Trump maximises leverage over Iran by squeezing where it hurts most
Leverage is the most important thing in negotiations, Donald Trump said in his book The Art Of The Deal. “Don’t make deals without it.”
The US president has just maximised his leverage over Iran’s government, squeezing it where it hurts most.
Oil sales. The move will hurt Iran’s economy, already in deep trouble, and could lead to more social unrest.
The edict Mr Trump signed on Tuesday marks a return to the maximum pressure policies of his first administration that were relaxed by his successors.
Pic: AP
Joe Biden allowed Iran to export more than $50bn of oil a year.
Trump is reversing that. He will target foreign ports and refineries, especially those in China that are currently handling Iranian oil.
Iran may find there is nowhere left for it to sell its oil.
Read more: Trump says Iran will be ‘obliterated’ if it assassinates him
That could be devastating for the ayatollahs and their government. Strapped by crippling sanctions, Iranians desperately need the hard currency receipts generated by oil sales.
But the impact does not stop there. The global price of oil has already jumped on the news.
This spells more trouble for the government in Tehran. Higher fuel prices add to the pain of Iran’s poor. That increases the chances of social unrest.
Protests led by Iranian women following the death of a Mahsa Amini more than two years ago were crushed with force but they weakened the government’s standing.
If the rural poor take to the streets, protesting against higher fuel and food prices on top of already crippling inflation, broader and more wide-ranging unrest could ensue.
This all puts Iran’s government in a bind.
President Trump says he wants a deal with Iran. Its people are amazing, he says, and the country has huge potential.
On one condition. It cannot have a nuclear weapon.
Iran says its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes but since Mr Trump reneged on the first Iranian nuclear deal it has been enriching uranium to levels that can have no civilian purpose.
Its government is facing a choice. Enter talks with the US from a position of weakness. Or change its nuclear doctrine and accelerate its pursuit of the bomb.
The latter path is fraught with danger. Israeli intelligence has infiltrated and penetrated Iran. It is likely to detect any clandestine dash to go the final mile and produce a nuclear weapon.
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Iran’s warning to Israel and US
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Israel is likely then to attack Iran and Mr Trump has said without a deal the US is likely to support it.
Iran has never been more exposed. Over the last year it has watched its network of allies and proxies done mortal damage by Israel.
In the latest round of fighting between the two countries, Israel is thought to have destroyed much of Iran’s air defences. But it has other means of self-defence.
Not least attacking neighbours across the gulf and their vulnerable energy infrastructure. That raises the spectre once more of an escalating war across the Middle East.
Iran’s diplomats are sounding defiant. Attacking its nuclear facilities would be “crazy“, its foreign minister Abbas Aragchi told Sky News last month. It would lead, he said, to a “very bad disaster” for the region.
Iran’s leaders are in a tight spot. Mr Trump seems determined to increase their pain. He hopes that could increase the chances of a deal on his terms.
Others fear it makes a devastating regional conflict more likely. The repercussions of a conflict across the Persian Gulf would be felt around the world.
Former US president Joe Biden has prostate cancer, his office has said.
The statement said Mr Biden, who left the White House in January, is reviewing options for treatment with his physicians.
It read: “Last week, President Joe Biden was seen for a new finding of a prostate nodule after experiencing increasing urinary symptoms.
“On Friday, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, characterised by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone.
“While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management.
“The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.”
File pic: Reuters
According to Cancer Research UK, a Gleason score of 9 means the cancerous cells “look very abnormal” and the disease is “likely to grow quickly”.
A source familiar with Mr Biden and his family’s thinking has told Sky’s US partner network, NBC News, that the former president is considering “multiple treatment options” – including hormone treatment for the cancer.
They added he is at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, and that as of now, it is unclear where the former president will be treated.
Mr Biden, 82, was the oldest person to ever serve as president, with concerns about his health raised regularly during his campaign for re-election last year.
After a poor debate against Donald Trump in June, he withdrew from the 2024 election and endorsed his vice president Kamala Harris.
In February 2023, he had a skin lesion removed from his chest that was a basal cell carcinoma, a common form of skin cancer.
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A Mexican navy ship has hit the Brooklyn Bridge during a promotional tour in New York City.
The New York Fire Department said authorities were responding to injuries but had no details about how many people might have been hurt or whether they were on the vessel or on the bridge.
Sky’s US partner network NBC News reports that at least three people were seriously injured in the incident.
The Mexican navy said in a post on X that the Cuauhtemoc, an academy training vessel, was damaged in the accident, which has prevented it from continuing its voyage.
Eyewitness video of the collision posted online showed the mast of the ship, which was flying a large Mexican flag, scraping the underneath of the bridge.
Pic: AP
The vessel then drifted toward the edge of the river as onlookers scrambled away from shore.
The Mexican navy said the status of personnel and material was under review by naval and local authorities, which were providing assistance.
The Cuauhtemoc is about 297ft long and 40ft wide, according to the Mexican navy. It sailed for the first time in 1982.
Pic: AP
Each year, it sets out at the end of classes at the naval military school to finish cadets’ training.
It left the Mexican port of Acapulco, on the Pacific coast, on 6 April with 277 people onboard, the navy said at the time.
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One person has died in a bomb explosion near a reproductive health clinic in California, authorities have said.
The incident took place in Palm Springs, a city two hours east of Los Angeles, and is being investigated as a possible car explosion.
The city’s mayor Ron DeHarte said one person died in the blast, adding that the bomb was “either in or near” a vehicle. The deceased’s identity is not known, Palm Springs police said.
Dr Maher Abdallah, who runs the American Reproductive Centers clinic, told the Associated Press his facility was damaged but all staff were safe and accounted for.
The explosion damaged the office space where the practice conducts patient consultations, but the IVF lab and stored embryos were unharmed, he added.
“I really have no clue what happened,” he said. “Thank God today happened to be a day that we have no patients.”
Debris covers the ground after the explosion. Pic: ABC7 Los Angeles/AP
In a statement posted on Facebook the clinic said it was “heartbroken” to learn someone died in the explosion and added: “Our deepest condolences go out to the individuals and families affected.”
It continued: “Our mission has always been to help build families, and in times like these, we are reminded of just how fragile and precious life is.
“In the face of this tragedy, we remain committed to creating hope – because we believe that healing begins with community, compassion, and care.
The clinic will be fully operational on Monday, it added.
“This moment has shaken us – but it has not stopped us. We will continue to serve with strength, love, and the hope that brings new life into the world,” the statement concluded.
Pic: ABC7 Los Angeles/AP
The Palm Springs city government said in a post on Facebook that the explosion happened on North Indian Canyon Drive, near East Tachevah Drive, before 11am local time (6pm GMT).
A burned-out car can be seen in a parking lot behind the building in aerial footage.
The blast caved in the clinic’s roof and blew debris across four lanes of the road.
Another person said he was inside a cannabis dispensary nearby when he felt a massive explosion.
Nima Tabrizi said: “The building just shook, and we go outside and there’s massive cloud smoke.”
Investigators from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are travelling to the scene to help assess what happened.
California governor Gavin Newsom has been briefed on the explosion, his press office said.
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