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Aid groups in Myanmar on Tuesday described scenes of devastation and desperation after an earthquake that killed more than 2,700 people, stressing an urgent need for food, water and shelter and warning the window to find survivors was fast closing.

Myanmar’s military ruler Min Aung Hlaing in a televised address said the death toll from Friday’s 7.7 magnitude quake was expected to surpass 3,000, having reached 2,719 on Tuesday, with 4,521 people injured, and 441 missing.

The quake, which struck at lunchtime on Friday, was the strongest to hit the Southeast Asian country in more than a century, toppling ancient pagodas and modern buildings alike.

It inflicted significant damage on Myanmar’s second city Mandalay and Naypyitaw, the capital the previous junta purpose-built to be an impregnable fortress.

The death toll rose to 21 in neighbouring Thailand, where the quake caused damage to hundreds of buildings. Rescuers pressed on searching for life in the rubble of a collapsed skyscraper under construction in the capital Bangkok, but acknowledged time was against them.

In Myanmar, UN agencies said hospitals were overwhelmed and rescue efforts hindered by infrastructure damage and the country’s civil war. Rebels accused the military of conducting airstrikes even after the quake and on Tuesday a rebel alliance declared a unilateral ceasefire to help relief efforts.

Aid groups raised the alarm over a lack of food, water and sanitation. The region was still being hit by aftershocks on Tuesday.

Julia Rees, of the UN children’s agency Unicef, who just returned from one of the worst-affected areas near the epicentre in central Myanmar, said entire communities had been flattened and destruction and psychological trauma was immense.

“And yet, this crisis is still unfolding. The tremors are continuing. Search and rescue operations are ongoing. Bodies are still being pulled from the rubble,” she said in a statement.

“Let me be clear: the needs are massive, and they are rising by the hour. The window for life-saving response is closing.”

Civil war complicating relief effort

In the Mandalay area, 50 children and two teachers were killed when their preschool collapsed, the UN humanitarian agency said.

In a rare survival story, a 63-year-old woman was pulled from the rubble of a building in Naypyitaw after being trapped for 91 hours.

She was found on Tuesday morning and pulled out an hour later, the Myanmar fire department said, following a joint rescue with teams from India, China and Russia.

The civil war in Myanmar, where the military seized power in a coup in 2021, has complicated efforts to reach those injured and made homeless, including tight controls over the internet and other communication networks.

One rebel group, the Karen National Union, on Sunday said the junta had conducted airstrikes in the east of the country at a time when it should be prioritising quake relief efforts.

The Three Brotherhood Alliance of three major rebel groups at war with the junta on Tuesday declared a unilateral one-month ceasefire, to allow urgent humanitarian efforts to “be carried out as swiftly and effectively as possible”.

Amnesty International said the junta must allow aid to reach areas not under its control.

“Myanmar’s military has a longstanding practice of denying aid to areas where groups who resist it are active,” its Myanmar researcher Joe Freeman said. “It must immediately allow unimpeded access to all humanitarian organisations.”

In his speech, junta leader Min Aung Hlaing spoke of “lessons learned” and criticised the poor quality of construction. “Some buildings were built cheaply, without spending enough money on them,” he said.

It is unclear if Min Aung Hlaing would make a rare foreign trip later this week to attend a regional summit in Bangkok as planned. Thailand’s foreign ministry on Tuesday said the general may attend by teleconference.

‘We will keep on going’

In Bangkok, rescuers were still scouring the ruins of an unfinished skyscraper that collapsed for any signs of life, but aware that as four days had passed since the quake, the odds of finding survivors lengthened.

There were an estimated 70 bodies under the rubble and experts said 12 had been located, using scanners, but large debris blocked the way and rescuers were cutting concrete slabs to remove them.

“Our focus is on the survival. There are cases where people have survived for one week,” Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt told reporters.

“We cannot say there is no hope … if there is structure and air and no direct heat. We will keep going.”

Search and rescue efforts were supported by multinational teams including personnel from the US and Israel, as family and friends said they feared the worst.

“The rescue teams are doing their best. I can see that,” said 19-year-old Artithap Lalod, who was waiting for news of his brother.

Initial tests showed that some steel samples collected from the site of the collapsed building were substandard, Thai industry ministry officials said. The government has launched an investigation into the cause of the collapse.

