The Readout

Allegra Stratton: UK navigates Trumpian deadline diplomacy

With another Trump deadline and another verbal escalation, the UK distances itself again.
The UK is learning how to navigate Donald Trump’s deadline diplomacy.Photographer: Betty Laura Zapata/Bloomberg
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Another day, another Trump deadline and another verbal escalation. “A whole civilization will die tonight,” the US president posted on social media, leaving most reasonable people hoping that his ever more eschatological rhetoric is in inverse relation to his actual plans.

The threat of mass destruction raises further questions about the legality of US actions. As Bloomberg’s Alex Wickham notes, it can be a war crime to target civilian infrastructure because doing so can punish noncombatants.