The World in Brief from The Economist

Donald Trump said he cancelled planned strikes on Iran, hours after threatening them.

America’s president claimed “the highest level of Iranian leadership” had approved a potential deal. Also, Mr Trump nominated Jay Clayton, one of New York’s top federal prosecutors, to be the next Director of National Intelligence.

America said it launched new strikes on Iran, which Iran responded to by attacking American bases in Bahrain and Kuwait. Also, Donald Trump said he was not looking to renew the trade deal he struck with Canada and Mexico in his first term.

Donald Trump said America would “hit” Iran “very hard” again on Wednesday, and complained about the slow progress of peace negotiations. Also, Israeli air strikes reportedly killed at least 17 people in southern Lebanon.

Iran accused America of “undermining” the ceasefire between the two countries, citing violations and “contradictory messages”. Also, the European Union proposed to ban all Russian soldiers who have served in Ukraine from entering the bloc.

America said it launched “self-defence strikes” against Iran, hours after Donald Trump blamed the country for shooting down an Apache army helicopter and vowed retaliation.

Donald Trump said Iran was responsible for shooting down an Apache army helicopter and that America “must, of necessity, respond to this attack”. Also, an Israeli air strike killed at least eight people in Tyre.

An Israeli air strike killed at least eight people in Tyre. Also, OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, confidentially filed for an initial public offering.