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‘We made history’: Mamdani celebrates after shocking Cuomo in New York City mayoral primary
Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog.
We start with Zohran Mamdani’s historic victory in the New York City mayoral primary.
In a major upset, Andrew Cuomo who had been a recent favourite - conceded after it was clear the 33-year old democratic had built a substantial lead over the more experienced but scandal-scarred former governor.
Mamdani’ appeared to have cleared the first hurdle on the road to become New York’s first Muslim mayor.
In a speech to supporters, Mamdani said: “We made history,” adding: “I will be your Democratic nominee for the mayor of New York City.”
If his win is confirmed, Mamdani will be seen as the frontrunner for the 4 November mayoral election in New York, a city where Democrats normally dominate.
After 93% of votes were counted in the primary’s first round, Mamdani, a state representative, had 43.5% of the vote. Cuomo was on 36.4%.
Cuomo, who was attempting a political comeback after he resigned from office in 2021 amid a sexual harassment scandal, said he had called Mamdani to congratulate him.
“He put together a great campaign and he touched young people and inspired them and moved them and got them to come out and vote,” Cuomo said. “I applaud him sincerely for his effort.”
However, Cuomo told the New York Times he may still run in the November mayoral election as an independent. “I want to analyse and talk to some colleagues,” he said.
In other developments:
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Donald Trump hit back at a leaked preliminary US intelligence assessment which cast doubt on the success of US military strikes on three of Iran’s nuclear sites. Trump said Iran’s nuclear programme had been set back “decades” by the strikes despite the reports suggesting they had only set it back by months. Ahead of meeting with other world leaders at a Nato Summit in the Hague, he said he believed “total obliteration” was achieved. “This was a devastating attack,” Trump told reporters. Asked about the intelligence reports, Trump said “they really don’t know.” He added: “The intelligence was very inconclusive. The intelligence says we don’t know. It could’ve been very severe. That’s what the intelligence suggests.”
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Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, called the leak “treasonous” and called for the individual responsible to be investigated
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Meanwhile Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte was full of praise for the US strikes, saying they “took out the nuclear capability of Iran”, he added that it been carried out in an “impressive way”.
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As mentioned, Donald Trump is at The Hague where leaders of the Western defensive alliance have gathered. They are set to commit to a new defence spending target of 5% of GDP and demonstrate that European allies are stepping up. This is Trump’s first Nato summit since 2019.
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At The Hague Trump confirmed commitment to Nato’s Article 5 which states that an attack on one member is seen as attack on all members. When asked about Article 5 he said: “We are with them all the way.” It was in contrast to earlier comments he made en route to The Hague. “There’s numerous definitions of Article Five, you know that right?” he had said.
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Speaking at The Hague, Trump likened the US strikes on Iran to his country’s decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan in the second world war. “That hit ended the war,” he said. “That hit ended the war. I don’t want to use an example of Hiroshima, I don’t want to use an example of Nagasaki, but that was essentially the same thing that ended that war. This ended that, this ended that war. If we didn’t take that out, they would have been they’d be fighting right now.”
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Iran's nuclear installations 'badly damaged' by US strikes - Iran foreign ministry
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson says its nuclear installations were “badly damaged” by US military strikes, the Associated Press reports.
US asked France to speak to Iran before Israel truce - AFP
France conveyed to Iran the terms of a US-proposed ceasefire with Israel at the request of Washington in the hours leading up to the truce, a French diplomatic source said on Wednesday, AFP reports.
On Monday night, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called his French counterpart Jean-Noel Barrot to “inform him of the US wish for a ceasefire provided there was no Iranian retaliation,” the source said.
“Rubio asked Jean-Noel Barrot to transmit this information to Abbas Araghchi,” their Iranian counterpart, it said.
“After the call, the (French) minister spoke to his Iranian counterpart to... transmit the terms and details of the discussions (between) Americans and Israelis,” the source added.
Araghchi then indicated his “availability to continue negotiations on the Iranian nuclear programme” including with France, Britain and Germany, and “after these discussions, the ceasefire was able to go into force”, it said.
Donald Trump said on Wednesday he believed that “great progress” is being made on Gaza, Reuters reports.
“I think great progress is being made on Gaza, I think because of this attack that we made,” said Trump, suggesting the US strikes on Iran could have a positive impact on the Middle East.
Pakistan and the US have resolved to conclude trade talks next week, the South Asian nation’s finance ministry said on Wednesday, after a meeting between its finance minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and commerce secretary Howard Lutnick, Reuters reports.
The negotiations, focused on reciprocal tariffs, are part of a broader push to reset economic ties at a time of shifting geopolitical alignments and Pakistan’s efforts to avoid steep US duties on exports.
“Both sides showed satisfaction on the ongoing negotiations and resolved to conclude the trade negotiations next week,” Pakistan’s finance ministry said in a statement, adding that a longer-term strategic and investment partnership is also under discussion.
Pakistan faces a 29% tariff on exports to the US under President Donald Trump’s measures to target countries with large trade surpluses with the US.
Pakistan’s surplus was around $3bn in 2024.
To offset the imbalance and ease tariff pressures, Islamabad has offered to import more US goods, including crude oil, and to open up investment opportunities through concessions for US firms in Pakistan’s mining sector.