Fourteen deaths have been confirmed at the building site and seven elsewhere in the city.

United States President Donald Trump’s popularity is on the line for Tuesday’s election in Wisconsin, for which his high-profile aide, Elon Musk, distributed million-dollar cheques to voters.

Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has introduced sweeping reforms, dismantling significant portions of the federal government, altering foreign policy, and instigating trade wars that threaten to reignite inflation.

While his focus on migrants, judges, “woke” culture, and critics has garnered praise from supporters, these approaches remain largely untested among the broader electorate.

The Wisconsin election features conservative candidate Brad Schimel facing off against liberal Susan Crawford for a supreme court seat. A Schimel victory would shift the court’s balance to the right, while Crawford win would maintain its liberal majority.

Musk has argued that a conservative win is needed to cement Trump’s national agenda, with the supreme court race having an impact on a potential redrawing of Congressional districts in the swing state ahead of midterm elections next year.

Trump’s Republican party in Washington holds a slim 218-213 majority in the House of Representatives over Democrats and an even slimmer lead in the Senate.

Trump attacked Crawford on social media on Monday, accusing her of “letting child molesters and rapists off easy”.

“She will be one of the most Liberal Judges ever elected, which would be a DISASTER for Wisconsin and, the United States of America,” he said.

Also on Tuesday, voters in Florida will elect members of the House in two heavily Republican districts, which were vacated by Trump’s National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and his original nominee for attorney general, Matt Gaetz.

Most expensive election

The Wisconsin poll is expected to be close, with Trump narrowly beating his Democratic rival Kamala Harris in last year’s presidential election by less than 30,000 votes in the state.

Musk, who spent roughly $277 million on Trump’s election campaign, has piled more resources into the Wisconsin vote.

He has handed out two prize cheques of $1 million each to voters, and also given $100 each to voters who sign his petition against “activist judges”.

According to the Brennan Center for Justice, more than $49.7 million has been spent by Schimel and his backers, including $12.2 million from Musk’s America PAC.

Crawford’s campaign and those backing her have spent an estimated $40.3 million.

The spending has made the Wisconsin race the most expensive in US judicial history, the institute said.

Crawford has accused Tesla owner Musk of seeking to buy a seat on the state supreme court to swing judgments in favour of his companies.

A case regarding car dealerships filed by the electric vehicle manufacturer is potentially headed to the court.

Speaking at a campaign rally on Sunday, Musk placed the national political context front and centre.

“What’s happening on Tuesday is a vote for which party controls the US House of Representatives,” Musk declared, arguing that Congress was so evenly balanced that Wisconsin’s seats could decide its majority in the 2026 midterms.

The billionaire’s Green Bay rally had an enthusiastic crowd, but the South African-born oligarch’s role in Wisconsin elections has provoked as much resistance as support.

At a pro-Crawford rally, 65-year-old retired electrical engineer Rob Patterson held up a sign showing Musk giving a straight-armed salute.

“Our Supreme Court is not for sale,” the sign read.

China on Tuesday sent its army, navy, air and rocket forces to surround Taiwan for large-scale drills Beijing said were aimed at practising for “precision strikes” and a blockade of the self-ruled island.

Taiwan dispatched its own aircraft and ships, and deployed land-based missile systems, in response to the exercises.

The drills come after US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said Sunday in Japan that the United States would ensure “credible deterrence” across the Taiwan Strait.

Beijing has increased the deployment of fighter jets and naval vessels around Taiwan in recent years, which Taipei opposes.

China deployed 21 warships around the island, including the Shandong aircraft carrier group, along with 71 aircraft and four coast guard vessels, Taiwan’s defence ministry said.

The number of warships was the highest since May last year when 27 navy vessels were reported, according to an AFP tally of the ministry’s daily figures.

Tensions across the 180-kilometre (112-mile) Taiwan Strait have escalated since Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te took office in May 2024.

Tuesday’s exercises were aimed at sending a “stern warning and forceful deterrence” to separatists in Taiwan, Beijing said.

They involved “sea-air combat-readiness patrols, joint seizure of comprehensive superiority, assault on maritime and ground targets, and blockade on key areas and sea lanes”, said Senior Colonel Shi Yi, spokesman of the Chinese military’s Eastern Theater Command.

