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Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at new stressors to planned U.S.-Iran<\/strong> peace talks, a rare meeting between Chinese<\/strong> President Xi Jinping and Taiwanese<\/strong> opposition leader Cheng Li-wun, and Djibouti<\/strong>\u2019s all-but-predetermined presidential election.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s continued strikes on Lebanon may upend negotiations before they can even begin.<\/p>\n The U.S. delegation\u2014led by Vance as well as special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump\u2019s son-in-law Jared Kushner\u2014expressed cautious optimism<\/a> ahead of Saturday\u2019s dialogue. \u201cWe\u2019re looking forward to the negotiation. I think it\u2019s going to be positive,\u201d Vance told reporters before boarding Air Force Two. At the same time, Vance warned that if the Iranians \u201ctry and play us, then they\u2019re going find that the negotiating team is not that receptive.\u201d<\/p>\n However, the likelihood of peace talks occurring is growing slimmer by the hour. On Friday, Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf wrote<\/a> on X that \u201ca ceasefire in Lebanon and the release of Iran\u2019s blocked assets\u201d must occur \u201cprior to the commencement of negotiations.\u201d<\/p>\n Ghalibaf did not specify what those blocked assets might be, but experts suspect that they are related to Iranian funds frozen by U.S. and other Western sanctions. Last month, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News<\/a> that \u201cwe now know where the Iranian leadership bank accounts are and those are being frozen.\u201d Tehran maintains that one of its conditions for a peace deal is the removal of these sanctions.<\/p>\n Trump downplayed Tehran\u2019s demands on Friday. \u201cThe Iranians don\u2019t seem to realize they have no cards, other than a short term extortion of the World by using International Waterways,\u201d he wrote<\/a> on Truth Social. \u201cThe only reason they are alive today is to negotiate!\u201d One of Vance\u2019s top priorities will be negotiating a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz<\/a>, even as Iran stressed on Friday that it would \u201cnot give up [its] legitimate rights in any way\u201d over the strategic thoroughfare.<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s continued strikes on Hezbollah\u2014an Iranian proxy group based in Lebanon\u2014could also upset peace talks. Iran, Pakistan, and many Western governments have demanded that Lebanon be included in the two-week cease-fire<\/a> agreed to late Tuesday. \u201cLet\u2019s not let Lebanon turn into a new Gaza,\u201d Spanish Prime Minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez<\/a> said on Friday, as he urged the European Union to suspend its association agreement with Israel over what he described as the country\u2019s \u201cviolations of international law.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump has pressured<\/a> Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to scale back Israel\u2019s military operations in Lebanon to allow peace talks with Iran to occur.<\/p>\n Netanyahu announced<\/a> on Thursday that Israel would hold direct talks with the Lebanese government next week, but he vowed to continue the attacks, saying, \u201cThere is no cease-fire in Lebanon.\u201d Meanwhile, a senior Hezbollah official dismissed the idea of Israel-Lebanon talks, arguing that Beirut does not speak for the militant group.<\/p>\n A diplomatic approach. <\/strong>Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted<\/a> Taiwan\u2019s opposition leader, Cheng Li-wun, at Beijing\u2019s Great Hall of the People on Friday. This was the first official meeting between the sitting heads of the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party in more than a decade, as Cheng tries to position herself as a mediator of peace<\/a> between Beijing and Taipei despite not representing the ruling Taiwanese government. Her KMT has long held pro-China leanings.<\/p>\n \u201cAlthough people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait live under different systems, we will respect each other and move toward each other,\u201d Cheng said on Friday, adding that \u201cwe will seek systemic solutions to prevent and avoid war.\u201d Xi echoed that sentiment<\/a>, expressing \u201cfull confidence\u201d in the \u201clarger trend of compatriots on both sides of the strait walking nearer, closer, and together.\u201d<\/p>\n Yet Beijing has not ruled out using military force to seize Taiwan, which it does not recognize as a sovereign nation. Instead, China has bolstered military exercises around the island, forcing Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te to pursue greater defense spending<\/a>, including through massive arms deals<\/a> with the United States.<\/p>\n Lai did not comment on Cheng\u2019s meeting with Xi on Friday. However, in a social media post commemorating the 47th anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act, he warned<\/a> that \u201chistory tells us that compromising with authoritarian regimes only comes at the cost of sovereignty and democracy and will not bring freedom or peace.