Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at diplomatic efforts to end the U.S.-Iran war, a potential path of succession for North Korea, and NASA’s race to the lunarsouth pole.
‘You’ll Be Living in Hell’
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday reiterated his threat to target critical Iranian infrastructure should Iran not agree to a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by Tuesday at 8 p.m. EDT. “The entire country can be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night,” Trump told reporters at a White House press conference.
Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at diplomatic efforts to end the U.S.-Iran war, a potential path of succession for North Korea, and NASA’s race to the lunarsouth pole.
‘You’ll Be Living in Hell’
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday reiterated his threat to target critical Iranian infrastructure should Iran not agree to a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by Tuesday at 8 p.m. EDT. “The entire country can be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night,” Trump told reporters at a White House press conference.
His remarks followed an expletive-laden Truth Social post on Sunday in which Trump lashed out at Tehran in apparent frustration. “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran,” Trump wrote. “There will be nothing like it!!! Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah.” In a separate post later that day, Trump set the new deadline for Tuesday.
Yet a cease-fire agreement seems unlikely to materialize anytime soon. Over the weekend, Pakistan proposed a 45-day cease-fire deal to end the Iran war. The framework, known as the Islamabad Accord, called for an immediate truce and the reopening of Hormuz followed by 15 to 20 days of talks on a broader peace settlement.
However, Iran rejected that framework on Monday and issued its own 10-point rebuttal. Tehran’s counteroffer included a permanent end to the region’s conflicts, details on securing the Strait of Hormuz, the lifting of all international sanctions on Tehran, and the provision of reconstruction for Iran.
“We only accept an end of the war with guarantees that we won’t be attacked again,” Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour, the head of Iran’s diplomatic mission in Cairo, told The Associated Press, adding that Tehran no longer trusts the White House to abide by a cease-fire, as U.S. forces bombed Iran twice during previous rounds of negotiations.
On Sunday, Iran also officially rejected the United States’ 15-point peace proposal, calling it “unrealistic” and stressing that Tehran “firmly refuses any negotiations conducted under the shadow of illegal sanctions, military threats, or coercion.”
The White House similarly appears unwilling to agree to Iran’s terms. Trump called Tehran’s 10-point counterproposal a “significant step” but “not good enough” to halt the fighting. He also once again expressed his desire to take what he later referred to as the “spoils” of war.
“If I had my choice, what would I like to do—take the oil, because it’s there for the taking,” Trump told reporters on Monday during a morning Easter event. “Unfortunately, the American people would like to see us come home.”
Recent public opinion polling shows that Americans are largely pessimistic about the Iran war. According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll published on Friday, 86 percent of respondents expressed concern over the conflict’s threat to the lives of U.S. military personnel—the same day that Iranian forces shot down a U.S. fighter jet carrying two crew members. U.S. special forces have since rescued both individuals.
Meanwhile, Israel continues to pursue its own military objectives in Iran. On Monday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened to destroy Iran’s infrastructure and hunt down its leadership “one by one.” Israel also claimed responsibility on Monday for the killing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ intelligence chief, Majid Khademi, in overnight strikes. Israel also said it had struck two major Iranian petrochemical plants in a bid to eliminate one of Tehran’s major revenue sources as well as its ability to produce materials used to make weapons.
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The World This Week
Tuesday, April 7: Cheng Li-wun, the leader of Taiwan’s opposition Kuomintang party, begins a six-day trip to China.
U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance begins a two-day trip to Hungary.
Wednesday, April 8: Trump hosts NATO chief Mark Rutte.
Thursday, April 9: French President Emmanuel Macron begins a two-day trip to the Vatican.
Friday, April 10: The U.S. Court of International Trade hears two cases challenging Trump’s decision to impose sweeping tariffs under Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act.
Djibouti holds a presidential election.
Sunday, April 12: Hungary holds parliamentary elections.
Benin holds parliamentary elections.
Peru holds presidential and parliamentary elections.
Monday, April 13: The World Bank and International Monetary Fund begin weeklong spring meetings in Washington.
Pope Leo XIV begins a 10-day Africa tour that starts in Algeria.