Trump's state visit to the UK set for September
Donald Trump is to make a full state visit to the UK this year after the King and the US president’s busy diaries mean they are unable to meet informally first over the summer, PA Media reports.
The Times reported that UK prime minister Keir Starmer has gone against the wishes of the King by bringing Mr Trump’s “bells and whistles” state visit forward to September.
Charles, who is King of Canada, suggested in a letter personally delivered to Mr Trump by Starmer in the Oval Office in February that they might meet at Balmoral or Dumfries House Scotland first before the much grander state visit.
But it is understood that there were logistical challenges surrounding an informal visit.
Formal planning for the official state visit has now begun.
It will mark an unprecedented second state visit by a US president – his last state visit was in 2019.
Donald Trump struck a conciliatory tone towards Nato allies on Wednesday, framing an expected deal on increased defence spending as a “great victory for everyone” at their summit, AFP reports.
“It’s a great victory for everybody, I think, and we will be equalised very shortly, and that’s the way it has to be,” said Trump, as European allies seek to catch up with US spending on defence.
“I’ve been asking them to go up to five percent for a number of years, and they’re going up to five percent... I think that’s going to be very big news,” he said.
Hosting the meeting, Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte told reporters that Trump was in an “excellent mood” at the dinner hosted on Tuesday by King Willem-Alexander in his royal palace, and that the US leader appeared inspired by his hosts.
“The day begins in the beautiful Netherlands. The King and Queen are beautiful and spectacular people. Our breakfast meeting was great!” he posted on the Truth Social network.
Entering the meeting, leaders lined up to declare the summit’s planned spending hike as “historic”.
Nato allies say the increase is needed to counter a growing threat from Russia but also to keep Trump engaged, with the US leader long complaining that Europe spends too little on its own defence.
You can follow all the developments in The Hague over at the Guardian’s Europe Live with Jakub Krupa here
Here is a video of Donald Trump comparing the US strikes on Iran to Hiroshima.
We have more from The Hague.
Reuters is reporting that when asked if the United States would strike again if Iran rebuilt its nuclear enrichment programme, Donald Trump said: “Sure.”
‘We made history’: Mamdani celebrates after shocking Cuomo in New York City mayoral primary
Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog.
We start with Zohran Mamdani’s historic victory in the New York City mayoral primary.
In a major upset, Andrew Cuomo who had been a recent favourite - conceded after it was clear the 33-year old democratic had built a substantial lead over the more experienced but scandal-scarred former governor.
Mamdani’ appeared to have cleared the first hurdle on the road to become New York’s first Muslim mayor.
In a speech to supporters, Mamdani said: “We made history,” adding: “I will be your Democratic nominee for the mayor of New York City.”
If his win is confirmed, Mamdani will be seen as the frontrunner for the 4 November mayoral election in New York, a city where Democrats normally dominate.
After 93% of votes were counted in the primary’s first round, Mamdani, a state representative, had 43.5% of the vote. Cuomo was on 36.4%.
Cuomo, who was attempting a political comeback after he resigned from office in 2021 amid a sexual harassment scandal, said he had called Mamdani to congratulate him.
“He put together a great campaign and he touched young people and inspired them and moved them and got them to come out and vote,” Cuomo said. “I applaud him sincerely for his effort.”
However, Cuomo told the New York Times he may still run in the November mayoral election as an independent. “I want to analyse and talk to some colleagues,” he said.
In other developments:
-
Donald Trump hit back at a leaked preliminary US intelligence assessment which cast doubt on the success of US military strikes on three of Iran’s nuclear sites. Trump said Iran’s nuclear programme had been set back “decades” by the strikes despite the reports suggesting they had only set it back by months. Ahead of meeting with other world leaders at a Nato Summit in the Hague, he said he believed “total obliteration” was achieved. “This was a devastating attack,” Trump told reporters. Asked about the intelligence reports, Trump said “they really don’t know.” He added: “The intelligence was very inconclusive. The intelligence says we don’t know. It could’ve been very severe. That’s what the intelligence suggests.”
-
Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, called the leak “treasonous” and called for the individual responsible to be investigated
-
Meanwhile Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte was full of praise for the US strikes, saying they “took out the nuclear capability of Iran”, he added that it been carried out in an “impressive way”.
-
As mentioned, Donald Trump is at The Hague where leaders of the Western defensive alliance have gathered. They are set to commit to a new defence spending target of 5% of GDP and demonstrate that European allies are stepping up. This is Trump’s first Nato summit since 2019.
-
At The Hague Trump confirmed commitment to Nato’s Article 5 which states that an attack on one member is seen as attack on all members. When asked about Article 5 he said: “We are with them all the way.” It was in contrast to earlier comments he made en route to The Hague. “There’s numerous definitions of Article Five, you know that right?” he had said.
-
Speaking at The Hague, Trump likened the US strikes on Iran to his country’s decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan in the second world war. “That hit ended the war,” he said. “That hit ended the war. I don’t want to use an example of Hiroshima, I don’t want to use an example of Nagasaki, but that was essentially the same thing that ended that war. This ended that, this ended that war. If we didn’t take that out, they would have been they’d be fighting right now.”
