Seoul sought an end to war as Tehran kept Washington waiting
South Korea's president called for talks to end the Korean War, while Iran withheld a decision on returning to the US table and a carrier rotation maintained military pressure nearby.
Geopolitics··Midday
Seoul asked for a peace regime to replace the armistice
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung called for talks with North Korea on peaceful coexistence in a speech marking the anniversary of the country's liberation from colonial rule, and said the peninsula's armistice should be replaced by a peace regime. Lee recalled that the 1950-53 war was stopped by a ceasefire rather than a peace treaty, and said discussions could also cover steps to curb North Korea's nuclear capabilities. He said Seoul would take pre-emptive and sustained steps to ease tensions and build layered safeguards to contain escalation. Relations remain frozen: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has abandoned the reunification policy, described the South as its most hostile state and ordered stronger frontline defences. Pyongyang has rebuffed Lee's engagement offers, criticised Seoul's plan for nuclear-powered submarines and denounced joint US-South Korean drills as provocations. On Japan, Lee called for confronting the past while leaving the future open, and said he hoped to open a new 60 years of peace and prosperity with his neighbour.[3]
Tehran said it has taken no decision to return to US talks
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said no decision has been taken to restart negotiations with Washington. He said mediators from Qatar and Pakistan are in contact with Tehran, and that this does not amount to negotiations. Araghchi said Iran is working separately with Oman on the technical process for new shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz, and that transit depends on the United States meeting Iran's conditions. Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi restated that the strait has been, is and will remain Iranian. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has signalled new economic measures aimed at Iran. These are the parties' own statements and are not independently verified. Read in the same window as Seoul's peace call, Tehran's stance keeps the door to dialogue ajar while postponing a return to the table.[1]
A carrier rotation kept military pressure in the Middle East
The United States is sending the USS George Washington to the Middle East to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln, where food shortages and hard conditions have been reported during a deployment stretched to nine months. BBC analysis of tracking data suggests the ship could reach the port of Duqm in Oman around 22 August. The Lincoln has been at sea since 11 December on a deployment initially due to end in May, with 5,000 aboard. Family members have described sailors' mental health deteriorating and said some had considered jumping overboard. The US Navy acknowledges that supplies were disrupted by combat actions but denies any increase in suicidal behaviour aboard. President Donald Trump denied that families were concerned and said of the deployment length that it was not nearly long enough; he confirmed another ship would take over but did not name it. Senator Richard Blumenthal wrote to Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Navy Secretary Hung Cao that the reported shortages warrant immediate attention; Hegseth said some of the reporting had been completely misrepresented. Once the George Washington arrives it will be the third carrier in the area, and no US carrier will remain in the Pacific. Read beside Seoul's peace call and Tehran's delay, the desire to talk and the armed presence advance in the same days.[2], [1], [3]
