17 h. ago Moscow may gain key role in Iran nuclear deal as US talks progress

Russia touted as possible destination for Iran’s uranium stockpile and could also act as arbiter of deal breachesRussia could play a key role in a deal on the future of Iran’s nuclear programme, with Moscow being touted not only as a possible destination for Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, but also as a possible arbiter of deal breaches.Donald Trump, who abandoned a 2015 nuclear pact between Tehran and world powers in 2018 during his first term, has threatened to attack Iran unless it reaches a new deal swiftly that would prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon. Continue reading...

Economics

33 h. ago Island dripping with GOLD could be Trump's next win if he seizes chance for 'deal of the century'

A remote chain of islands in the Pacific Ocean may soon become the world's next nation-triggering a fresh geopolitical tug-of-war between global superpowers.

Politics

39 h. ago Trump on course for failure on Ukraine peace deal, Ben Wallace warns

Former defence secretary Wallace said Donald Trump is ‘not actually very good at doing deals’

Events

54 h. ago Donald Trump threatens to withdraw US from Ukraine peace talks if deal proves difficult

President Trump warned the US could 'pass' on Ukraine peace talks if the talks prove to be 'very difficult', as the previous 30-day deal to protect energy infrastructure from Russian attack ends

Economics

55 h. ago Donald Trump threatens to walk away from peace talks if deal isn't struck, but says 'we have a good chance of solving the problem'

The US President claimed America would walk away unless there were clear signs a truce can be reached.

Politics

60 h. ago Trump says US will ‘take a pass’ on Ukraine peace deal ‘if parties make it difficult’ – live

US president tells reporters he needs to see ‘enthusiasm’ from both sides to end the war in UkraineThe US is optimistic that it can end “the very brutal war” between Russia and Ukraine, Vice-President JD Vance said before a bilateral meeting with the Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome on Friday.The meeting comes less than 24 hours after the pair met in Washington. Vance said:I want to update the prime minister on some of the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine even in the past 24 hours, we think we have some interesting things to report on.Since there are the negotiations I won’t prejudge them, but we do feel optimistic that we can hopefully bring this war, this very brutal war, to a close. Continue reading...

Politics

61 h. ago Starmer will not be able to have his cake and eat it with a Trump trade deal and a Brexit reset

As two hard deadlines come up in the next three months over a Trump trade deal and a Brexit reset, The Independent’s political editor David Maddox looks at why Keir Starmer may be forced to make a choice he does not want to acknowledge

Politics

62 h. ago Trump threatens to abandon Ukraine peace efforts unless deal reached ‘very shortly’

President says US may ‘take a pass’ on brokering agreement as Kyiv signs minerals memorandum Trump team reveals lack of expertise – and patience – as it threatens to abandon Ukraine peace talksDonald Trump has said the US is ready to “take a pass” on brokering a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine unless a settlement is reached “very shortly”, as Kyiv announced it has signed a memorandum with the US over a controversial minerals deal.“Now if for some reason one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we’re just going to say: ‘You’re foolish. You’re fools. You’re horrible people’ – and we’re going to just take a pass,” Trump told reporters in Washington. “But hopefully we won’t have to do that.” Continue reading...

Politics

67 h. ago Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury's among supermarket giants demanding EU agree a deal with Britain on plant and animal exports amid Donald Trump's trade chaos

Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury's are among 12 firms to have written to European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic in support of a 'veterinary agreement'.

Economics

68 h. ago US ready to abandon Ukraine peace deal if there is no progress, says Marco Rubio

Secretary of state threatens to pull plug ‘within days’, as Kyiv says it has signed mineral deal memorandumRussia-Ukraine war – latest news updatesThe US will abandon its efforts “within days” to broker a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine unless there are clear signs a settlement can be reached, the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has said, as Kyiv says it has signed a memorandum with the US over a controversial minerals deal.Speaking in Paris on Friday after meeting European and Ukrainian leaders, Rubio said Donald Trump was still interested in a deal. But he added that the US president had many other priorities around the world and was willing to move on unless there were signs of progress. Continue reading...

Economics

3 d. ago Trump spurns neocons, foreign policy hawks with his effort to reach a MAGA

ANALYSIS: A meltdown in ‘maximum pressure’ world accompanies the president’s search for his own JCPOA-style deal, writes John Bowden

Politics

3 d. ago Trade deal for UK and US could be just weeks away as Trump negotiations continue

A government official has said an agreement between the UK and the US should be expected 'soon', potentially in the next two or three weeks as negotiations continue

Politics

3 d. ago Donald Trump says there will '100% be a trade deal' with Europe after meeting with Giorgia Meloni

President boasts that he will have “little problem” securing an agreement between the US and the bloc

Politics

3 d. ago Trump reveals new date to sign Ukraine minerals deal, weeks after Oval Office ambush on Zelensky derailed it

President Donald Trump on Thursday said the United States and Ukraine would sign an agreement giving America access to much of Ukraine’s mineral wealth next week, more than a month after a planned White House signing ceremony with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was aborted after a disastrous meeting between him and Trump in the Oval Office.

Politics

3 d. ago Britain could sign a trade deal with Donald Trump 'within three weeks'

Sir Keir Starmer has been pushing for an agreement with America in a bid to lower the 10 per cent tariffs on British goods imposed by the US President.

Politics

4 d. ago Can we stop pretending a trade deal with Trump will be a gamechanger for the UK. It won’t | Martin Kettle

I’m not saying Britain should refuse every sort of free trade agreement with the US, but there may be options that better suit Labour’s purposeIt’s a deal. The words sound good. Most human beings are primed to think of a deal as desirable in itself. It isn’t hard to see why. Agreement is generally better than disagreement. In most aspects of life, shaking hands under shared rules makes sense. So it takes a bit of effort to think more objectively. But it is important to do that now, especially in the case of the proposed UK trade deal with the United States.Even before Donald Trump became president again, and long before the US started its current tariff wars, there were already plenty of reasons for caution about what a free trade deal with the US might look like. In the wake of Brexit, these concerns centred on whether a deal could be struck – and sold at home – on bilateral trade issues such as pharmaceuticals, food products and digital regulation, on all of which very different s...

Politics

4 d. ago ‘Who is going to face Mr Trump’: Canada leaders’ debate dominated by US crisis

Mark Carney’s Liberals have surged in the polls since Donald Trump’s attacks on Canada, scuppering Conservative calls for change after Trudeau eraPrime Minister Mark Carney said the key question in Canada’s upcoming election is who is best to deal with Donald Trump as he faced his Conservative rival in a French-language leaders’ debate on Wednesday.Opposition Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre said during the debate Canada needs change after a decade of Liberal party rule and Carney is just like his predecessor, Justin Trudeau. Carney responded: “Mr Poilievre is not Justin Trudeau. I’m not Justin Trudeau either. In this election the question is who is going to face Mr Trump.” Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago Trump's 'great' trade deal with Britain could be sealed 'in a matter of weeks'

Britain's rapid deal with the US would come after President Donald Trump pens agreements with Japan , India , and South Korea in an attempt to isolate China .

Politics

4 d. ago Starmer warned children will be at risk if he agrees to US demands to get trade deal

Revelations that vice president JD Vance is still pushing for online safety and hate speech laws to be repealed have alarmed campaigners

Events

4 d. ago ‘How dare the US attack the UK’s free speech’ Independent readers call out trade deal demands

Our community share their views on the US trade deal ultimatum, from outrage at ‘JD Vance’s demand to scrap LGBT+ protections’ to calls for Keir Starmer to ‘defend British laws, not bow to US pressure’

Economics