authorities say Israeli strike kills 6 in Gaza

The Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital which received the casualties said the Israeli airstrike hit a security point in the urban refugee camp of Bureij in the predawn hours on Saturday.

The deaths were the latest among Palestinians in territory since a ceasefire deal last October that aimed attempted to halt a more than two-year war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

11:13 AM, 11 April 2026

Pakistan says hopes Iran, US will ‘engage constructively’

Pakistan’s foreign minister on Saturday called for the United States and Iran to “engage constructively” at talks in Islamabad aimed at ending the Middle East war, after both delegations arrived in the Pakistani capital.

Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar “expressed the hope that parties would engage constructively, and reiterated Pakistan’s desire to continue facilitating the parties towards reaching lasting and durable solution to the conflict”, said a foreign ministry statement.

11:08 AM, 11 April 2026

Pakistan’s foreign and interior ministers, top soldier receive US delegation

Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Saturday received the US delegation lead by US Vice President JD Vance.

The ministry said in a statement that Dar commended the US commitment to achieving lasting regional and global peace and stability.

He expressed hope that the parties would engage constructively and reiterated Pakistan’s desire to continue facilitating efforts toward a lasting and durable resolution to the conflict.

The US delegation includes President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner.

The Iranian delegation, led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, was already in Islamabad.

Before departing for Pakistan, Vance warned Iran not to “play” the U.S.

Hours later Qalibaf said discussions would only take place if there is an Israeli ceasefire in Lebanon and the release of blocked Iranian assets.

10:17 AM, 11 April 2026

Iran delegation to Pakistan includes 71 members

Iran’s delegation in Pakistan comprises 71 members, including technical experts, negotiators, media representatives and security personnel, state media Tasnim reported on Saturday.

The delegation in Islamabad is being led by Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and includes Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, according to the report.

Tasnim said the size of the team reflects the complexity and sensitivity of the talks with the United States, noting that it includes specialised technical and expert committees to support negotiations and provide consultations as needed.

09:49 AM, 11 April 2026

US envoys Witkoff, Kushner arrive in Islamabad for Iran talks

US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have landed in Islamabad for high-level talks with Iranian counterparts aimed at ending the ongoing conflict, sources in Pakistan told Reuters.

The visit comes as Pakistan hosts tightly secured negotiations between US and Iranian delegations in the capital, with both sides arriving for a new round of diplomacy following weeks of conflict and a fragile ceasefire.

09:08 AM, 11 April 2026

Pakistan cuts fuel prices as Middle East tensions ease

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has announced a reduction in fuel prices, saying the country is offering relief to the public as regional tensions ease.

Addressing the nation, Sharif said petrol prices have been reduced by 12 rupees per litre and diesel by 135 rupees per litre, with continued subsidies for motorcycles, public transport and goods vehicles.

08:29 AM, 11 April 2026

Pakistan sets up state-of-art media center for talks

Pakistan’s government has set up a state-of-the-art media center to facilitate Pakistani and foreign journalists covering the talks between the United States and Iran, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said.

Tarar told reporters the facility at the Jinnah Convention Center offers high-speed internet and a range of free services to support media coverage. Shuttle services have been arranged to transport journalists between the media center and a hotel in the city’s main shopping mall.

08:01 AM, 11 April 2026

Islamabad turns quiet under heavy security ahead of talks

The streets of Pakistan’s normally bustling capital were deserted Saturday as security forces sealed roads ahead of talks between high-level officials from Iran and the US to end their nearly six-week war.

Pakistani authorities urged Islamabad residents to stay inside, leading the city to look like it was under curfew.

07:53 AM, 11 April 2026

US VP JD Vance en route to Islamabad

The plane transporting US Vice President JD Vance, who is heading the Washington delegation, stopped for refuelling in Paris before flying on to the Pakistani capital.

06:46 AM, 11 April 2026

US will not allow Iran to impose tolls on Strait of Hormuz: Trump

US President Donald Trump asserted that Washington would not allow any attempt by Iran to impose tolls on vessels passing through the strategically critical Strait of Hormuz, describing it as an international waterway amid rising tensions with Tehran.

