U.S.-Iran Peace Talks May Collapse Before They Even Begin

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at new stressors to planned U.S.-Iran peace talks, a rare meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Taiwanese opposition leader Cheng Li-wun, and Djibouti’s all-but-predetermined presidential election. No Guarantees U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance departed for Islamabad on Friday to participate in Pakistan-mediated peace talks to end the Iran war. But a new warning from Tehran amid Israel’s continued strikes on Lebanon may upend negotiations before they can even begin. The U.S. delegation—led by Vance as well as special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner—expressed cautious optimism ahead…