Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at how the Israeli war in Lebanon is impacting U.S.-Iran talks, a slew of crucial nationwide elections, and Britain’s new batch of files on former Ambassador Peter Mandelson.

‘All Shooting Will Stop’

Against the backdrop of escalating U.S. and Iranian military strikes, U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday delivered a message to those criticizing his handling of negotiations with Tehran: “Just sit back and relax, it will all work out well in the end.” But with negotiations at risk of imploding, Trump’s plea to keep calm and carry on appears at odds with reality.

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at how the Israeli war in Lebanon is impacting U.S.-Iran talks, a slew of crucial nationwide elections, and Britain’s new batch of files on former Ambassador Peter Mandelson.

‘All Shooting Will Stop’

Against the backdrop of escalating U.S. and Iranian military strikes, U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday delivered a message to those criticizing his handling of negotiations with Tehran: “Just sit back and relax, it will all work out well in the end.” But with negotiations at risk of imploding, Trump’s plea to keep calm and carry on appears at odds with reality.

Iranian media reported on Monday that the country’s negotiators would be suspending their participation in peace talks with the United States over Israel’s military actions in Lebanon. “A ceasefire between Iran and the United States constitutes, without any ambiguity, a comprehensive ceasefire across all fronts, including Lebanon,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X.

Earlier that day, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered strikes on Hezbollah-controlled areas in the southern suburbs of Beirut. His announcement came after the Iranian-backed group said it launched more than 20 attacks on Israeli military targets on Sunday and Monday, including firing rockets and missiles at several Israeli cities. “There will be no situation in which Hezbollah attacks our cities and our citizens, and its terrorist headquarters in Beirut, in Dahiyeh, will remain out of bounds,” Netanyahu said. He also said that Israel would continue its wider campaign to carve out a self-declared security zone in southern Lebanon. The Israeli military later said that if Hezbollah continued to fire rockets at Israel, it would carry out the strikes in Dahiyeh, and it warned........

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