This is what a shitshow looks like......

The status of US-Iran talks remains unclear as fresh strikes test ceasefire

By Maureen Chowdhury

Following fresh strikes across the Middle East, there’s still no clarity on whether indirect negotiations between the United States and Iran are active or making progress. President Donald Trump has said talks are ongoing.

In an interview with the New York Post, Trump said Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei was involved in the negotiations to end the war and that he hoped to meet him. Iranian media by contrast have played down suggestions that any progress is being made.

Meanwhile, Iran’s military has kept up a belligerent tone. Reporting on attacks against Kuwait and Bahrain early Wednesday, it said that “any aggression would be met with a different and heavier response, and that is exactly how we acted. These responses should serve as a lesson.”

If you’re just joining us now, here’s the latest from across the Middle East:

• Iran said it targeted US bases in Kuwait and Bahrain, as well as a vessel near the Strait of Hormuz in its latest wave of strikes. Kuwait’s Health Ministry said 63 people were injured and one killed in a strike that damaged the country’s international airport.
• Kuwait ordered the expulsion of two members of the Iranian diplomatic mission in response to the strikes, according to Kuwait’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
• Several countries in the Middle East have condemned Iran’s overnight attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait, including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Yemen and Lebanon.
• Meanwhile, Trump said the US does not “need” its forces to operate on the ground in Iran because of the success of its months-long bombing campaigns in the country.
• The US president also said he and Iran’s supreme leader “seem to be getting along quite well” — even though the ayatollah has not been seen in public since the start of the US war in Iran.
• Trump said he was “perturbed” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Israel’s plans for military operations in Lebanon.
• At this moment, US-mediated talks between Israel and Lebanon are underway at the US State Department for the second day, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said. Rubio is testifying before the House Foreign Affairs Committee.