Speaking to reporters at Joint Base Andrews ahead of US Vice President JD Vance’s departure, Trump dismissed the possibility of permitting any transit charges in the region.

Trump’s remarks come a day after he strongly criticised Tehran over its reported proposal to levy transit fees on ships crossing the Strait, which serves as a vital artery for global oil shipments.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump criticised Iran for attempting to use international waterways for leverage, stating that the United States had restrained itself only to allow space for negotiations.

“The Iranians don’t seem to realize they have no cards, other than a short-term extortion of the World by using International Waterways. The only reason they are alive today is to negotiate!” the post read.

In a separate post, he also took aim at Iran’s communication strategy, saying, “The Iranians are better at handling the Fake News Media, and ‘Public Relations,’ than they are at fighting!”

The remarks come amid renewed debate over transit policies through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global energy shipping route.

06:33 AM, 11 April 2026

UN chief welcomes US-Iran talks in Pakistan

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomes the US-Iran talks scheduled to start in Islamabad over the weekend, his spokesperson said.

“He calls on the parties to seize this diplomatic opportunity to engage in good faith toward a lasting and comprehensive agreement, with a view to deescalation and the prevention of a return to hostilities,” spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said at a daily briefing, Xinhua news agency reported.

“The Secretary-General reiterates that there is no viable alternative to the peaceful settlement of international disputes, in full accordance with international law, including the UN Charter,” Dujarric said.

The UN chief’s personal envoy for the Middle East conflict and its consequences, Jean Arnault, continues to be in the region to support diplomatic efforts, Dujarric added.

03:20 AM, 11 April 2026

South Korea presses Israel over global concerns

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung expressed disappointment toward Israel’s Foreign Ministry after it criticized his social media post featuring what appeared to be a 2024 video of Israeli soldiers throwing a body from a rooftop in the occupied West Bank.

In another post on X on Saturday, Lee wrote: “One would think that, even just once, it would be worth reflecting on criticism from people around the world who are suffering due to these ceaseless actions that violate human rights and international law.”

Lee’s comments followed a post by the Israeli Foreign Ministry on X, which accused him of digging up a story from 2024 and falsely presenting it as a current event.

02:35 AM, 11 April 2026

Iran delegation leader posts photos of killed schoolchildren

Iran Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf posted a photo on X of him looking at portraits of children killed in a U.S. missile strike on a school, saying they were his companions on a flight to Pakistan for peace talks.

The photo showed Qalibaf looking at four headshots of children, each placed on an airplane seat with a backpack and a flower.

A preliminary US military investigation into the strike said outdated intelligence likely led the US to bomb the school. The Feb. 28 strike killed over 165 people, many of them children, in the opening hours of the conflict

12:59 AM, 11 April 2026

Pakistan says ‘high-powered’ Iranian delegation arrives for peace talks

Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs says a high-powered delegation from Iran, led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf accompanied by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, arrived in Islamabad late Friday to participate in the peace talks.

In a statement, the ministry said the delegation was received at the airport by Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi.

Dar expressed hope that the parties would engage constructively and reiterated Pakistan’s desire to continue facilitating efforts toward a lasting and durable solution to the conflict.

12:43 AM, 11 April 2026

Lockheed Martin announces $4.7b contract for Patriots

The US defence contractor announced the Pentagon order on Friday for the critical interceptors that have been in heavy use since the US and Israel launched their war on Iran six weeks ago.

The Associated Press reported last month that a sizable number of US Patriot air defense missiles have been moved from Europe toward the Middle East as Washington diverts resources toward its war on Iran. The shift has left concerning gaps in Europe’s air defenses against Russia.

Lockheed in a statement said the order is part of the company’s agreement to increase production of the Patriot interceptor from 620 last year to 2,000 per year by 2030, a deal the defense contractor and the Pentagon signed in January.

12:30 AM, 11 April 2026

Lebanon and Israel will start direct talks next Tuesday

The statement from Joseph Aoun’s office comes after Lebanon and Israel’s ambassadors to the US held a call with Washington’s ambassador to Lebanon to discuss the terms of the negotiations, slated for next Tuesday in Washington D.C. with State Department mediating.

