Trump announces that he will study an Iranian plan while blowing hot and cold. “I cannot imagine that [these proposals] are acceptable because [the Iranians] have not yet paid a sufficient price for what they have done to humanity and the world for 47 years,” the American president declared on his Truth Social platform last Saturday. According to Iranian news agencies, Tehran has transmitted a 14-point plan to Washington through Pakistan aiming to end the conflict within 30 days. Tasnim news agency reports that the Iranian regime is demanding a withdrawal of American forces from areas close to Iran, the lifting of the blockade of Iranian ports, the release of frozen Iranian assets, the payment of reparations, the lifting of sanctions, a mechanism concerning the Strait of Hormuz, and “the end of war on all fronts including in Lebanon.” Despite the transmission of this plan, an Iranian military official deemed a resumption of war with the United States on Saturday “probable.” According to Alex Vatanka, a researcher at the Middle East Institute, negotiations between the United States and Iran are at an impasse, with “both sides engaging in verbal escalation.” In an interview with Al-Jazeera, the expert calls for “small steps” to build trust, while warning that a quick breakthrough is unlikely.
War in Ukraine: Zelensky reports “unusual” movements at the Belarusian border. “We are closely monitoring the situation, keeping everything under control, and will respond if necessary,” emphasized the Ukrainian president in his daily address to the nation last Saturday. Kiev has been urging Minsk for several weeks not to get further involved in the war led by Russia. Saturday’s report comes “after a period of increased tensions and digital repression in Belarus,” as reported by the Kyiv Post. “Recently, the Ukrainian Center for Countering Disinformation indicated that Minsk had begun to strengthen its control over internet access.” These restrictions “coincide with a hardening of statements by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko,” adds the Ukrainian media outlet. “Former Ukrainian officials warned that Belarus could once again serve as a platform for Russian military operations against Ukraine,” reminds the Kyiv Post.
Following the suspension of the mailing of the abortion pill, a manufacturer files an emergency request before the US Supreme Court. Danco, the plaintiff laboratory, one of the two companies distributing mifepristone in the United States, asked the country’s highest court on Saturday to suspend the decision of an ultraconservative appeals court to temporarily block the delivery of this medication by mail. “Even a temporary interruption of access to mifepristone would have major repercussions,” notes Politico. The news site points out that this medication is used “in nearly two-thirds of pregnancy terminations, and a quarter of patients rely on teleconsultations to obtain it.” This suspension further restricts access to abortion in a country where, since 2022 and the landmark Supreme Court ruling, the right to abortion is no longer guaranteed at the federal level and is now in the hands of each state. The judicial decision rendered on Friday granted a request from Louisiana, which has adopted one of the most restrictive abortion legislations in the country. The Supreme Court had rejected a similar decision in June 2024, for procedural reasons.
