Iran to hold talks with Chinese, Russian partners at summit
'We will have bilateral meetings with the Chinese foreign minister, which naturally has its own importance in the current situation, as well as with the Russian foreign minister,' Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Telegram.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is a 10-nation Eurasian security and political grouping whose members include China, Russia, India, Pakistan and Iran. Tianjin in northern China is hosting the 25th SCO Foreign Ministers meeting.
In June, Israel and the United States launched strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities which they said were part of a nuclear programme geared toward weaponisation. Tehran denies having any such plans.
Since the re-imposition of American sanctions on Iran during U.S. President Donald Trump's first term, Tehran has deepened ties with both Moscow through a 20-year strategic pact and Beijing, which buys as much as 90% of Iranian oil exports.
'The SCO is gradually opening up its place in the global arena, meaning it is gradually going beyond the regional arena, and it has many different issues on its agenda, including in the economic, political and security fields," Araqchi wrote.
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Daily Mail
3 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Trump lands in Scotland to inaugurate his new golf course
President Donald Trump touched down in Scotland Friday to begin a five-day golf getaway at his courses after a stunning period where his big win in Congress and bombing of Iran was quickly overtaken by the Jeffrey Epstein saga. Trump, 79, has made golf an important part of his life and his business empire – visiting courses more than 60 times in his second term. He is doing so again six months into his second term, with planned visits to both of his Scottish courses. The president spoke reverentially about his Turnberry course as he left the White House – but still got hit with questions about whether he would pardon Ghislaine Maxwell , who met with top DOJ officials this week amid new scrutiny of the convicted [sexual] offender who died in his jail cell. And he issued a new iteration of his denial of a sensational report in the Wall Street Journal that he drew a picture of a woman for Epstein as part of a special birthday volume. 'Somebody could have written a letter and used my name,' Trump posited. He said he has the 'power' to pardon Maxwell , who is serving jail time after being convicted of assisting Epstein in his [sexual] trafficking network. Here in Scotland, Trump is set to inaugurate a new course in Aberdeenshire, on a trip where squeezing his hosts to bring the British Open to his Turnberry Course is also on tap. The new MacLeod course in Menie is named for his late mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, who was born in Scotland and emigrated to the U.S. Trump is already predicting victory on that front. 'I think they will do that,' he said of bringing the Open to his Turnberry course. 'Turnberry is rated the number one course in the world. I think they'll do that.' But he pushed back when asked if he was going to convince anyone of his stance on the trip. 'No, it's not about that,' Trump said. 'It's the best resort in the world, I think, Turnberry, and it's one of the greatest courses in the world.' A potential championship isn't the only dealmaking on the horizon. Trump and British PM Keir Starmer, who inked a trade deal at the G7 in Canada shortly before Starmer dropped it on camera, still must negotiate substantial details. That puts prices for cars, auto parts, chicken, beef, and digital clicks in play, after a U.S.-UK trade deal in May set only broad parameters but left many details to be worked out. Trump set off confusion before he even left the White House when he told reporters that 'We're meeting with the prime minister tonight' and that 'We're going to be talking about the trade deal that we made and maybe even improve it.' There was no expectation that Trump would even see Starmer until later in his visit. There was, however, a new addition to his schedule. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she would meet with Trump Sunday to 'discuss transatlantic trade relations, and how we can keep them strong' – setting up another high stakes negotiation. Trump has been flouting his ability to bring other nations to heel by publicly releasing trade letters announcing what tariffs they will face. The White House said the number had reached 25 before he left Washington. Trump blasted out yet another threat Friday when he said there was a 'fifty-fifty' chance of a deal with the European Union , while saying the powerful trade block must 'buy down' the threatened 30 percent tariff. But the lure of his upcoming State Visit and meeting with King Charles is preventing Trump from playing full hardball , one insider tells the Daily Mail. Trump's language as he left town was very much in keeping with that stance. Trump called it 'more fine-tuning.' 'And also we do a little celebrating together, because, you know, we got along very well. UK has been trying to make a deal with us for like 12 years, and haven't been able to do it. We got it done.' He called Starmer a 'good prime minister' and a 'good guy' who was 'doing a very good job. 'So we're going to see. We're going to meet at Turnberry and we're going to meet at Aberdeen. So two beautiful places.' But he said there was 'not a lot' of wiggle room on steel and aluminum tariffs he has imposed using Section 232 authority. The absence of detailed information on the weekend schedule released by the White House makes clear that there is plenty of golf in Trump's future. He has no public events Saturday or Sunday, when he will be at Turnberry. His Starmer meeting comes Monday, after which the pair are expected to tour Trump's new course. Trump is also expected to meeting First Minister John Swinney, who is scoring the face time despite publicly backing Trump's rival Kamala Harris in the election.
