Poland following Middle East situation with calm: Polish president
CNA's Yasmin Jonkers speaks to Polish President Andrzej Duda in an exclusive interview. He calls for cool heads and a multilateral approach to managing the escalating tensions in the Middle East.
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Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, June 21, 2025
British foreign minister David Lammy (left) and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot briefing the media in Geneva on June 20, after their talks with Iran's Foreign Minister on Tehran's nuclear programme. PHOTO: AFP While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, June 21, 2025 Europe-Iran talks yield little at 'perilous' moment There were few signs of progress after European foreign ministers met their Iranian counterpart on June 20 in a bid to prevent conflict in the Middle East from escalating, although all signalled readiness to keep talking, despite major sticking points. The foreign ministers of Germany, Britain, France - known as the E3 - plus the EU, urged Iran to engage with the United States over its contentious nuclear programme even as Tehran has repeatedly insisted it will not open discussions with the Trump administration until Israeli strikes on Iran end. The talks aimed to test Tehran's willingness to negotiate a new nuclear deal despite there being no obvious prospect of Israel ceasing its attacks soon, diplomats said. For his part, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Iran was ready to consider diplomacy once Israel had ceased its attacks and been held accountable for its actions. READ MORE HERE Trump says he may support Israel-Iran ceasefire President Donald Trump said on June 20 he might support a ceasefire in the week-old aerial conflict between US ally Israel and its regional rival Iran 'depending on the circumstances'. Asked by reporters if he would support a ceasefire while negotiations are ongoing, Mr Trump said: 'I might, depending on the circumstances.' Europe would not be able to help much in the war between Iran and Israel, Mr Trump added. READ MORE HERE US judge orders release of pro-Palestinian activist A US judge ordered on June 20 that Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil be released from immigration custody, a major victory for rights groups that challenged what they called the Trump administration's unlawful targeting of a pro-Palestinian activist. Mr Khalil, a prominent figure in pro-Palestinian protests against Israel's war on Gaza, was arrested by immigration agents in the lobby of his university residence in Manhattan on March 8. President Donald Trump, a Republican, has called the protests anti-Semitic and vowed to deport foreign students who took part, and Mr Khalil became the first target of this policy. READ MORE HERE Russia must not let economy slip into recession, says Putin Russia's economy must under no circumstances slide into recession, President Vladimir Putin told an economic forum on June 20, in a clear instruction to assembled government ministers and central bankers. The Bank of Russia hiked its key interest rate to the highest level since the early 2000s in October, seeking to curb stubbornly high inflation, before cutting it by one percentage point to 20 per cent earlier this month. Economy Minister Maxim Reshetnikov, in a downbeat message to Russia's showcase economic event, said on June 20 that the economy was on the verge of sliding into recession and monetary policy decisions would determine whether it falls into one or not. Pressure on the central bank is mounting. READ MORE HERE Liverpool shatter club record to sign Germany's Wirtz Liverpool have signed Germany's Florian Wirtz from Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen, the Premier League champions said on June 20, as they smashed their transfer record to seal a deal for the attacking midfielder. Leverkusen will receive a guaranteed amount of £100 million (S$170 million) and a further maximum of £16 million in potential bonuses. That makes the 22-year-old Liverpool's most-expensive signing ever, ahead of Netherlands centre back and captain Virgil van Dijk who joined for £75 million in 2017. READ MORE HERE Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
Commentary: Trump's unpredictable approach to Iran could seriously backfire
LONDON: Donald Trump has dismissed reports that he has approved a plan of attack against Iran, which includes a strike against its underground nuclear facility at Fordow. This will only add to the speculation and confusion about what the US president might do in response to the mounting conflict between Iran and Israel. And that's exactly what Trump wants. This is not a case of indecision or buying time. Trump has long based his foreign policy on being unpredictable. Iran is another example of his strategy to be as elusive as possible. Yet, his approach has always been difficult – and now threatens to destabilise an already fractious conflict. One interpretation of Trump's new public threat towards Iran could be deterrence. Trump is warning Iran that there would be significant consequences if they do not reverse their nuclear ambitions. Change or you will regret it. If this is Trump's plan, then he is doing it badly. Successful deterrence relies on clearly communicating the exact penalties of not complying. While Trump has specified a possible attack on Fordow, the rest of the plan is extremely hazy. Trump said he wants 'better than a ceasefire'. But what does that mean? Just Fordow? Boots on the ground? Regime change? His ambiguity creates problems for deterrence because if your adversary doesn't know what the outcomes of their actions will be, they can't formulate a response or will think you just aren't serious. UNPREDICTABILITY AND UNCERTAINTY But current US foreign policy on Iran is more than bad deterrence. Trump's vague rhetoric and his refusal to commit reflects his long-standing strategy of being unreliable when it comes to foreign policy. Trump's prevarication has all the hallmarks of his unpredictability doctrine – which states that you should never let anyone know what you will do. The doctrine is also about uncertainty. The idea being that you unnerve your opponents by making them unsure, allowing you to take the advantage while they have no idea what to do themselves. Trump's