Trump presses Israel and Iran to uphold ceasefire

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Good morning and welcome back to FirstFT Asia. In today’s newsletter:

  • A fragile ceasefire in the Middle East

  • The war that will remake Iran

  • Jeff Bezos’s Venice wedding draws protests

  • China’s ports in Latin America


Donald Trump lashed out at both Israel and Iran as he battled to preserve the fragile truce agreed after 12 days of war between two of the Middle East’s most powerful militaries.

What to know: The ceasefire brokered by the US president appeared to be holding yesterday evening despite what Trump denounced as violations by both sides. “We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the fuck they’re doing,” he told reporters before leaving for a Nato summit in the Netherlands.

‘Leaked’ findings on US’s Iran strike: Later in the day, the White House hit out at a “leaked” intelligence assessment that the US had failed to destroy Iran’s nuclear sites in its weekend strikes. CNN reported that an early assessment by the Pentagon found that the strikes had probably only set back Iran’s nuclear programme by months. The Trump administration dismissed the findings as “wrong” but appeared to acknowledge their authenticity.

  • How the truce was brokered: Trump’s ceasefire plan came together in a frenetic flurry of telephone diplomacy, with the US president pressuring Israel to accept a truce while Qatar urged Tehran to sign up.

  • Opinion: The ceasefire is more likely to mark a pause in hostilities — rather than the definitive new start that Trump is searching for, writes Gideon Rachman.

Here’s what else we’re keeping tabs on today:

  • Economic data: Australia reports May CPI and Japan publishes services PPI inflation data.

  • Nato summit: A gathering in The Hague aimed at placating Trump over defence spending continues.

  • Monetary policy: Thailand’s central bank announces its rate decision.

Five more top stories

1. Trump said China could purchase oil from Iran, in an apparent reversal of policy after his administration spent months imposing sanctions on Chinese refineries for buying Iranian crude. The potential U-turn, which came hours after he declared peace in the Middle East war, would ease pressure on Beijing and Tehran.

2. A long-awaited UK government report warned that Beijing has been increasing efforts to spy on Britain and to undermine its democracy and economic security. However, the study also recommended increasing trading links with China to boost economic growth. Here’s more on the UK’s “most complex bilateral relationship”.

3. Indian billionaire Gautam Adani is pressing ahead with major investment plans despite the threat from US criminal charges, telling shareholders yesterday that his conglomerate’s governance met global standards. The Adani Group chair announced capital spending of $15bn to $20bn a year for the next five years, at the infrastructure-focused company’s annual meeting.

4. Australia is reviewing whether to expand its groundbreaking social media ban for under-16s to include YouTube, after the country’s internet safety regulator said the Google-owned video sharing website was where children suffered the most online harm.

5. OpenAI and former Apple design chief Sir Jony Ive have been accused of trying to “bury” a rival start-up. The chief executive of iyO told the FT he had been “blindsided” by the launch of io, OpenAI’s partnership with Ive to create new AI hardware products, as both companies had previously been in deal talks with his similarly named start-up.

News in-depth

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
For at least three decades, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the hardline centres of power that surround him have stubbornly resisted structural reforms

For at least three decades, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the hardline centres of power that surround him have stubbornly resisted structural reforms. But the shocking repercussions of Israel and the US’s assault mean that a shift in direction now seems inevitable, analysts say, setting into motion what could be the most consequential changes since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

We’re also reading . . . 

  • Bezos’s controversial wedding: The Amazon founder’s Venice wedding has become a lightning rod for protest.

  • How does AI think?: The world’s leading artificial intelligence groups are struggling to force their models to show how they operate.

  • ‘Verification problem’: As technology becomes better, a return to face-to-face encounters looks more likely, writes Stephen Bush.

Map of the day 

Chinese companies have built or operate 31 active ports in Latin America and the Caribbean, many more than previously thought, according to research by a Washington-based think-tank.

Take a break from the news

Last month, Dior chief executive Delphine Arnault appointed Jonathan Anderson as creative director to oversee both the men’s and women’s collections. Her decision to bring in the Northern Ireland-born designer is her biggest bet since she took the helm of the division in 2023. Read more on her plans to open a new chapter at LVMH’s second-biggest brand.

Delphine Arnault and Jonathan Anderson
Delphine Arnault, left, has made Jonathan Anderson creative director of Dior’s clothing collections © Thomas Chéné

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