Beijing’s armed forces “close in on Taiwan Island from multiple directions”, he said.

The drills also involved training for “multi-directional precision strikes” around the island, the Eastern Theater Command said in a statement.

The Eastern Theater Command — which oversees operations along the Taiwan Strait — shared a graphic with the title “closing in”.

China’s coast guard said it also conducted “law enforcement patrols” around the island.

“Pursuing ‘Taiwan independence’ means pushing the people of Taiwan into a dangerous situation of war,” Zhu Fenglian, a spokeswoman for Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said.

Myanmar held a minute’s silence on Tuesday in tribute to victims of a catastrophic earthquake that has killed more than 2,700 people, buckling roads and flattening buildings as far away as Bangkok.

Four days after the shallow 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck, many people in Myanmar are still sleeping outdoors, either unable to return to ruined homes or afraid of further aftershocks.

Sirens rang out at 12:51:02 (0621 GMT) — the precise time the quake struck on Friday — bringing the country to a standstill to remember those lost.

Mandalay, the country’s second-biggest city with 1.7 million inhabitants, suffered some of the worst destruction.

Outside the Sky Villa apartment complex, one of the city’s worst-hit disaster sites, rescue workers stopped and lined up with hands clasped behind their backs to pay their respects.

Officials and attendants stood behind a cordon, watching relatives further back, as the sirens wailed and a Myanmar flag flew at half-mast from a bamboo pole tied to a rescue tent.

The moment of remembrance is part of a week of national mourning declared by the ruling junta, with flags to fly at half-mast on official buildings until April 6 “in sympathy for the loss of life and damages”.

At least 2,700 people have been confirmed dead, with more than 4,500 injured and hundreds others missing. At least 20 people died in neighbouring Thailand.

But the toll is expected to rise significantly as rescuers reach towns and villages where communications have been cut off by the quake.

More than 1,000 foreign rescuers have flown in to help and Myanmar state media reported that nearly 650 people have been pulled alive from ruined buildings around the country.

The dead include around 500 Muslims killed while offering Friday prayers in mosques when the quake struck, the state-run newspaper Global New Light of Myanmar reported.

Sleeping in the open

Hundreds of Mandalay residents spent a fourth night sleeping in the open, with their homes destroyed or fearing aftershocks would cause more damage.

“I don’t feel safe. There are six or seven-floor buildings beside my house leaning, and they can collapse anytime,” Soe Tint, a watchmaker, told AFP after sleeping outside.

Some have tents but many — including babies and children — have been bedding down on blankets in the middle of roads, staying as far away as possible from damaged buildings.

Around the city apartment complexes have been flattened, a Buddhist religious complex eviscerated, and hotels crumpled and twisted into ruins.

At an examination hall, where part of the building collapsed on hundreds of monks taking an exam, book bags were piled on a table outside, the uncollected belongings of the victims.

Fire engines and heavy-lifting vehicles were parked outside and an Indian rescue team worked on the pancaked remains of the building.

The smell was “very high”, one Indian officer said. The stench of bodies rotting in the heat was unmistakable at several disaster sites around the city.

On the outskirts of Mandalay, a crematorium has received hundreds of bodies for disposal, with many more to come as victims are dug out of the rubble.

International aid effort

Even before Friday’s quake, Myanmar’s 50 million people were suffering, the country ravaged by four years of civil war sparked when the army ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian government in 2021.

The UN says at least 3.5 million people were displaced by the conflict before the quake, many of them at risk of hunger.

The junta says it is doing its best to respond to the disaster but there have been multiple reports in recent days of the military carrying out air strikes on armed groups opposed to its rule, even as the country reels from the quake’s devastation.

United Nations special envoy to Myanmar Julie Bishop called Monday for all parties to cease hostilities and focus on protecting civilians and delivering aid.

In response to the quake, junta chief Min Aung Hlaing issued an exceptionally rare appeal for foreign assistance, breaking with the isolated ruling generals’ customary practice of shunning help from abroad in the wake of major disasters.

International aid efforts since the quake have included an emergency appeal from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies for $100 million to help victims.

Hundreds of kilometres (miles) away, Bangkok city authorities said the death toll there had risen to 20, the vast majority killed when a 30-storey skyscraper under construction collapsed.

