Axios

U.S. and Iranian officials are using similar language to describe their primary objective for Saturday's high-stakes nuclear talks: determining whether the other side is serious or just stringing them along.

Why it matters: President Trump insists Iran must make a deal quickly or face potential military strikes. But Tehran doesn't trust Trump, who previously withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal, and two U.S. officials tell Axios they aren't yet sure what to expect from the Iranians.

The U.S. military shifted a Patriot battalion from the Indo-Pacific to the Middle East, requiring at least 73 flights, according to one commander.

Why it matters: The air defenses are a high-profile resource, capable of intercepting missiles and aircraft. They arrive at a volatile moment.

• Further, the number of C-17 flights conducted underscores just how stressful materiel moves can be. The Boeing-made aircraft can transport hefty equipment, like tanks.

Treasury bonds and other U.S. dollar assets have acted as a global safe haven for generations. This week, global investors woke up to the possibility that they are not particularly safe, and not at all a haven.

The big picture: The last nine days will reverberate through economic history, as the kind of shifts in the global trade order and financial markets that usually play out over years were compressed into each news cycle.

The Pentagon removed a Greenland base commander on Thursday after she sent an email critical of Vice President JD Vance's comments about Denmark, multiple outlets reported.

Why it matters: The Pentagon said it would not tolerate officials who undermine President Trump's agenda.

China increased its tariff on U.S. goods to 125% on Friday, matching President Trump's levy, but said it won't go higher.

Why it matters: The tit-for-tat move extends a trade war impacting hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of goods — though the intention to cap the tariff may be a small opening to moderate tensions.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has no shortage of pressure points to ensure Americans feel the pain from President Trump's superpower trade war.

The big picture: China on Friday increased its tariffs to an eye-watering 125% in response to Trump's 145% levies. And ever since trade war 1.0, Beijing has also been developing a wider array of tools that it's now putting to use.

A warning from the world's largest and most powerful financial market did what few others could: force President Trump to pivot on a key aspect of his trade agenda.

Why it matters: The U.S. Treasury market is the heart of the global financial system. The rapid selloff fueled by Trump's tariffs was seen as a ticking economic time bomb that risked bringing the world economy to a screeching halt.

President Trump's diplomatic envoy Steve Witkoff traveled to Russia and met President Vladimir Putin on Friday, according to a source familiar with the trip and FlightRadar data.

Why it matters: This will be the third meeting between Witkoff and Putin as Trump pushes for a ceasefire in the war between Russia and Ukraine.

President Trump threatened Mexico with more tariffs and sanctions on Thursday over a water dispute at the southern border.

What he's saying: "Mexico OWES Texas 1.3 million acre-feet of water under the 1944 Water Treaty, but Mexico is unfortunately violating their Treaty obligation," Trump said in a Truth Social post, referring to a 1944 agreement that requires Mexico to deliver to the U.S. 1.75 million acre-feet of water over a five-year cycle.

The Department of Homeland Security offered a brief two-page memo as its evidence in the case against Columbia University alumnus Mahmoud Khalil ahead of Friday's hearing that will likely decide if the detained legal permanent resident is deported from the U.S.

The big picture: The memo from Secretary of State Marco Rubio leaned heavily on the U.S.' right to remove noncitizens whose presence in the country would "compromise a compelling U.S. foreign policy interest."

Iran is considering proposing during talks with the U.S. that the two countries work on an interim nuclear agreement before pursuing negotiations over a comprehensive deal, a European diplomat and a source familiar with the issue told Axios.

Why it matters: President Trump has set a two-month deadline for negotiations with Iran on a new nuclear deal — and in the meantime ordered a build up of U.S. military forces in the Middle East as another option if diplomacy fails.

President Trump said during a Cabinet meeting Thursday that "we are getting closer" to a deal to free the remaining hostages in Gaza and re-establish a ceasefire.

Why it matters: White House envoy Steve Witkoff and Egyptian mediators are trying to hammer out an interim deal that would be acceptable to both Israel and Hamas.

Chagee, a Chinese teahouse operator and franchisor, on Thursday launched an IPO that could raise over $400 million at a $5.1 billion valuation.

Why it matters: The IPO market has been catatonic since President Trump announced new tariffs, so it would be ironic if the first major listing after "Liberation Day" comes from the one country still in his crosshairs.

Packages from the likes of low-cost Chinese retailers Temu and Shein are facing another tariff hike from President Trump.

Why it matters: Imported shipments valued at less than $800 had enjoyed the "de minimis" exemption from added duties, which enabled foreign online retailers like Temu and Shein to sell super-cheap items to American consumers without facing tariffs.

There is now sand — a lot of it — in the gears of global commerce, and it won't be going away in the foreseeable future.

Why it matters: President Trump may have backed down on some of the most extreme — and hardest to justify — trade barriers he announced a week earlier. But the tariffs that remain in place still make for a more fractured global economy, albeit with slightly different fractures.

The European Union will hold off on about 21 billion euros of retaliatory duties against American exports after President Trump paused his tariff plans for 90 days.

Why it matters: It's another sign of cooling temperatures in what had been a rapidly escalating trade war between the U.S. and the rest of the world. Markets have begun bouncing back in response.

President Trump's boosters hailed his decision to pause tariff increases for countries around the world as a strategic masterstroke.

• But few are buying the spin. Trump buckled under tremendous, mounting-by-the-minute pressure from CEOs ... friends ... GOP senators ... the markets ... and bond prices. Trump himself admits he blinked when "people were getting a little queasy" about the bond market.

President Trump said his sudden announcement to pause hard-hitting tariffs except on Chinese imports the day they took effect on Wednesday happened after he'd been thinking about the matter "for a few days."

The big picture: Trump's sweeping tariffs push sent stock markets spiralling and the president noted to reporters at the White House on Wednesday about his abrupt reversal the day they took effect that stocks had since surged.

U.S. officials will screen immigrants' social media accounts for antisemitic content as "grounds for denying" immigration benefit requests, the Trump administration announced in a policy that immediately went into effect Wednesday.

The big picture: The new rule that was criticized by free speech advocacy groups affects green card applicants, foreign students and immigrants "affiliated with educational institutions linked to antisemitic activity," per a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services post.