Canada holds by-elections in three constituencies.
What We’re Following
Succession talk. South Korean intelligence chief Lee Jong-seok told lawmakers on Monday that there is “credible evidence” to suggest that the daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is the dictator’s likely successor. Although speculation has long circulated around her role, Lee’s statement is the strongest assessment yet on what Pyongyang’s future might look like. She would be the fourth-generation Kim to lead North Korea.
Little is known about Kim’s reported heir. She is believed to be named Kim Ju Ae and is estimated to be around age 13. However, she has recently caught international attention following a slew of public appearances alongside her father that suggest that Kim is grooming her to take the reins one day. In recent weeks, she has been photographed firing pistols at a munitions factory, watching a live-fire rocket launch, and driving a tank during offensive army tactical drills.
Some South Korean lawmakers have suggested that the daughter’s positioning may create tension within Kim’s closest circle, particularly with his younger sister Kim Yo Jong. Seoul has long depicted Kim Yo Jong as the de facto second-highest figure in Pyongyang and a possible successor for the top seat.
Dark side of the moon. Astronauts aboard the Artemis II space mission entered the lunar sphere of influence on Monday, marking a major milestone in their 10-day journey around the moon. Entering the lunar sphere of influence—which is when the moon’s gravitational pull becomes stronger than Earth’s—will bring the four astronauts farther into space than any human in history. Mission Control expects Artemis II to reach a maximum distance of 252,760 miles from Earth.
The aim of Artemis II (carrying three Americans and one Canadian) is to document the so-called dark side of the moon. The astronauts will not step foot on the moon’s surface. Instead, their research will be used to prepare for a future U.S. mission to land on the lunar south pole, which is believed to host water-ice deposits that can be used to create fuel essential for eventual travel to Mars.
NASA hopes to accomplish this by 2028 in an aim to beat China to the coveted spot; Beijing plans to reach the south pole by 2030. But fighting for unchartered terrain—coupled with escalating geopolitical tensions on Earth—could make the race to the moon a “Wild West” situation. “Space is headed toward an anarchic scramble for advantage amid conflicting rules and claims to the cosmos, mirroring the fragmentation of the rules-based order into contending blocs and regions,” Robert A. Manning argued in Foreign Policy in 2023.
False-flag accusations. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban convened an emergency defense council meeting on Sunday after explosives were discovered near a pipeline in Serbia that carries Russian gas to Hungary. This was a prepared “act of sabotage,” Orban said on Facebook. The pro-Moscow leader suggested that the incident aimed to blow up the pipeline, and he vowed to work with Serbia to bolster its security.
Although Orban stopped short of directly blaming Kyiv for the incident, he said that “Ukraine has been for years trying to cut off Europe from Russian energy.” Both Orban and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic are close allies of Moscow. Their countries’ reliance on Russian energy has often put them at odds with their European counterparts, who have sought to aid Ukraine in its war against Russia as well as reduce their own dependence on Russian gas.
That division is expected to be tested during Hungary’s parliamentary elections on Sunday, especially following accusations that this weekend’s pipeline incident was a Russian false-flag operation aimed at influencing the upcoming vote. “Several people have publicly indicated that something will ‘accidentally’ happen at the gas pipeline in Serbia at Easter, a week before the Hungarian elections. And so it happened,” said Peter Magyar, the leader of Hungary’s opposition Tisza party.
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi reiterated that allegation, writing on X that “Ukraine has nothing to do with this” while also calling it a “Russian false-flag operation.”
Odds and Ends
No need to turn off your devices for this performance. Rather than hunker down at cafes or libraries, students preparing for upcoming exams last month filled the main auditorium at Amsterdam’s historic Concertgebouw concert hall for an inspiring study session. The recurring event—costing the equivalent of just $2.85 a ticket—offers students a place to focus with reliable Wi-Fi, plenty of seating, and live classical music to fill the silence. At a recent session, violinist Hyunjin Cho and cellist Efstratia Chaloulakou performed music by composers Johann Pachelbel, George Frideric Handel, and Franz Schubert as well as songs from Studio Ghibli films.
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