Vice President JD Vance postponed a planned trip to Switzerland for U.S.-Iran talks expected to begin Friday, the White House said. Why it matters: The White House said the reason for the change of plans was "logistics." But there were some indications that the background for the decision is connected to the shaky ceasefire in Lebanon . What they're saying: At a press conference on Thursday, Vance said the plans for the talks hadn't been finalized and mentioned the fact that Iranian officials might have technical challenges with their travel arrangements. - "The U.S. delegation has been prepared to depart at the first available opportunity. But the logistics of these negotiations have never been simple or predictable," the White House…
The Iran conflict has entered a Cold War-like phase of financial sanctions, gunboat interdictions and talks about having talks. Why it matters: The tense stalemate has no immediate end in sight. So higher energy prices appear certain for months — and a hot war could break out at any moment. The big picture: Several U.S. officials told Axios they're concerned about America getting drawn into a frozen conflict of no war and no deal. - In this scenario, the U.S. would have to keep its forces in the region for many more months. The Strait of Hormuz would stay closed, the U.S. blockade would remain, and both sides would continue waiting for the other to blink or fire first. - With the November midterm elections now six months away, "a…
OpenAI's Sam Altman says he shares the "red lines" set by rival Anthropic restricting how the military uses AI models, amid Anthropic's escalating feud with the Pentagon.