China To Accelerate The Construction Of Coal-Fired Power Plants

Vance Warns Iranians Ahead Of Pakistan Talks: US "Has All The Cards" & "We Want The Nuclear Fuel" Summary:  Vice President Vance (who's been tapped to lead talks) warns Iranians: Trump "has all the cards" and cannot have a nuclear weapon. Follows Pentagon/WH declaring "total victory". Iran says it has upper-hand. US, Iran agree to meet for first direct talks in Islamabad. Situation fragile given that Iran is threatening to hit Israel again over IDF's massive Lebanon airstrikes. Tehran says 3 clauses already violated. Iran meanwhile demands stiff fees for ships passing through Hormuz during the ceasefire, and...

Senior Iranian Official Involved In Reaching Out To Vance Severely Wounded In Airstrike A top Iranian official who was involved in diplomatic outreach and indirect talks or messaging with the United States and Pakistani mediators was reportedly critically wounded in a US-Israeli strike. Kamal Kharazi, an 81-year-old senior adviser to Tehran and former foreign minister, lost his wife in the Wednesday strike on his home, state media has said. Kharazi chairs Iran's Strategic Council on Foreign Relations and has been viewed as a potential backchannel negotiator involving Islamabad, but now he's...