Trump to decide on Iran attack ‘within two weeks’

Right this moment’s agenda: French push for euro as world reserve forex; Zuckerberg’s macho-man makeover; bitcoin hoarders; and Mozambique’s nationwide park renewal

Good morning and welcome again to FirstFT. Donald Trump has stated there might be new talks with Iran within the “close to future” and that he would determine whether or not to affix Israel’s assault on the nation “inside the subsequent two weeks”.

What we all know: Trump appeared to sign that he was slowing down his determination about coming into the warfare, at the same time as American navy property are being despatched to the area. The US president’s assertion yesterday stated there was a “substantial probability of negotiations which will or could not happen with Iran within the close to future”. The White Home additionally confirmed that the US had saved open its negotiations with Tehran throughout days of missile exchanges between Iran and Israel.

What occurs subsequent: The potential of extra US-Iran negotiations comes as Britain, France and Germany prepare to hold talks with Iran’s international minister at the moment in Geneva, as a part of a push to forestall escalation of the battle. The assembly, a revival of the “E3” format, below which the trio have sought to resolve Iran’s stand-off with the west, would be the first high-level face-to-face diplomacy with Tehran since Israel launched its assaults on Iran every week in the past. Right here’s extra of our protection:

• Iraq warfare parallels: The shadow of the weapons of mass destruction intelligence debacle from twenty years in the past hangs over Trump as he considers whether or not to bomb Iran.

• Army briefing: Hubris and miscalculation blew aside Tehran’s decades-old ‘no war, no peace’ doctrine as Israel’s urge for food for danger grew.

Right here’s what else we’re holding tabs on at the moment and over the weekend:

• Financial knowledge: The European Central Financial institution points its financial bulletin, whereas the UK stories on public sector funds. The US Convention Board publishes main indicators.

• Luxembourg: The Financial and Monetary Affairs Council meets to debate enlargement of the euro space and the EU’s response to the Ukraine battle.

• France: The Paris Air Show opens to the general public at the moment, operating till Sunday.

• UK: Local weather motion week kicks off in London tomorrow.

• Outcomes: Accenture and Berkeley Group report.

How properly did you retain up with the information this week? Take our quiz.

5 extra high tales

1. Unique: France has lobbied EU nations to pledge extra measures to boost the euro’s profile as a worldwide reserve forex, as a part of Paris’s marketing campaign for extra joint borrowing. The push was prompted by Trump’s erratic insurance policies, which have weakened the greenback’s dominance, opening up area for the bloc’s forex to turn into more attractive for international transactions.

2. China and Russia are “equal when it comes to cyber risk” posed to Europe in relation to state-sponsored hacking and espionage, in accordance with the Czech president whose authorities was not too long ago focused by a hacker group linked to Beijing’s safety providers. Read the interview with Petr Pavel.

3. Unique: Inditex’s chief government says the circumstances for its return to Russia are “actually not” in place, greater than two years after the Zara proprietor bought its native enterprise following the invasion of Ukraine. Regardless of Moscow’s declare that western corporations would start coming again by June this 12 months, the feedback from Óscar García Maceiras are the most recent signal that multinationals are not rushing to re-enter Russia.

4. Unique: The BBC is threatening authorized motion towards synthetic intelligence search engine Perplexity, in its first effort to clamp down on tech teams scraping its huge troves of content material to develop the cutting-edge expertise. The broadcaster additionally informed the US start-up to delete saved materials used for AI coaching and requested for compensation for alleged IP infringement.

5. Document costs are fuelling a surge in gold mining in Sudan, unlocking an important income for the nation’s opponents and enabling them to finance the battle. Its mining business produced about 80 tonnes of gold final 12 months, its highest output in six years, making Sudan one of Africa’s top four gold producers.

FT Journal

Mark Zuckerberg’s transformation into red-blooded “Maga Mark” shocked liberals at Meta, however his closest allies say that is who he was all alongside. Hannah Murphy delves into the reality about the Big Tech chief’s macho-man makeover.

We’re additionally studying . . . 

• SEC: New chair Paul Atkins charts a new path for the US securities regulator, scrapping market guidelines proposed by his predecessor.

• Trump tax invoice: There are two positions held between the outdated Republican guard and funds fairyland, says Oren Cass.

• Undercover Economist: Our personal psychological algorithms, apart from tech ones, skew how we see the world, writes Tim Harford.

Chart of the day 

Firms all over the world are on a bitcoin shopping for spree, as executives — usually in industries that don’t have anything to do with cryptocurrency — mimic a stockpiling technique that has produced explosive share value development. An FT evaluation reveals the world’s biggest hoarders.

Take a break from the information

David Pilling excursions Mozambique’s Gorongosa National Park, which is bouncing again from the devastation of civil warfare by one of many world’s most bold conservation initiatives.