Following the recent imposed war, Iran shifted the game by closing the Strait of Hormuz – a renewable, low-cost threat. Unlike other cards, this credible leverage forced the US into negotiations and to make concessions.

CBS News has removed its London bureau chief after clashes with editor-in-chief over the network’s coverage of Iran and Gaza, a report says.

With firm control of the Strait of Hormuz, expanded battlefronts, and undisclosed strategic assets, Iran will concede nothing and negotiate with the US only on its own terms because it’s Iran that holds the cards now.

China’s Foreign Ministry has denounced the US for imposing sanctions on Chinese refineries over alleged links to Iran.

European leaders are concerned that tensions arising from the US standoff with Iran could escalate into a political crisis for the EU, a report says.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has returned to Islamabad for a second official visit in two days for further consultations with Pakistani mediators amid stalled negotiations with the United States.

During FM Araghchi's latest visit to Islamabad, Iran snubbed US negotiators and laid out firm and principled red lines for any future talks – even as a likely false-flag shooting in Washington sought to divert attention from a failed war and manufacture sympathy for Trump.