A huge earthquake hit Myanmar and Thailand on Friday, killing nearly 150 people and injuring hundreds, with dozens trapped in collapsed buildings and the death toll expected to rise.

The shallow 7.7-magnitude early afternoon tremor hit northwest of the city of Sagaing in central Myanmar, and was followed minutes later by a 6.4-magnitude aftershock.

The quake flattened buildings, downed bridges, and cracked roads across swathes of Myanmar, and even demolished a 30-storey skyscraper under construction hundreds of kilometres (miles) away in Bangkok.

While the full extent of the catastrophe is yet to emerge, the leader of isolated Myanmar, in the grip of a civil war, issued a rare plea for international aid.

Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing said 144 people had been killed, with 732 confirmed injured, but warned the toll was “likely to rise”. Three deaths have been confirmed so far in Thailand.

“In some places, some buildings collapsed,” he said in a televised speech, after visiting a hospital in the capital Naypyidaw.

“I would like to invite any country, any organisation, or anyone in Myanmar to come and help. Thank you.”

He urged massive relief efforts in the wake of the disaster and said he had “opened all ways for foreign aid”.

Mass casualty area

Four years of civil war sparked by the military seizing power have ravaged Myanmar’s infrastructure and healthcare system, leaving it ill-equipped to respond to such a disaster.

Myanmar declared a state of emergency across the six worst-affected regions after the quake, which the World Health Organization described as a “very, very big threat to life and health”.

Hundreds of casualties arrived at a major hospital in Naypyidaw where the emergency department entrance had collapsed on a car.

A hospital official described it as a “mass casualty area” with medics treating the wounded outside.

“I haven’t seen (something) like this before. We are trying to handle the situation. I’m so exhausted now,” a doctor told AFP.

As night fell, AFP journalists saw rescuers trying to extract a mother and son from the ruins of a collapsed building in Naypyidaw.

Both were seriously injured but rescuers were unable to reach them, a Red Cross worker told AFP.

Skyscraper collapse

Across the border in Thailand, a 30-storey skyscraper under construction collapsed to a tangled heap of rubble and dust in a matter of seconds.

Officials have said three workers are confirmed dead with dozens more still unaccounted for, many believed trapped in the rubble.

“I heard people calling for help, saying ‘help me’,” Worapat Sukthai, deputy police chief of Bang Sue district, told AFP.

“We estimate that hundreds of people are injured,” he said.

As night fell, around 100 rescue workers assembled at the scene to search for survivors, illuminated by specially erected floodlights.

Visiting the site, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said “every building” in Bangkok would need to be inspected for safety, though it was not immediately clear how that would be carried out.

An emergency zone was declared in Bangkok, where some metro and light rail services were suspended.

The streets of the capital were full of commuters attempting to walk home, or simply taking refuge in the entrances of malls and office buildings.

City authorities said parks would stay open overnight for those unable to sleep at home.

Strong quakes are extremely rare in Thailand, and across Bangkok and the northern tourist destination of Chiang Mai, where the power briefly went out, stunned residents hurried outside, unsure of how to respond.

Sai, 76, rushed out of a minimart in Chiang Mai when the shop started to shake.

“This is the strongest tremor I’ve experienced in my life.”

The quake was felt across the region, with China, Cambodia, Bangladesh and India all reporting tremors.

India, France and the European Union all offered to provide assistance, while the WHO said it was mobilising its logistics hub in Dubai to prepare trauma injury supplies.

Pope Francis said he was “deeply saddened by the loss of life and widespread devastation” in a telegram published by the Vatican.

Earthquakes are relatively common in Myanmar, where six strong quakes of 7.0 magnitude or more struck between 1930 and 1956 near the Sagaing Fault, which runs north to south through the centre of the country, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

A powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake in the ancient capital Bagan in central Myanmar killed three people in 2016, also toppling spires and crumbling temple walls at the tourist destination.

The White House issued a warning on Monday to nations it considers to be engaging in “unfair” trade practices against the United States, signalling that imminent tariffs may be imposed.

In a press briefing on Monday, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt announced that President Donald Trump will detail his tariff plan in a press conference scheduled for Wednesday.

