Iran's supreme leader opened the door to renewed negotiations with the United States over his country's rapidly advancing nuclear program, telling its civilian government there was "no harm" in engaging with its "enemy." Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's remarks set clear red lines for any talks taking place under the government of reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian. But his comments mirror those around the time of Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, which saw Tehran's nuclear program greatly curtailed in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.

Yet it remains unclear just how much room Pezeshkian will have to manoeuvre, particularly as tensions remain high in the wider Middle East over the Israel-Hamas war and as the US prepares for a presidential election in November. Khamenei, who has the final say on all state matters, also warned Pezeshkian's Cabinet, "Do not trust the enemy." There have been indirect talks between Iran and the US in recent years mediated by Oman and Qatar.

Top Chinese and US officials discussed holding fresh talks between Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping in the near future, the two countries said during high-level meetings in Beijing. The discussion occurred during lengthy talks between China's top diplomat, Wang Yi, and US national security adviser Jake Sullivan held against the backdrop of sharp disagreements between the superpowers and the 2024 US election race to replace Biden.

Both sides also agreed to hold video calls between their military theatre commanders who hold responsibility for hot spots in the Indo-Pacific region "at an appropriate time," according to the Chinese readout from the meetings, a move that Washington hopes could prevent conflict in areas like the Taiwan Strait. The White House said the talks would happen in the near future. "The key to the smooth development of China-U.S. interaction lies in treating each other as equals," Wang told Sullivan, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

Japan has accused a Chinese spy plane of breaching its airspace, in what would be the first known instance of such a direct violation. Japan scrambled fighter jets after a Y-9 surveillance plane "violated the territorial airspace" of Danjo Islands for about two minutes at 11:29pm local time Monday (Aug. 26). Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary called the breach "utterly unacceptable" and summoned a Chinese embassy official in Tokyo in protest. The incident comes as tensions rise in the region, where China competes for influence against the US and its allies, including Japan.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said they had "no intention of invading the airspace of any country" and that relevant departments were still trying to understand the situation. Tokyo also recently flagged the presence of Chinese ships in the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, which are claimed by China and which Beijing calls the Diaoyus.

Telegram boss and founder Pavel Durov has been placed under formal investigation in France as part of a probe into organised crime on the messaging app, Paris prosecutors said. Durov, 39, has not been remanded in custody, but placed under judicial supervision, and has to pay a €5m (£4.2m; $5.6m) deposit. The Russian-born billionaire, who is also a French national, also has to show up at a French police station twice a week and is not allowed to leave French territory.

Durov was first detained upon arrival at Le Bourget airport north of Paris last Saturday (Aug. 24)under a warrant for offences related to the app. In France, being put under formal investigation does not imply guilt or necessarily result in a trial - but it indicates that judges consider there is enough of a case to proceed with an investigation. It is unprecedented for the owner of a social media platform to be arrested because of the way in which that platform is being used.