Daily Mail
3 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Inside the room where a $41 million 'House of Friendship' deal led to a titanic Trump and Epstein showdown
Donald Trump 's voice boomed out across the auction room as it became clear he was determined to win the bidding battle for one of the most palatial mansions in Florida. There was only one man standing in his way - the other bidder was Jeffrey Epstein. The auction on November 15, 2004 appears to have been the final time the two men's paths crossed and, by all accounts, it was not friendly. They appear to have never spoken after it. Around the same time, Trump banned Epstein from his nearby Mar-a-Lago club for being a 'creep.' Weeks later, police were pursuing Epstein over allegations involving underage girls. The titanic hour-long auction struggle was relayed to the Daily Mail by an insider present in the room on the seventh floor of non-descript office building in Palm Beach. Both Trump and Epstein were determined to buy Maison de l'Amitie - 'The House of Friendship' - a glorious six-acre French Regency-style estate on 'Billionaires' Row' overlooking the Atlantic. It had come up for auction after the owner, Abe Gosman, a nursing home tycoon, declared bankruptcy. Gosman died in 2013. Judge Steven Friedman presided over the hearing with a speakerphone next to him on his desk. 'This was before the advent of Zoom so the bankruptcy judge allowed bidders to bid by telephone,' the insider said. Bidders tended to use representatives and Epstein pursued that strategy. Trump had a lawyer representing him in the room, but placed his own bids from afar. 'There was a speaker on the judge's table and everyone had a dial-in number,' the insider said. 'Mr Trump did the bidding himself. We knew it was him, we recognized the voice. I was surprised. Mr Trump said he was going to outbid everyone. 'In my recollection he just made it clear he was going to win the bid. He said something to the effect of "I will continue bidding." 'The Apprentice had just started and he was that persona - very confident, very authoritative.' About 40 people - lawyers and Florida real estate types - packed into the room. Rather than a courtroom, it was a banal space in the offices of a medical company. The auction itself was the culmination of a lengthy battle for control of Maison de l'Amitie. According to the bankruptcy trustee Epstein and Trump had both already lobbied hard to buy it. The insider said the starting price had been 'about $20 million.' Epstein, his bids relayed by an intermediary, went all the way up to $38.6 million before finally dropping out. A third bidder, another Florida developer, then made a surprise entry. Trump was undeterred and outbid him too with an offer of $41.35 million. The third bidder did not return a request for comment. Another intriguing aspect of Maison de 'l'Amitie may have spurred Epstein's intense interest in it. It had once been owned by the Victoria's Secret fashion mogul Les Wexner. Epstein had started managing Wexner's money in the late 1980s. It was through Wexner that Epstein acquired his massive mansion in Manhattan, a seven-story, 21,000 square foot behemoth less than a block from Central Park. Wexner sold his entire interest through which he owned the Manhattan property to an entity owned by Epstein in 1998. Wexner later severed all connections with Epstein and said he was 'embarrassed' by his former ties to someone who was 'sick, so cunning, so depraved.' Previously, in 1988, Wexner had sold Maison de l'Amitie to Gosman for $12 million. Gosman built a 64,000 square foot home with a pool house and tennis pavilion, and filled it with expensive works of art before declaring bankruptcy. After winning the auction for it in 2004, Trump told the Palm Beach Daily News: 'My initial feeling is to utilize the existing house and create the second greatest house in America, Mar-a-Lago being the first. 'It's the finest piece of land in Florida and probably in the U.S..' A few years later he hired Karen Todd, the winner of season 3 of 'The Apprentice,' to oversee upgrades to the property. In 2008 Trump sold the property for a Palm Beach record residential price of $95 million to Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev. Epstein killed himself in a New York jail cell in 2019 after being charged with sex trafficking. That year, when asked about Epstein, Trump said he had not spoken to him since about 2004. He said: 'Well, I knew him like everybody in Palm Beach knew him. I mean, people in Palm Beach knew him. He was a fixture in Palm Beach. 'I had a falling out with him a long time ago. I don't think I've spoken to him for 15 years. I wasn't a fan.' The White House has since indicated that the falling out was to do with Epstein being a 'creep' rather than the property auction. This week, White House spokesman Steven Cheung said: 'The fact is that the president kicked him (Epstein) out of his club for being a creep.' It has been reported that Epstein behaved inappropriately with a Mar-a-Lago member's daughter. That may have added steel to Trump's determination to crush Epstein in the auction, and to declare victory in what would prove to be their final encounter.
ITV News
5 minutes ago
- ITV News
Trump arrives in Scotland for his first UK visit since re-election
US President Donald Trump has arrived in Scotland at the start of a five day visit - his first to the UK since his re-election. His presence will result in a significant operation from Police Scotland and thousands of officers, who are expected to deal with mass protests around his golf courses and major Scottish cities. Trade unions, disability rights activists, climate justice campaigners, Palestinian and Ukrainian solidarity groups and American diaspora organisations are among those holding demonstrations in protest of the visit. Trump will visit both of the golf clubs he owns in the country – Turnberry in South Ayrshire and Menie, near Aberdeen, in the coming days. During his time in Scotland, he will also meet Scottish First Minister John Swinney, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Von der Leyen announced her trip on X, saying: 'Following a good call with @POTUS, we have agreed to meet in Scotland on Sunday to discuss transatlantic trade relations, and how we can keep them strong.' Trump indicated that he and Starmer could 'approve' the US-UK trade deal when they meet on Monday. Speaking to reporters before he began his travel on Friday, the president said: 'We're going to be talking about the trade deal that we made and maybe even approve it.' Before boarding the presidential plane Air Force One to fly to Scotland, he told journalists he has a 'lot of love' for Scotland.
