Trump-Xi High Stakes Beijing Meeting; Iran War Enters 75th Day

<p>Today's top stories, with context, in just 15 minutes.<br />On today's podcast:<br />1) President Trump repeated his military threats against Iran ahead of a visit to China, saying Iran will either &ldquo;make a good deal&rdquo; with the US or face devastation. A ceasefire between the US and Iran has lasted over a month but is fragile, with Trump describing it as being on &ldquo;massive life support&rdquo; and Tehran continuing to resist US demands. The President is expecting economic deals and a welcome in China, where he will discuss trade, tariffs, and Taiwan with Xi Jinping. The US has targeted Chinese oil refiners and firms providing satellite imagery to Iran, as Trump ramps up his campaign to pressure Tehran into a deal.<br />2) Oil shipments from Iran's main export terminal appear to have come to a standstill over the past several days, according to satellite images. If Kharg Island were to remain idle, it would increase the pressure on the country's remaining storage facilities, which satellite images show are filling up. The terminal hasn't been shown empty for more than a single day since the start of the war, with satellite images of the Kharg Island jetties on 33 out of the 73 days since the US and Israel launched their attacks.<br />3) Anthropic is in early talks with investors to raise at least $30 billion in fresh financing at a valuation of more than $900 billion. The round is expected to close as soon as the end of this month, but the deal is not finalized and no term sheet has been signed. Anthropic needs to make deals to pay for enough computing infrastructure to meet growing demand for its products, amid the breakout success of its AI software.</p><p>See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.</p>