Event: Mohamed Salah

White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales said the U.S. “will not negotiate ‌through the press” and has “been clear about our red lines” as the Trump administration looks to ‌end ⁠the war against Iran it began in February alongside Israel. File | Photo Credit: AFP U.S. President Donald Trump is unhappy with the latest Iranian proposal on resolving the two-month ‌war, a U.S. official said, dampening hopes for a resolution to the conflict that ​has disrupted energy supplies, fuelled inflation, and killed thousands. Iran’s latest proposal would set aside discussion ⁠of Iran’s nuclear program until the war is ended and disputes over shipping from the Gulf are resolved.That is unlikely to satisfy the U.S., which says nuclear issues must be dealt with from the outset, and Mr. Trump was unhappy with Iran’s ‌proposal for that reason, a U.S. official briefed on the President’s Monday (April 27, 2026) meeting with his advisers said, speaking on condition of anonymity.White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales said the U.S. “will not negotiate ‌through the press” and has “been clear about our red lines” as the Trump administration looks to ‌end ⁠the war against Iran it began in February alongside Israel. Published - April 28, 2026 09:24 am IST

AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTYou have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.For two months now, the Iran war has dominated headlines. But now that there’s a cease-fire, the focus has shifted from the battlefield to the negotiating table.It turns out Trump-style diplomacy is a lot like Trump-style war. It involves a lot of gut instinct and mixed messages, often delivered in ALL CAPS. It also involves a lot of U-turns — like this weekend, when Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were going to Pakistan, up until the moment that they weren’t.It’s not always easy to follow the various plot twists. But there’s one useful benchmark to evaluate whether this war ultimately produces a good result for the United States: Whatever agreement Trump reaches with Iran, will it improve on the nuclear deal he walked away from in 2018? Today I’m writing on why that may be difficult.ImageDonald Trump announced that he would withdraw the U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal at the White House in 2018.Credit...Doug Mills/The New York TimesThe challenges of reaching a ‘FAR BETTER’ deal with IranThe last time the United States successfully reached an agreement with Iran, it took almost two years, scores of meetings and an army of diplomats, nuclear experts and C.I.A. agents, both at the negotiating table and at home.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe.Related ContentAdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENT

BRUSSELS – Around 60 governments, including Brazil, Germany, Canada and Nigeria, will hold the first international meeting this week to discuss phasing out fossil fuels, as the Iran war ​upends global oil and gas markets and sends prices soaring.The gathering of ‌ministers ‌and officials in Santa Marta, Colombia, which starts on Tuesday, ​will focus on practical steps to shift economies away from fossil fuels, rather than setting new global targets of the kind agreed to at U.N. climate summits."We're not ⁠negotiating ambitions, we're not negotiating commitments. This really is about sharing how you do this," ⁠said Stientje van Veldhoven, climate minister for the Netherlands, which is co-organizing the meeting with Colombia.Governments will discuss "what kind of financial instruments, what ​kind of regulatory incentives, what ⁠kind of planning instruments" are needed to kickstart a phase-out, she said.Talks will also address how to create investment conditions for ⁠industries to switch ​from gas to electricity, and how to reform fossil ​fuel subsidies.The meeting brings together a coalition of willing nations, with the ​world's ‌top two polluters — China and the U.S. — notably absent. Saudi Arabia and other major Middle Eastern oil and gas producers are also not attending. The Iran war has exposed many countries' heavy dependency on oil and gas imports, ‌with Asian economies hit by fuel shortages and European countries facing surging energy costs.Van Veldhoven said the energy crisis had reinforced the case for phasing out oil and gas to bolster economic and energy security, not just to tackle climate change."This war ​in ​the Middle East has ramifications all around the world because of ​our dependency on fossil fuels," she said. "The less you are dependent on ⁠it, the less vulnerable you are."The meeting also reflects frustration among some governments at slow progress in annual U.N. climate talks, where nearly…

AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTYou have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.Iraq’s President Names Political Newcomer to Form GovernmentAfter months of tensions and pressure from both the U.S. and Iran, Ali al-Zaidi, a businessman, was named as prime minister-designate.The ceremony in Baghdad on Monday at which Ali al-Zaidi was announced as prime minister-designate. The photograph was released by the president’s media office.Credit...Iraqi President Media OfficeApril 27, 2026Iraq’s president on Monday named a businessman as prime minister-designate and gave him the task of forming a new government after a monthslong delay in selecting a candidate amid conflicting pressures from Iran and the United States.In a statement announcing the selection of Ali al-Zaidi, President Nizar Amedi said the constitutional process “could not tolerate further delay.” Mr. al-Zaidi was put forward for the role earlier in the day by the Coordination Framework, an alliance of Iraqi Shiite political parties.“We call on all political forces to support him and cooperate with him to expedite the completion of this constitutional and national process in a way that serves Iraq and its people,” Mr. Amedi said.Mr. al-Zaidi’s selection came after months of simmering tensions over the formation of a new government in Iraq, which has been a matter of interest to both Iran and the United States. Iraq maintains close ties to both countries and has often found itself caught between them, all the more so in recent months.In Iraq’s elections in November, the country’s most powerful Shiite political bloc won a majority of votes and nominated Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, a former prime minister, to lead the Parliament.In January, President Trump threatened to withdraw U.S. support for Iraq if Mr. al-Maliki returned as the prime minister. He was first elected prime minister…

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. File | Photo Credit: Reuters ​German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Monday (April 27, 2026) Iran’s leadership ⁠was humiliating the United States and getting U.S. officials to travel to Pakistan and then leave without results, in an unusually abrupt rebuke over the conflict.Mr. Merz also said ‌he did not see what exit strategy the U.S. was pursuing in the Iran war, comments that underlined deep divisions between Washington ‌and its European NATO allies, which had already been festering over ‌Ukraine and ⁠other issues. Published - April 27, 2026 10:32 pm IST

Turkey has tried its best to stay out of the Iran war, studiously maintaining its neutrality. In this effort, it can point to precedent from its own history. Generations of Turkish policymakers cite the high-stakes balancing act Ankara performed during World War II as one of the golden chapters of Turkish diplomacy. At the time, Turkey’s leaders were acutely aware of the young republic’s geopolitical isolation and military vulnerability—and determined not to repeat the error of their Ottoman predecessors, who picked the wrong side in the previous world war, bringing about the collapse of the empire. As war raged at its borders, Turkey negotiated with both the Allies and Germany, and its ultimate achievement was preserving its neutrality despite the pressure of surrounding belligerents.The war in Iran has required a similar calculation. Unlike in the 1930s and 1940s, Turkey today has sought a larger role on the world stage. The fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad at the hands of Turkish-backed militant groups and other factions in late 2024 seemed to leave Ankara confident that it was becoming a more influential regional power. But Turkey does not yet possess the economic or military muscle to shape events on its own terms. Its relationships with major players in the region are delicate at best; it is still in the early stages of a reset with the United States, and its relations with Israel have soured considerably in recent years. Turkey remains dependent on others to defend its territory, too. Its 2019 purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defense system, which triggered U.S. sanctions and resulted in Turkey’s exclusion from critical NATO programs, made it harder for Turkey to maintain some of its sophisticated military hardware; it has not activated the S-400 system and lacks the air defense capabilities to shield itself…

Mohamed Salah has become the latest player to sustain an injury weeks ahead of the World Cup, adding to his team’s and supporters’ woes as Egypt return to the tournament after missing out on the previous edition.Salah suffered a hamstring injury during Liverpool’s 3-1 win over Crystal Palace in the English Premier League on Saturday, with a top Egyptian football official confirming the forward will miss the rest of his club’s season.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4How bad is Lamine Yamal’s injury and will he make Spain’s World Cup opener?list 2 of 4Five games to go: The Premier League’s unpredictable season turns againlist 3 of 4Italy officials slam ‘shameful’ idea of taking Iran’s place at World Cuplist 4 of 4What are five key issues 50 days ahead of the World Cup?end of listThe Egyptian talisman is not the only player to have suffered a blow ahead of the global tournament, and joins an increasing list of major players spending the rest of the club football season on the sidelines.With the World Cup kicking off in less than two months in Canada, Mexico and the United States, several players find themselves in a race against time to overcome injuries and prove their fitness.Title contenders and former champions Spain, Brazil and Germany will be among those hoping some of their key players recover in time for the tournament, which begins on June 11.Here are some of the big names who have sustained injuries ahead of the World Cup:Mohamed Salah: EgyptThe Egyptian and Liverpool forward was in pain as he limped off the field and held his hamstring after being substituted in the league game.While his club manager Arne Slot refused to say whether Salah would miss the rest of Liverpool’s season, his national team’s director confirmed that the 33-year-old…