Beirut is keen to hold direct talks to end the ongoing war between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group, but under a ceasefire or truce similar to that of Washington’s talks with Iran.

Israel announced that it authorized direct talks after Lebanon’s request, but did not immediately issue a statement following the call.

Hezbollah did not immediately comment on the development, though has opposed direct talks with Israel.

During the past 40 days of war, more than 1,900 people in Lebanon have been killed in Israeli strikes and more that 1 million others have been displaced, according to government figures.

12:06 AM, 11 April 2026

Iranian delegation arrives in Pakistan for talks with the US

The Iranian delegation led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf arrived early Saturday in Islamabad, Iranian state TV reported.

The delegation included security, political, military, economic and legal teams. The report said negotiations will begin only if the other side accepts Iran’s preconditions.

Hours earlier, Qalibaf posted on social media that two points that he said had been mutually agreed on — a ceasefire in Lebanon and the release of blocked Iranian assets — have yet to be implemented.

“These two matters must be fulfilled before negotiations begin,” he wrote.

politics

Iran, US agree to halt war and reopen Hormuz, oil prices plunge

U.S. and Iranian officials said they had reached an agreement to end their war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a preliminary pact that sent oil prices falling but leaves the fate of Tehran’s ‌nuclear program to further negotiations.

While still a framework, the deal marked the biggest breakthrough towards resolving the conflict that has killed thousands and upended energy markets since it began with joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran in February.

“The Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete,” U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform at around 5:30 p.m. in Washington (2130 GMT) on Sunday. His post came shortly after Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose country has served as a mediator, announced a deal had been struck early on Monday local time.

The memorandum of understanding is scheduled to be officially signed on Friday in Switzerland.

The precise terms were not immediately known. Sharif said in a post on X that the pact called for “the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon.”

LEBANON HAS BEEN A STICKING POINT

Lebanon has suffered the deadliest spillover of the conflict, with thousands of people killed ⁠and some 1.2 million people uprooted by an Israeli offensive against the Iran-backed Hezbollah group, which opened fire on Israel in support of Tehran on March 2.

The country has been a sticking point in negotiations, with Israel and Hezbollah ignoring calls from Trump and others to stop their attacks on each other in recent weeks.

The secretariat of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said war and military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon, would end permanently starting on Monday night.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said there must be a complete halt to Israeli attacks against Lebanon and wrote on Telegram that the U.S. bears responsibility for implementing the framework deal.

Nabih Berri, speaker of the Lebanese parliament and a Hezbollah ally, said the deal laid the foundation for security and stability in the region, including in Lebanon.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to respond publicly to the U.S.-Iran agreement.

But Defence Minister Israel Katz said that Israel would oppose any pressure to withdraw its forces from areas it is occupying in southern Lebanon.

“This is the main lesson from the events of October 7,” Katz said. “Prime Minister Netanyahu made this clear to U.S. President Trump and other senior American officials, and I also clarified it yesterday to U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.”

STRAIT TO REOPEN

Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, said a more expansive agreement on the wider conflict would be negotiated during a 60-day ceasefire period, including sanctions relief for Iran.

The fate of Iran’s nuclear program, another thorny issue, ‌will also be ⁠addressed in those later talks, sources previously told Reuters.

Trump said the Strait of Hormuz, a major shipping route for global oil and gas supplies that Iran has effectively shut down for months, would open on Friday, and that he had ordered the end of the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports.

“Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!” Trump wrote.

Oil prices fell on the news. Brent crude futures fell 4% in early trading on Monday while stock markets jumped.

The war has become a political liability at home for Trump and his fellow Republicans in Congress, with public opinion polls showing Americans deeply frustrated by rising gas prices ahead of November’s midterm elections. But Trump has also faced pressure from members of his own party who insist that Iran’s nuclear program must be completely shut down.

During his ⁠first term, Trump withdrew the U.S. from a 2015 multilateral Iran deal, negotiated by Democratic President Barack Obama, that lifted sanctions on Tehran in exchange for limits on its nuclear program and international inspections.

Iran responded by ramping up its enrichment of uranium, producing more than 400 kg (around 900 pounds) of material at close to bomb-grade purity.