“Any country that has treated the American people unfairly should expect to receive a tariff in return on Wednesday,” Leavitt stated during the press briefing, emphasising the Trump administration’s commitment to reciprocal trade measures.

She declined to give any further details.

The event will include members of the US Cabinet and is anticipated to outline the administration’s approach to addressing perceived trade imbalances. Additionally, Leavitt emphasised that the tariffs aim to protect American workers and safeguard the US economy.

“Wednesday will be Independence Day in America,” said Leavitt. “President Trump is doing this in the best interest of American workers.”

Leavitt highlighted the Trump administration’s focus on domestic economic interests while also pointing out that “high tariffs from other countries are unfair to Americans” and that the US should “also collect tariffs in the same way”.

Notably, when questioned about potential exemptions for specific sectors, such as farmers, Leavitt stated: “There are no exemptions at this time.”

The White House spokesperson also acknowledged the possibility of “alternative tariffs” being announced, indicating potential flexibility in the administration’s approach.

Additional input from Reuters.

US President Donald Trump acknowledged the support by “hundreds of thousands” of Muslim Americans who lent their support during the 2024 presidential election as he hosted the first Ramadan Iftar dinner at the White House.

“As we are in the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, let me begin by saying to our Muslim friends — Ramadan Mubarak,” said Trump in the State Dining Room.

The White House event was attended by Muslim community leaders, diplomats, including Pakistan Ambassador to US Rizwan Saeed, and government officials.

Trump said the Muslim community “was there for us in November”, referring to last year’s election, and vowed to “be there for you” in return.

“We’re keeping our promises to the Muslim community. My administration is engaged in relentless diplomacy to forge lasting peace in the Middle East, building on the historic Abraham Accords, which everybody said would be impossible, and now we’re going to start filling them out,” he added.

The Abraham Accords are a series of agreements that were signed between Israel and several Arab nations during the previous Trump presidency to normalise relations.

“We had the four great countries and nothing happened, despite the importance of the Abraham accords. But I have a feeling it’s going to fill out very quickly. People are talking about it already. They should have had long long ago. It should have been done.”

“All we want is peace,” he later added.

Many in the community voted against then-Vice President Kamala Harris to protest the Biden administration’s support of Israel’s war on Gaza in retaliation for the October 7, 2023, attacks. Some also credit Trump with orchestrating a ceasefire, even though it happened before he entered the White House.

Trump had repeatedly vowed on the campaign trail to end the conflict, and a ceasefire was agreed upon shortly before he assumed office in January.

Israel, however, resumed its offensive on the besieged coastal enclave earlier this month, shattering the truce with attacks that have killed hundreds of Palestinians. Amid the unfolding tragedy, Trump has stood in lockstep with Israel and is seeking to supply the country with billions of dollars in new military assistance.

He has also controversially proposed taking ownership of Gaza and displacing the roughly 2 million Palestinians who live there so that the territory can be developed in his image. The proposal has been widely panned. 

Iran may be forced to develop nuclear weapons if it comes under attack by the United States or its allies, a senior adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned on Monday. This statement comes amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran following a new warning from US President Donald Trump.

Ali Larijani, an influential political figure in Iran, stated on national television that while Iran has no current plans to pursue nuclear weapons, external threats could change its stance. “We are not moving towards (nuclear) weapons, but if you do something wrong in the Iranian nuclear issue, you will force Iran to move towards that because it has to defend itself,” Larijani said. “Iran does not want to do this, but … (it) will have no choice.”

The remarks came in response to Trump’s latest warning, in which he told NBC News, “There will be bombing” if Iran does not comply with US demands regarding its nuclear program. He also suggested imposing “secondary tariffs” on Tehran, though specific details were not provided.

Khamenei swiftly responded, vowing that any military attack on Iran would be met with force. “If it is carried out, they will definitely receive a strong counterattack,” he said in a speech marking the end of Ramadan.

Diplomatic and military warnings

In response to Trump’s remarks, Iran sent a formal letter to the UN Security Council, condemning what it called “warmongering provocations.” Iranian UN ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani warned that Iran “will respond swiftly and decisively to any act of aggression or attack by the United States or its proxy, the Israeli regime.”

