‘With every passing day ... the runway gets shortened’
| 'With every passing day ... the runway gets shortened'  The US wants it to be known that its patience with Iran is wearing thin.
After months of talks on reviving a nuclear deal with the Islamic Republic, Secretary of State Antony Blinken sent an unmistakable signal this week to Tehran, Israel and the rest of the world. "I'm not going to put a specific date on it, but with every passing day and Iran's refusal to engage in good faith, the runway gets shortened," Blinken said, pointing out that Iran had advanced its nuclear program with talks stalled.
His latest warning was obviously an attempt to exert leverage over the new government of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. It's probably no coincidence that Blinken delivered his remarks on Wednesday alongside Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid. It could be read as an acknowledgment of Israel's concern — but perhaps also a subtle warning for Jerusalem not to upset the apple cart.
The Biden administration is working on options to contain Iranian nuclear activity should the diplomacy fail for good. Since former President Donald Trump pulled out of the nuclear deal, Iran has ceased observing its restrictions and deployed new centrifuges.
But what would those contingency options look like? Blinken repeated the classic US line that Iran would never be allowed to get a bomb — code for a last resort to US military action. But President Joe Biden is desperate to avoid a new foreign war.
Some other ideas are floating around, including offering Iran access to a Persian Gulf fuel "bank" for its commercial reactors if it swears off uranium enrichment. Alternatively, the US could ratchet up harsh economic sanctions imposed by Trump -- but while those have pummeled Iran's economy and civilian population, they've failed to stop its nuclear activity.
The imbroglio underscores how Trump's trashing of the deal triggered a not-so-slow-moving crisis — and another intractable problem for the Biden administration. The world and America LinkedIn is shutting down in China.
At least 46 people died in a 13-story building fire in Taiwan.
Meanwhile in America, the FDA's vaccine advisers unanimously voted to recommend Moderna Covid-19 booster shots for vulnerable groups.
 'Workers have gotten the short end of the stick for decades' Some 10,000 members of the United Auto Workers union went on strike against machinery manufacturer John Deere on Thursday, marking the biggest private-sector worker strike since one against General Motors two years ago.
Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts voiced her support for the strike, telling CNN that the recent spate of high-profile strikes signals a shift in the balance of power between business and workers: "Workers have gotten the short end of the stick for decades now. And the government has stayed on the side of the giant corporations. That's beginning to change." Has the US got China all wrong?
A flurry of articles in the American foreign policy press questions whether the massive power rising in Asia is really destined to duel for planetary dominance with the US in this century.
China has long denied that it has hegemonic ambitions. Now international relations experts point out that the country's got enough to deal with at home: cascading internal economic problems, demographic time bombs and a scarcity of resources to power its soaring growth rates.
The bankruptcy battle of one of the country's top property developers, Evergrande, is revealing the sometimes-shaky foundations of Chinese wealth. China's belligerent behavior in the region could be alienating potential allies. And there is speculation over whether President Xi Jinping's ruthless political crackdowns and consolidation of power might ultimately spur unrest and infighting within the regime.
Washington often views China as a monolithic entity, immune to internal political forces. But the idea that such forces will keep Beijing from global competition contains more than a whiff of wishful thinking.
Back in the Obama administration, there was talk at very high levels about whether the worst-case scenario for the US would actually be China's fall, and all the political and geostrategic reverberations that would entail. Then Xi came along and supercharged the country's nationalism and investment in global influence.
In the end, it may not matter, from a strategic perspective. If China is heading for a domestic reckoning, Xi wouldn't be the first world leader to resort to aggressive economic and military actions outside his country's borders.  Banksy's artwork "Love is in the Bin" -- the result of shredding a work titled "Girl With Balloon" -- was sold on Thursday for $25.4 million. (Sotheby's) Thanks for sticking with us through the week. On Friday, the FDA holds an advisory panel to discuss a possible Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 booster dose. German Chancellor Angela Merkel meets with Belgium's King Philippe and Prime Minister Alexander De Croo in Brussels. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Minsk.
On Saturday, Merkel meets with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in her farewell visit to Turkey. China is launching three astronauts from the Gobi Desert to Tiangong space station. On Sunday, Cape Verde holds presidential elections. View in browser | All CNN Newsletters
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