World news from The Thursday Times' foreign desk.
Trump has cancelled his representatives’ planned trip to Islamabad for talks with Iran, saying too much time was being spent on travel and that Tehran can contact Washington directly if it wants negotiations.
Pete Hegseth has promised a historic review of the Afghanistan withdrawal, saying the department will examine the decisions that led to Abbey Gate, the Kabul evacuation and what he described as a wider loss of American deterrence after 2021.
Donald Trump said the U.S. will not use nuclear weapons in the war with Iran, insisting Tehran has already been badly weakened by conventional military force. He also signalled he is not interested in a rushed settlement, saying any agreement with Iran must be durable and lasting.
A senior adviser to President Trump used a meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum to publicly praise Pakistan’s role in mediation, regional stability and ongoing peace efforts.
The second phase of the Pakistan–Bangladesh Knowledge Corridor is set to launch soon, with Islamabad offering 500 scholarships at leading universities in a move that highlights growing educational and diplomatic ties between the two countries.
As a fragile cease-fire holds, President Trump has signalled that a new round of U.S.-Iran talks could take place within days. In Islamabad, where security has tightened and diplomats are working back channels, Pakistan is trying to turn a brief pause in fighting into a second chance for negotiations.
Donald Trump says he extended the ceasefire with Iran after requests from Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, thrusting Islamabad into the centre of a rapidly narrowing diplomatic window between Washington and Tehran.
Pakistan has condemned the entry of Israeli settlers into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and the raising of Israeli flags inside its courtyard, calling the act a violation of international law and warning that such provocations could further inflame regional tensions.
Iranian's foreign ministry has said that Pakistan is now their only official intermediary with the United States, placing Islamabad at the centre of one of the the world's most sensitive diplomatic channels.
The Israeli military has said it confirmed the veracity of a viral photograph which appeared to show one of its soldiers smashing a statue of Jesus Christ to pieces with a sledgehammer in southern Lebanon.
