Middle East crisis live: US and Iran trade strikes again, after Trump warns Tehran will ‘pay the price’ for stalled talks

US launches second round of airstrikes on Iran, and Tehran responds by targeting Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan US strikes Iran for second day, as ceasefire appears close to collapse In his interview with CNN, Brett McGurk also offered some insight into the thinking behind the Trump administration’s actions this week, and why they may have so clearly telegraphed that another attack was coming on Thursday. What they’re trying to do is manage that escalation, to basically say to Iran, we’re going to respond, this is coming, but this is not a restart of the campaign we started in February.” I’m seeing nothing from the Iranians right now suggesting they’re on the verge of a deal. If these strikes are designed to pressure Iran into doing a deal, I don’t think that objective will be met.” Continue reading...