Jeffrey Fields USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Relations between the United States and Iran have been fraught for decades – at least since the U.S. helped overthrow a democracy-minded prime minister, Mohammed Mossadegh, in August 1953. The U.S. then supported the long, repressive reign of the Shah of Iran, whose security services brutalized Iranian citizens for decades.

Six of the Group of Seven leaders discussed Russia's war in Ukraine and the Israel-Iran conflict but failed to reach major agreements on those and many other top issues — closing a summit that was forced to try and show how the wealthy nations' club might still shape global policy despite the early departure of U.S. President Donald Trump.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and his counterparts from the U.K., France, Germany, Italy and Japan were joined during Tuesday's final sessions by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and NATO chief Mark Rutte.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to take questions Wednesday from international journalists on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

Putin scheduled a roundtable session with senior news leaders of international news agencies, including The Associated Press. Among other issues, he's expected to spell out Moscow's position on the conflict between Israel and Iran that he offered to help mediate in a weekend call with U.S. President Donald Trump.

In the end, not even Saudi Arabia or Gianni Infantino could engineer a way to get Cristiano Ronaldo to the Club World Cup.

FIFA president Infantino certainly tried - last month making a public appeal ahead of the tournament.

Russia poses a direct threat to the European Union through acts of sabotage and cyberattacks, but its massive military spending suggests that President Vladimir Putin also plans to use his armed forces elsewhere in the future, the EU's top diplomat warned on Wednesday.

"Russia is already a direct threat to the European Union," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said. She listed a series of Russian airspace violations, provocative military exercises, and attacks on energy grids, pipelines and undersea cables.

Inflation in the U.K. dropped modestly in May as a drop in air fares and transport costs were largely offset by rising food prices, particularly chocolate, official figures showed Wednesday.

The Office of National Statistics said consumer prices rose by 3.4% in the year to May, down from 3.5% the previous month.

Global shares were mostly higher Wednesday and oil prices slipped as investors awaited a decision on interest rates by the Federal Reserve, which was expected to keep its key interest rate unchanged for a straight time.

Oil prices continued to gyrate as the conflict in the Middle East intensified.

Draw made Wednesday for the second qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League:

League Path

Iran’s ambassador in Geneva derided as “hostile” and “unwarranted” U.S. President Donald Trump’s comments calling for Iran’s “unconditional surrender.”

Ambassador Ali Bahreini told reporters the Israeli campaign “has not been able to bring big damage to our nuclear facilities” because it had taken precautions to protect them.

Iran has banned government officials and their bodyguards from using all communication devices linked to the networks. The ban, announced Tuesday, includes mobile phones, smart watches and laptops.

Iran did not elaborate on the reason for the ban, which was reported by the semiofficial Fars news agency. However, it suggests Iran suspects Israel used digital signatures from electronics to launch its strikes, which have decimated Iran’s military leadership.