RELEASE OF FROZEN ASSETS

The agreement was sealed despite an Israeli strike on Lebanon on Sunday that drew criticism from both Iran and Trump.

Netanyahu has disregarded American demands that Israel curb its military action in Lebanon to ⁠allow the U.S. to reach a deal with Iran, saying it will retain freedom of operations there. Meanwhile, Iran made a full ceasefire in Lebanon an important component of its demands.

Leaders outside the Middle East welcomed the announcement.

In a joint statement, Britain, Germany, France and Italy said they were prepared to lift sanctions on Iran in response to “clear, verifiable steps” to limit its nuclear program.

China also welcomed the deal.

Before the deal was announced, a senior Iranian official told Reuters that, under the terms ⁠of the draft, the U.S. would agree to release $25 billion of frozen Iranian assets. The Trump administration has previously said any release of Iranian money would only take place once Iran has fulfilled certain conditions under a peace deal.

A U.S. official, also speaking before the announcement, said the agreement would ultimately lead to the dismantling of Iran’s nuclear program, with its stockpile of highly enriched uranium to be destroyed and removed. The senior Iranian official said the draft deal would allow Iran, which denies seeking a nuclear bomb, to dilute its enriched uranium inside the country.

Thomson Reuters

People

Trump turns 80, faces a foe he can’t defeat

The main Nuremberg trial ended, Winston Churchill warned of an iron curtain descending across Europe, It’s a Wonderful Life received its premiere and, at Jamaica hospital in the borough of Queens, New York, Donald John Trump was born.

It was 1946, also the birth year of George W Bush and Bill Clinton, but on Sunday the current US president celebrates his 80th birthday in a style uniquely his own. Trump will stage a night of cage fighting on the once-pristine White House south lawn as part of events marking the 250th anniversary of US independence.

The blend of visceral bloodsport with political spectacle under metal scaffolding may offer brief respite for a president also consumed with an unpopular war, rising inflation, plunging poll numbers and a foe not even he can bully, bomb or outrun: Father Time.

“Donald Trump has been showing signs of his age for quite some time,” said Tara Setmayer, a former Republican communications director on Capitol Hill. “It’s on display almost daily as he struggles to stay awake during official meetings, he is more irritable and going on rage tangents and throwing temper tantrums when he doesn’t get his way. These are not signs of a well-adjusted adult approaching 80 years old.”

Trump is the oldest US president sworn into office and, some critics say, showing alarming evidence of decline as he becomes an octogenarian, a status that more than half his predecessors never achieved and that found Gerald Ford playing golf, Jimmy Carter immersed in humanitarian work and Ronald Reagan organising his memoirs.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll in February found 61% of Americans thought Trump had become more erratic with age, and another survey in April showed a majority concerned about his temperament and mental sharpness.

The physical evidence is increasingly difficult for his aides to conceal, though they aggressively project a narrative of vigour. The president has been photographed with bruised hands and swollen ankles, ailments his medical staff continually brush off as a “slight” issue. He sees 22 medical specialists, an apparent new bar for presidents.

His public calendar has grown notably sparse, dominated by hours of nebulous “executive time” and behind-closed-doors policy meetings. After a flurry of travel early in the year, he has largely retreated to the cocoons of the White House and his clubs in Florida and New Jersey since launching the Iran war in February.

Then there is the sleeping. Trump has increasingly been caught on camera apparently nodding off at public events, most recently at an NBA basketball finals game at New York’s Madison Square Garden. When clips of his shut eyes go viral, his aides claim he was merely blinking or listening intently.

The White House spokesperson Davis Ingle has insisted that Trump remains “the sharpest and most accessible president in American history”. The president himself frequently boasts of “acing” cognitive tests that would have flummoxed past presidents.

But to observers the spin is not only unconvincing but counterproductive. Kurt Bardella, a political commentator and former congressional aide, said: “It’s not surprising that someone who’s on the doorstep of being octogenarian is showing signs of ageing. Father Time is undefeated: that applies to everybody including Donald Trump and I would have more confidence in him as commander-in chief if he would just admit that rather than try to hide it.”