\u201d<\/p>\n Inevitable outcome. <\/strong>Djibouti held a presidential election<\/a> on Friday that analysts say has a forgone conclusion. Incumbent leader Isma\u00efl Omar Guelleh is expected to secure a sixth term after lawmakers scrapped presidential age limits last year. Fewer than 260,000 people are eligible to vote; Guelleh\u2019s only opponent, Mohamed Farah Samatar, represents a party with no seats in parliament; and two of Djibouti\u2019s other main opposition groups have boycotted the election, citing a government crackdown on political dissidents. Guelleh\u2019s administration denies these allegations as well as accusations of other rights abuses<\/a>.<\/p>\n Guelleh first took power in 1999 after succeeding his uncle, Hassan Gouled Aptidon, who ruled the East African country from its independence in 1977. In 2021, Guelleh won with around 97 percent of the vote. Several international organizations are monitoring<\/a> Friday\u2019s election, including the African Union, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and the League of Arab States. Initial results are expected this weekend.<\/p>\n Guelleh has campaigned on ensuring cohesion during a volatile geopolitical time. \u201cLet us remember we have managed to maintain the stability of our country in an unstable region,\u201d Guelleh said last month. \u201cWe have preserved peace when others have descended into chaos.\u201d Djibouti sits along a key transit route in the Red Sea, making it a vital player for global shipping in the Middle East at a time when the Iran war has wreaked havoc on the industry.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s tariff gambit. <\/strong>A three-judge panel at the U.S. Court of International Trade considered<\/a> the legality on Friday of Trump\u2019s latest swath of global tariffs. Twenty-four mostly Democratic-led states as well as two small businesses are suing the White House in two separate cases, both of which argue that Trump cannot repurpose Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act<\/a> to address routine trade deficits.<\/p>\n In February, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled<\/a> that the president does not have the power to impose sweeping levies during peacetime under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. In response, Trump imposed new 10 percent tariffs<\/a> under a different authority, Section 122, in the hope of circumventing the court\u2019s decision. However, many lawmakers and legal experts maintain that this use of Section 122 is unlawful.<\/p>\n Section 122 allows the U.S. president to impose up to 15 percent duties \u201cto deal with large and serious United States balance-of-payments deficits\u201d for as many as 150 days. Critics, though, argue that this is an archaic system<\/a> used to address a crisis that is no longer an issue, as Washington has moved away from the gold standard and fixed exchange rate system and has instead embraced foreign capital and investment.<\/p>\n \u201cThe tariffs being collected even now are, again, illegal, and the importers who are paying them are being set up for ongoing hardship when they are inevitably entitled to a refund in the coming months,\u201d J. Marc Wheat, general counsel at Advancing American Freedom, a conservative policy and advocacy group founded by former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, wrote<\/a> in a friend-of-the-court brief.<\/p>\n Ghana on Monday officially withdrew from the Africa Energies Summit, set to be held next month in London. What reason was given for Accra\u2019s decision?<\/p>\n A. The summit\u2019s focus on the transition to green energy After 10 days of breathtaking photography<\/a> and stunning feats of space exploration, Friday marks the finale of NASA\u2019s Artemis II mission to the far side of the moon. Four astronauts (three Americans and one Canadian) are expected to reenter<\/a> Earth\u2019s atmosphere and parachute into the Pacific Ocean around 8 p.m. EDT. All eyes will be on the Orion capsule\u2019s heat shield to ensure a safe return; during a test flight in 2022, the spacecraft sustained an unexpected level of scorching and stress, requiring NASA to alter Artemis II\u2019s descent trajectory. Fingers crossed for a smooth reentry!<\/p>\n C. Concerns over the exclusion of African professionals<\/p>\n Ghana\u2019s Energy Chamber said the country was not a \u201cspectator\u201d in Africa\u2019s energy industry and that the continent cannot be treated as a \u201cmarketplace for attendance\u201d to the exclusion of Africans, FP\u2019s Nosmot Gbadamosi reports<\/a> in Africa Brief.<\/p>\n To take the rest of FP\u2019s weekly international news quiz, click here<\/a>, or sign up<\/a> to be alerted when a new one is published.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nNo Guarantees<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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B. The expectation to discuss only private sector energy policies
C. Concerns over the exclusion of African professionals
D. Concerns over the inclusion of junta-led Sahel states<\/p>\nOdds and Ends<\/strong><\/h3>\n
And the Answer Is\u2026<\/strong><\/h3>\n