Breakfast News Recap: US Iran talks hold as wildfires spread and Ukraine, Middle East tensions flare

Washington and Tehran are still talking despite the conflict remaining volatile, with Donald Trump saying the two sides are having good talks and that a deal may still be possible, even as drone attacks have hit neighbouring states and the pause in strikes has held for a third day. Qatar and Pakistan are also trying to revive ceasefire diplomacy behind the scenes.  🔗  🔗  🔗

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The wider US Iran confrontation has already run through 13 nights of strikes and retaliation, with reports of attacks on Iranian civilian infrastructure and counter strikes across the Gulf. A separate video reportedly released in Iran has drawn attention after appearing to encourage supporters of the Islamic regime to assassinate Melania Trump and Barron Trump.  🔗  🔗

In the Middle East, Yemen's internationally recognised government says it is ready for escalation after fresh Houthi drone strikes on Saudi Arabian oil facilities, warning the group is trying to extend its reach over Red Sea shipping lanes in the style of Iran's regional strategy. At the same time, governments across Asia are scrambling to secure oil supplies after the Houthis launched a blockade of Saudi shipping through the Bab al Mandab strait.  🔗  🔗  🔗

Israel and the Palestinian territories remain under pressure too, with Benjamin Netanyahu travelling to Washington for his first in person meeting with Trump since the Iran war began, while the United Nations chief has condemned Israel's planned acceleration of settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank amid rising violence.  🔗  🔗

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Ukraine is also back at the centre of the diplomatic and military agenda, with Volodymyr Zelenskyy due at the White House on Tuesday as the US Senate weighs a Russia sanctions bill and Trump prepares separate meetings with Zelenskyy and Netanyahu. Kyiv says it has intensified long range drone strikes on Russian oil and export facilities, while Iran has warned of retaliation after Ukraine hit an Iranian cargo vessel in the Caspian Sea.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

In Europe, wildfires are burning across France, Spain and parts of the United Kingdom as a fresh heatwave strains emergency crews, with evacuations now topping 300,000. Firefighters in France and Spain are racing to contain the blazes before another heatwave arrives.  🔗  🔗

Australia is warning that the Middle East war could worsen economic pressure, while federal and Western Australian authorities are moving ahead with a $4 million feasibility study for a possible new oil refinery as fuel price concerns build. In domestic politics, Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has resigned after a turbulent 48 hours inside Labor, and Moira Deeming has quit the Victorian Liberal Party to sit as an independent.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

Elsewhere, Solomon Islands authorities have recovered a body after a landslide at the Gold Ridge mine near Honiara, Haiti has set presidential and legislative elections for 13 December despite severe security fears, and Chad's military government has begun the process of withdrawing from the International Criminal Court over bias claims.  🔗  🔗  🔗

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North Korea marked the 73rd anniversary of the Korean War armistice with Kim Jong Un visiting memorials in Pyongyang alongside his daughter Kim Ju Ae, while in North America shots were fired near the US consulate in Toronto for the second time in four months and US diplomats again walked out of a UN Security Council meeting during a row with France over rights rhetoric.  🔗  🔗  🔗

In the United States, Donald Trump has escalated his defamation fight with The New York Times, posting a fresh series of attacks on Truth Social. Separately, a Dominican national in Hartford has been sentenced to 50 months for passport fraud and identity theft, and a Seattle restaurant owner has pleaded guilty in a $1.4 million employment tax case.  🔗  🔗  🔗

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