rhetoric on Iran reflects that unpredictability doctrine. Trump actively said of his future action: 'I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do.' This would not be the first time he has used unpredictability in relation to Iran. In 2018, Trump withdrew the US from the joint comprehensive plan of action. This agreement – signed by the US, France, Germany, the UK, China, Russia and the EU – was designed to limit Iran's nuclear activity in return for sanctions relief. The US withdrawal was seen as disruptive and creating unnecessary uncertainty, not just for Iran but also US allies. WILL THE STRATEGY WORK? Being unpredictable is a dangerous way of doing foreign policy. Stable international politics depends on knowing what everyone else will do. You can't do that with Trump. The downsides of unpredictability will be even worse in a conflict. In the case of Iran, adding even more uncertainty to a fragile situation will only add fuel to what is already a massive fire. Trump's refusal to specify exactly what the US response would be is more proverbial petrol. The insinuation that this could escalate to regime change may be true or not (or just unpredictable bluster). It's also the case that only 14 per cent of Americans support military intervention and so a more aggressive policy may not be realistic. But if Iran is led to think that Trump is directly threatening their state, this could encourage them to hunker down as opposed to changing their nuclear policy – risking greater military action on both sides. Even just the implicit threat of US military intervention will damage what little relations there are between America and Iran. Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has said: 'Any US military intervention will undoubtedly cause irreparable damage.' Unpredictability then undermines any diplomatic negotiations or solution to the crisis. Trump is also risking his foreign policy relations beyond Iran. While preventing a new member of the nuclear club is a laudable aim, any US attack on a state over weapons of mass destruction (WMD) will lie in the difficult shadow of the 'war on terror', the US-led military campaign launched after 9/11. With the International Atomic Energy Agency questioning Iran's capacity to build a nuclear bomb, the US' legacy of intervention over the WMD in Iraq that never were still looms large. Trump will need to be fully transparent and clear if any action over nuclear arms is going to be seen as legitimate. Unpredictability does not allow for that. Trump's fellow state leaders are going to feel disrupted by yet another example of unpredictability. Even if they support curbing Iran, they may find it difficult to back someone they simply can't depend on. And if they feel cautious about the Iran situation because they can't rely on Trump, Trump needs to start asking whether he can rely on them for support in whatever his next move is.
CNA
3 hours ago
- CNA
Wall Street choppy, oil dips as US holds back from Mideast military action
NEW YORK :Major Wall Street indexes closed lower on Friday while oil prices fell after U.S. President Donald Trump held back from immediate military action in the Israel-Iran conflict. All eyes remained trained on the Middle East one week after an initial Israeli assault drew Iranian retaliation. The U.S. imposed Iran-related sanctions a day after Trump said he might take two weeks to decide on further action. According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 lost 0.21 per cent, while the Nasdaq Composite shed 0.49 per cent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, however, rose 38.47 points, or 0.09 per cent, to 42,210.13. Stocks had been broadly positive at the open, and dipped in and out of negative territory during the session. Global benchmark Brent crude futures fell 2.3 per cent to settle at $77.01 a barrel, but gained 3.6 per cent in the week. Front-month U.S. crude - which did not settle on Thursday due to a U.S. holiday and expires on Friday - ended down 0.28 per cent at $74.93, with a weekly gain of 2.7 per cent. "Investors are a little bit nervous about buying stocks right in front of this situation and, more specifically, right in front of this weekend," said Rick Meckler, a partner at Cherry Lane Investments in New Vernon, New Jersey. The new sanctions target entities, individuals and vessels providing Iran with defence machinery, and were seen as a sign of a diplomatic approach from the Trump administration. "However, while Israel and Iran carry on pounding away at each other, there can always be an unintended action that escalates the conflict and touches upon oil infrastructure," PVM analyst John Evans said. European foreign ministers urged Iran to engage with the U.S. over its nuclear programme after high-level talks in Geneva about a potential new nuclear deal ended with little sign of progress. Europe's main bourses [.EU] had ended their session a touch higher, following similar gains across Asia. MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe fell 0.01 per cent on the day. Gains on Hong Kong's Hang Seng, and South Korea's Kospi linked to newly elected President Lee Jae Myung's stimulus, had boosted Asian shares during that session. FED SPLIT Federal Reserve policymakers made their first public comments since Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday that borrowing costs were likely to fall this year, but that he expects "meaningful" inflation ahead as Trump's tariffs raise prices for consumers. The close split between governors on how to manage the risks was in full view as Governor Christopher Waller said the central bank should consider cutting as soon as the next meeting, while the Richmond Fed's Tom Barkin said there was no urgency to cut. Powell had also cautioned on Wednesday against holding on too strongly to the forecasts. Treasury yields fell after Waller's comments, and as concerns about the Middle East conflict supported demand for safe haven bonds. The yield on benchmark 10-year notes fell 2 basis points to 4.375 per cent, from 4.395 per cent late on Wednesday. Demand rose for the U.S. dollar, pushing the greenback to a three-week high against the yen. The dollar rose 0.03 per cent against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro , with the euro up 0.3 per cent at $1.1528. The index is poised to rise 0.6 per cent this week.
