Trump to decide on Iran attack ‘within two weeks’

Today’s agenda: French push for euro as global reserve currency; Zuckerberg’s macho-man makeover; bitcoin hoarders; and Mozambique’s national park renewal

Good morning and welcome back to FirstFT. Donald Trump has said there could be new talks with Iran in the “near future” and that he would decide whether to join Israel’s attack on the country “within the next two weeks”.

What we know: Trump appeared to signal that he was slowing down his decision about entering the war, even as American military assets are being sent to the region. The US president’s statement yesterday said there was a “substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future”. The White House also confirmed that the US had kept open its negotiations with Tehran during days of missile exchanges between Iran and Israel.

What happens next: The possibility of more US-Iran negotiations comes as Britain, France and Germany prepare to hold talks with Iran’s foreign minister today in Geneva, as part of a push to prevent escalation of the conflict. The meeting, a revival of the “E3” format, under which the trio have sought to resolve Iran’s stand-off with the west, will be the first high-level face-to-face diplomacy with Tehran since Israel launched its attacks on Iran a week ago. Here’s more of our coverage:

• Iraq war parallels: The shadow of the weapons of mass destruction intelligence debacle from two decades ago hangs over Trump as he considers whether to bomb Iran.

• Military briefing: Hubris and miscalculation blew apart Tehran’s decades-old ‘no war, no peace’ doctrine as Israel’s appetite for risk grew.

Here’s what else we’re keeping tabs on today and over the weekend:

• Economic data: The European Central Bank issues its economic bulletin, while the UK reports on public sector finances. The US Conference Board publishes leading indicators.

• Luxembourg: The Economic and Financial Affairs Council meets to discuss expansion of the euro area and the EU’s response to the Ukraine conflict.

• France: The Paris Air Show opens to the public today, running until Sunday.

• UK: Climate action week kicks off in London tomorrow.

• Results: Accenture and Berkeley Group report.

How well did you keep up with the news this week? Take our quiz.

Five more top stories

1. Exclusive: France has lobbied EU countries to pledge additional measures to raise the euro’s profile as a global reserve currency, as part of Paris’s campaign for more joint borrowing. The push was prompted by Trump’s erratic policies, which have weakened the dollar’s dominance, opening up space for the bloc’s currency to become more attractive for international transactions.

2. China and Russia are “equal in terms of cyber threat” posed to Europe when it comes to state-sponsored hacking and espionage, according to the Czech president whose government was recently targeted by a hacker group linked to Beijing’s security services. Read the interview with Petr Pavel.

3. Exclusive: Inditex’s chief executive says the conditions for its return to Russia are “certainly not” in place, more than two years after the Zara owner sold its local business following the invasion of Ukraine. Despite Moscow’s claim that western companies would begin coming back by June this year, the comments from Óscar García Maceiras are the latest sign that multinationals are not rushing to re-enter Russia.

4. Exclusive: The BBC is threatening legal action against artificial intelligence search engine Perplexity, in its first effort to clamp down on tech groups scraping its vast troves of content to develop the cutting-edge technology. The broadcaster also told the US start-up to delete stored material used for AI training and asked for compensation for alleged IP infringement.

5. Record prices are fuelling a surge in gold mining in Sudan, unlocking a crucial source of revenue for the country’s warring parties and enabling them to finance the conflict. Its mining industry produced about 80 tonnes of gold last year, its highest output in six years, making Sudan one of Africa’s top four gold producers.

FT Magazine

Mark Zuckerberg’s transformation into red-blooded “Maga Mark” shocked liberals at Meta, but his closest allies say this is who he was all along. Hannah Murphy delves into the truth about the Big Tech chief’s macho-man makeover.

We’re also reading . . . 

• SEC: New chair Paul Atkins charts a new path for the US securities regulator, scrapping market rules proposed by his predecessor.

• Trump tax bill: There are two positions held between the old Republican guard and budget fairyland, says Oren Cass.

• Undercover Economist: Our own mental algorithms, besides tech ones, skew how we see the world, writes Tim Harford.

Chart of the day 

Companies around the world are on a bitcoin buying spree, as executives — often in industries that have nothing to do with cryptocurrency — mimic a stockpiling strategy that has produced explosive share price growth. An FT analysis reveals the world’s biggest hoarders.

Take a break from the news

David Pilling tours Mozambique’s Gorongosa National Park, which is bouncing back from the devastation of civil war through one of the world’s most ambitious conservation projects.