Conflict in Middle East & its evolution will dominate proceedings of Russia’s leading foreign policy forum

There’s little optimism about treasury secretary’s ability to handle Trump’s tariffs, Iran sanctions and colossal US debt History remembers Gen Dwight Eisenhower, the supreme commander of the allied forces in Europe during the second world war, for his role in the D-day invasion of Normandy. Whether Scott Bessent will achieve similar posterity as the face of the “economic D-day” in Iran remains to be seen. The US treasury secretary, already trying to manage a $40tn national debt pile, this week took charge of Donald Trump’s effort to reverse-engineer his war of choice. Whereas the US would typically take on an adversary with diplomacy, sanctions and military force, in that order, the US president started with a six-month bombing campaign and now hopes that economic isolation can finish the job...

After six months of war, Iran’s leadership has coalesced around a hard core of military generals and clerics long entrenched in the ruling theocracy. They are ready for a potentially long confrontation with the US and determined to prevent any unrest at home. It’s a far cry from US President Donald Trump’s initial hopes of toppling the Islamic Republic and his subsequent claims that “regime change” had brought more compromising officials to the fore. In an analysis, FRANCE 24's Philip Turle said the war had so far cost around 1,100 US dollars for each US taxpayer.

A depot that exploded in a Russian strike overnight was owned by the Ukrainian military and stored shells, drones, and other munitions, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday. FRANCE 24's Emmanuelle Chaze reports.