Bardella added: “Hiding it is a sign of weakness. Being transparent, forthright, honest about it would actually be a sign a strength. The fact the White House seems to be going to all these ridiculous and laughable measures to try to convince us that he’s not actually ageing is insulting to American people, it’s idiotic, it reeks of desperation, and it makes everyone believe that there’s more going on than meets the eye. And what meets the eye isn’t that great. Secrecy breeds mistrust.”

If that complaint sounds familiar it is because Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, who was 78 when he took office in 2021, faced similar charges. White House officials were accused of covering up Biden’s failing capacities. Jill Biden, the former first lady, wrote in a new memoir that she feared her husband had had a stroke when he delivered a feeble debate performance that forced him to abandon his campaign for reelection.

Bill Whalen, a policy fellow at the Hoover Institution thinktank in Stanford,

California, said: “It’s very difficult, if not a double standard, for every Democrat to criticise Donald Trump as too old and too out of touch, with Democrats having basically zipped their lips in 2024 and not dared say the same about Joe Biden. In this age of whataboutism it is another bad case of whataboutism.”

Trump’s critics, however, reject the comparison, contending that the concerns around him are greater by orders of magnitude.

Setmayer, who now runs the Seneca Project, a female-led political action committee, said: “There is a fair discussion to be had about a president’s physical and emotional condition, no matter what age they are. However, if Joe Biden was exhibiting the same level of cognitive incoherence and physical decline in public the way Donald Trump currently is, the apoplexy on the right would be palpable.”

Such commentators argue that Trump’s already volatile psyche is fraying as his stamina wanes. Even with the nation at war with Iran and citizens strained by the cost of living, he touts a $1.4bn White House ballroom, revamp of the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool and plans for a huge triumphal arch.

His speeches, which have long been rife with non sequiturs and long stories, increasingly ramble, repeat and take baffling tangents. He is prone to more scattergun statements that give Republican strategists heartburn, such as “I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation”, “I don’t care about the midterms and “I love the inflation”. At dead of night he pushes election conspiracy theories and torrents of AI slop on social media.

Nowhere was this more evident than during an explosive confrontation last week with the journalist Kristen Welker on the NBC show Meet the Press. Factchecked on his false claims of election rigging, Trump flew off the handle and said Welker was either “crooked” or “stupid”, then abruptly ended the interview: “Let’s call it quits because I’ve had enough. Thank you darling. Have a good time.”

Larry Sabato, the director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, watched the broadcast with genuine alarm. “The man was out of control,” he said. “How he kept himself from having a heart attack or stroke, I don’t know. You saw his face. He’s orange at the best of times but he was oscillating between red and orange. I really did think he was going to have a heart attack.”

As for Trump’s penchant for napping, Sabato offers a silver lining of sorts. “You shouldn’t laugh but it’s the only time he looks peaceful,” he quipped. “It’s the only time his mouth is shut and he’s not saying something obnoxious, so I’m always grateful when he nods off.

“But what that proves to me is there’s nobody in his family or his staff that can control him in any way. There’s no way somebody his age should be staying up practically the whole night or intermittently waking up and sending out these crazy memes – dozens of them sometimes. It’s unbelievable.”

The prospect of such a man having access to the nuclear codes would typically prompt discussion of his cabinet invoking the 25th amendment to the constitution to remove him from office. No one expects Trump’s team of loyalists to even remotely consider such an option. Republicans in Congress have shown flickers of dissent lately but preserved a conspiracy of silence around the age issue.

Trump is therefore expected to remain in office for his 81st and 82nd birthdays, potentially as a lame duck president facing political mortality if Democrats win one or both chambers of Congress. For many people such age

brings wisdom, wistfulness and a softening of hard edges, but for Trump it seems only to exacerbate his character and make him more truly himself.

Gwenda Blair, a Trump biographer, said: “Any sign of grace? Perspective? Those have not emerged. Those are the kind of rewards of being older that many people experience but not him. Instead he’s doubling down on the exact same behaviour patterns that he has always had: what’s in it for me and how can I get the maximum out of it and then more than that?”

The questions over the judgment and temperament of the world’s most powerful man, and the potential risks to the global order, will only grow louder in the coming years, according to Larry Jacobs, the director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the University of Minnesota.

