Weekend Edition.
Brain ignition.
“It’s the first thing I read every morning.” — Rob Manfred, Commissioner, MLB.
1. The New York Times:
Vice President JD Vance said on Sunday that 21 hours of peace talks between the United States and Iran had failed to produce an agreement to end the war, leaving the fate of a fragile two-week cease-fire, and whether President Trump will resume major combat operations, uncertain.
“They have chosen not to accept our terms,” Mr. Vance said at a brief news conference in Islamabad, Pakistan, although he left open the possibility that terms could still be reached.
“We leave here with a very simple proposal: a method of understanding that is our final and best offer,” he added. “We’ll see if the Iranians accept it.”
Mr. Vance did not provide specifics, but said the United States needed an “affirmative commitment” that Iran would not seek a nuclear weapon or the tools with which to achieve one.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman, Esmaeil Baqaei, told state media that disagreement on “two or three key issues” prevented a deal, but he did not say if Tehran planned to continue talking to the United States. (Source: nytimes.com)
2. Two empty supertankers attempted to make their way through the Strait of Hormuz and into the Persian Gulf on Sunday, only to make a last-minute U-turn just as peace negotiations between the US and Iran broke down, threatening a fragile ceasefire. A trio of very large crude carriers — all without direct links to Iran — began to approach the narrow waterway from the Gulf of Oman late on Saturday, ship-tracking data show, arriving near Iran’s Larak island early on Sunday. At that effective checkpoint, Iraq-bound Agios Fanourios I and Pakistan-flagged Shalamar, destined for Das island in the United Arab Emirates, turned back. A third VLCC, Mombasa B, was sailing ahead and made its way between Larak and Qeshm islands, an Iran-approved route into the Persian Gulf. It is not currently signaling a clear destination. (Source: bloomberg.com)
3. Hungarians (are voting today) in an election that could end Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s 16-year hold on power — and deprive Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump of their closest ally in Europe. Orban faces his strongest challenge yet from a former ruling elite insider, Peter Magyar. Over the past two years, his Tisza party has rallied Hungarians by playing on discontent with rampant corruption, a cost-of-living crisis and the poor state of public services. A defeat for Orban would have an impact far beyond his country of almost 10 million. The European Union’s longest serving leader has been a persistent obstacle to the bloc’s efforts to project geopolitical power beyond its borders and promote democratic values, most recently by vetoing a €90 billion ($105 billion) loan to Ukraine. (Source: bloomberg.com)
