Trump news at a glance: Turkey steps in as president maintains threats of US-Iran war | Trump administration
No formal direct negotiations have taken place between the United States and Iran in a decade. Today, as Donald Trump continues to threaten a direct military attack on the regime, Turkey is stepping in as a mediator of last resort.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will travel to Ankara for talks aimed at preventing a US attack, as Turkish diplomats seek to convince Tehran that it must offer concessions on its nuclear program if it is to avoid a potentially devastating conflict.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan proposed a video conference between Trump and his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian. It is not yet known whether the two parties will agree to a virtual meeting.
Araghchi’s visit on Friday comes against a backdrop of urgent international diplomacy and increasingly aggressive threats from both sides.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told a cabinet meeting on Thursday that his department would be able to comply with any military instructions issued by Trump. “They [Iran] They have all the options to reach an agreement,” he said. “They should not pursue nuclear capabilities. And we will be ready to achieve whatever this president expects.
Iran seeks to avoid US military action with talks in Ankara
Trump has warned Iran that time is running out, vowing that any U.S. attack would be violent and far more extensive than the U.S. intervention in Venezuela.
The Kremlin has urged both sides to recognize that there is still time to resort to diplomacy, but Turkey appears to have taken on the role of lead mediator, as an increasingly uneasy Middle East eyes looming conflict that could easily spread across the region.
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Senate Democrats reach agreement to avoid partial government shutdown
The office of Chuck Schumer, the Senate’s top Democrat, confirmed that the deal called for separating a funding bill for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from a set of other funding bills, and that the deal would fund DHS for two weeks at its current levels.
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Canadian separatists accused of ‘treason’ after secret talks with US State Department
The premier of British Columbia had some choice words following the announcement of secret meetings between separatist activists in the Canadian province of Alberta and members of the Trump administration.
“Going to a foreign country and asking for help to dismantle Canada, there’s an old-fashioned word for that – and that word is treason,” David Eby told reporters.
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Trump threatens to impose tariffs on goods from countries that sell oil to Cuba
The order, which bolsters Trump’s push to overthrow the communist government, declares a national emergency and establishes a process for U.S. secretaries of State and Commerce to assess tariffs against countries that sell or supply oil to the island nation. The White House has not yet specified tariff rates for violations of its new policy of preventing Cuba from purchasing oil.
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ICE ends surge in Maine as border czar vows to maintain operations in Minnesota
Federal authorities have ended their immigration enforcement efforts in Maine, a state senator said Thursday, even as Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan insisted the much larger operation in Minnesota would continue.
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Kennedy Center official resigns less than two weeks after being hired
The new senior vice president of arts programming at Washington DC’s John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Kevin Couch, has resigned less than two weeks after his hiring was announced.
Couch confirmed he “resigned yesterday” in a statement to the Guardian on Thursday.
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Critics dismayed as White House displays framed photo of Trump with Putin
Trump apparently added a framed photo of himself alongside Vladimir Putin to the White House decor, drawing criticism from a senator, members of the media and beyond.
Newly surfaced photos of the Palm Room, which connects the West Wing to the Executive Residence, show a framed picture of the U.S. president and the Russian president during their summit in Alaska last August.
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Trump ordered the immediate reopening of commercial airspace over Venezuela, weeks after U.S. military forces toppled dictator Nicolas Maduro.
Speaking at the White House during his first cabinet meeting of the year, Trump said he had just concluded a telephone conversation with the interim president (and former vice president) of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, during which he informed her of the decision to restore access to flights.
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What else happened today:
A catch-up? Here’s what happened on January 28, 2026.
