Middle East crisis live: US and Iran in talks, White House insists; Trump ‘quite interested’ in asking Arab allies to help pay for war

Donald Trump’s spokesperson claims Iranian regime ‘increasingly eager’ to make a deal before deadline; Leavitt says Trump to say more on sharing cost Full report: Iran accuses US of plotting ground assault while publicly seeking talksAnalysis: what the Houthis’ entry into the Iran war means for the conflict and the wider regionDonald Trump is weighing a military operation to extract nearly 1,000 pounds (454kg) of uranium from Iran, the Wall Street Journal is reporting, citing unnamed US officials.The mission would likely put American forces inside the country for days or longer, the report says.But the president remains generally open to the idea, according to the officials, because it could help accomplish his central goal of preventing Iran from ever making a nuclear weapon.The combined effect of both waterways being shut to commercial traffic from countries that neither the Iranians nor Houthis favour would be devastating.Napoleon Bonaparte’s remark that “the policy of a state lies in its geography” has never seemed more apt. Continue reading...