“The recklessness of decisions, the failure to think in a logical evidence-based way, the acting on impulse, the losing track of reality versus the talking points – all these things are being accelerated by Trump’s age. Most presidents’ skill set begins to fade as they age; Trump has got such a limited toolkit that it’s putting him over the edge.”

Jacobs warned: “America and the world are in for a frightening two years. Trump has too much power for someone with so little connection to reality. Age is making Trump an even more dangerous president.”

David Smith– the Guardian

politics

US, Iran inch closer to deal, Trump says

U.S. and Pakistani leaders forecast a Sunday signing of a long-elusive framework agreement to end months of fighting between the United States and Iran, ‌but Tehran cast doubt over the timing and hardline protesters in Iran voiced opposition.

President Donald Trump posted that the deal with Iran was scheduled to be signed on Sunday, his 80th birthday. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Islamabad was preparing for an electronic signing, to be followed by technical-level talks in the coming week.

But Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei, speaking before Trump’s post, was quoted by state media as saying on Saturday it would “not be tomorrow” but could happen “in the coming days.”

Iran’s Fars news agency citing an informed source said on Sunday that Tehran has not yet taken a final decision on the framework agreement, with reviews of its political, legal and technical aspects still ongoing at expert and decision-making levels.

Qatari negotiators flew to Tehran on Sunday morning as part of an ⁠effort to finalize the agreement, a source with knowledge of the situation told Reuters.

U.S. FOCUSES ON OPENING STRAIT, CLASHES CONTINUE

Trump wrote on Truth Social earlier that after a framework deal is signed, the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery for global oil supplies that Iran has blocked, would immediately be “open to all.”

Once the strait reopens, the U.S. would lift its naval blockade, sources on all sides of the talks said. Negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program — a key rationale Trump has given for the war — would take place afterwards.

While U.S. and Israeli bombings since February 28 have heavily degraded Iran’s military-industrial base and damaged its military, experts say the war has only entrenched the dominance of the hardline Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

When the U.S. and Israel launched the war, Trump called on Iranians to rise up and take over state institutions.

Even as the U.S. and Iran appeared to be moving toward an agreement over the past few days, clashes have continued, as the U.S. military maintains a blockade on Iran and seeks to loosen Iran’s chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, which was the conduit for 20% of the world’s oil shipments before the war.

Israel, ⁠which says it is not a party to the U.S.-Iran deal, said on Saturday that it had struck more than 70 sites over a 24-hour period in Lebanon against Iranian ally Hezbollah.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has clashed with Trump over U.S. demands that Israel curb military action in Lebanon to allow Washington to reach a deal with Tehran.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Friday that while changes in the deal were still possible, the tentative agreement showed his country had emerged stronger from the conflict.

NUCLEAR NEGOTIATIONS TO COME LATER

At pro-government rallies held across Iran on Saturday night, residents and news agencies reported that hardliners opposed to the framework agreement loudly voiced their dissatisfaction.

A ⁠resident in the northeastern city of Mashhad told Reuters that some protesters chanted: “Death to the compromiser,” in an apparent reference to Araqchi. “Compromiser, resign, resign.”

Draft terms of the agreement described to Reuters by multiple sources indicate the U.S. would begin releasing billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets and waive sanctions on its oil exports, in return for Iran opening the strait.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said the release of the frozen assets was an integral part of ⁠the agreement and that Tehran would have to charge for services in the strait, Fars news agency reported.

But a U.S. official said, “Iran is going to open up the Strait of Hormuz, that’s a requirement. It could be open with no tolls. As they do that, we will lift our blockade.” Next would come de-mining of the waterway, the official told reporters, indicating countries in the Group of Seven major powers could ⁠have a role in this.

Baghaei said foreign military bases in the region must end, Fars reported, without providing details.

Iran’s nuclear program would be addressed during a 60-day period of talks. A U.S. official said the agreement would ultimately lead to the dismantling of Iran’s nuclear program, with its stockpile of highly enriched uranium to be destroyed and removed.

Foreign Minister Araqchi has said Iran’s preferred position is that its enriched uranium should be diluted and kept in the country.

Thomson Reuters