Iran’s foreign ministry also summoned the Swiss charge d’affaires, who represents US interests in Iran, to protest the threats. Meanwhile, senior Iranian military officials issued their own warnings. General Amirali Hajizadeh, a top commander in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), stated, “The Americans have at least 10 bases in the region around Iran, and they have 50,000 troops. Someone who is in a glass room shouldn’t throw stones at anyone.”

President Donald Trump has sparked debate over a potential third term, but legal barriers and historical precedent suggest it would be an uphill battle, AFP reported.

Trump, 78, told NBC News on Sunday that he was “not joking” about another term and alluded to “methods” that could make it feasible. However, constitutional scholars overwhelmingly disagree. Amending the law to allow a third term would require a level of political agreement that has rarely been seen in US history.

Presidential limits through history

George Washington voluntarily stepped down after two terms, setting a precedent followed by most presidents. The only exception is Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was elected four times but passed away early in his fourth term in 1945.

While other leaders like Ulysses S. Grant and Theodore Roosevelt attempted third-term bids, they did not succeed. Trump joins Grover Cleveland as the only president to serve nonconsecutive terms, having won in 2016, lost in 2020, and reclaimed the White House in 2024.

The 22nd amendment: A roadblock

Following Roosevelt’s unprecedented four terms, the 22nd Amendment was introduced in 1947 and ratified in 1951, stating that “no person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.” It also prevents anyone who has served more than two years of another president’s term from being elected more than once.

Furthermore, the 12th Amendment suggests Trump could not serve as vice president and later ascend to the presidency.

A legal loophole?

While Trump has often joked about serving beyond two terms, his latest comments were more specific. When asked about a potential scenario where JD Vance could run in 2028 and later step aside, Trump acknowledged it as a possibility but hinted at other options.

A resolution introduced by Republican Representative Andy Ogles aims to permit a third term for presidents who served nonconsecutively, but its success is highly doubtful.

Despite these roadblocks, Trump’s 2028 election odds have improved. According to offshore bookmaker BetOnline.ag, his chances have risen from 10-to-1 to 6-to-1, making him the second most likely contender after JD Vance.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Monday the US would receive a strong blow if it acts on President Donald Trump’s threat to bomb unless Tehran reaches a new nuclear deal with Washington.

Trump reiterated his threat on Sunday that Iran would be bombed if it did not accept his offer for talks outlined in a letter sent to Iran’s leadership in early March, giving Tehran a two-month window to make a decision.

Iran handed a warning on Monday about Trump’s threats to Switzerland’s embassy, which represents US interests and acts as an intermediary between Washington and Tehran, state media said. In its warning, Tehran expressed determination to respond “decisively and immediately” to any threat.

“The enmity from the US and Israel has always been there. They threaten to attack us, which we don’t think is very probable, but if they commit any mischief, they will surely receive a strong reciprocal blow,” Khamenei said.

“And if they are thinking of causing sedition inside the country as in past years, the Iranian people themselves will deal with them,” he added.

Iranian authorities blame the West for the recent unrest, including 2022-2023 protests over the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a young woman detained for allegedly flouting hijab rules, and nationwide protests in 2019 over fuel price rises.

Last week, Iran responded to the US letter, with President Masoud Pezeshkian explaining on Sunday that Tehran would not enter direct negotiations with Washington but was willing to continue talks indirectly in line with an injunction from Khamenei.

“An open threat of ‘bombing’ by a head of state against Iran is a shocking affront to the very essence of international peace and security,” Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei tweeted on Monday.

“Violence breeds violence, peace begets peace. The US can choose the course and concede to consequences.”

Revolutionary Guards Aerospace Commander Amirali Hajizadeh threatened US forces in the Middle East, saying in remarks to the media that “Americans have at least 10 bases in the region with 50,000 troops. They are in a glass house and should not throw stones.”

In his first 2017-21 term, Trump withdrew the US from a 2015 deal between Iran and world powers that placed strict limits on Tehran’s disputed nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. Trump also reimposed sweeping US sanctions.

Since then, Iran has far surpassed that deal’s limits on uranium enrichment.

Western powers accuse Iran of having a clandestine agenda to develop nuclear weapons capability by enriching uranium to a high level of fissile purity, above what they say is justifiable for a civilian atomic energy program. Tehran says its nuclear programme is wholly for civilian energy purposes.