US-Iran War Live Updates: Andy Burnham wins by-election; JD Vance Switzerland trip postponed; Trump pool starting to peel

That’s where we’ll leave our live coverage of the US-Iran conflict.

The peace talks may be in jeopardy after both US Vice President JD Vance and the Iranian delegation both postponed the meeting in Switzerland.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump has angrily denied the USA will be on the hook for a $420 billion reconstruction fund for Iran.

And in the UK, Andy Burnham looms large as a challenger to Prime Minister Keir Starmer after a strong byelection win.

Thanks for reading.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has been effectively grounded by the Senate after they put a hold on his travel spending.

Hegseth will not be able to spend more than 25 per cent of his travel funds unless he submits several investigations to Congress.

Among them is a report on a strike on an Iranian school that killed more than a hundred girls.

The Senate is also demanding “unedited video” of strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean.

“Hegseth’s slow-walking & stonewalling adds insult to injury—an affront to Congress, hiding dangerous and destructive failings,” Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal said.

If Donald Trump was chastened by the widely panned Iran deal, he hasn’t shown it.

In an interview with Axios, Trump was asked if the Iran conflict had shown him the limits of his power.

“There are no limits. None. I haven’t learned that lesson yet,” he said.

“There are no limits, we defeated them totally, militarily.”

The president said the deal “probably is unconditional surrender” for Iran.

Leaving the Iran issue for a moment, and the man likely to be the next prime minister of the UK has claimed victory in a highly watched byelection.

Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is the favourite to topple Keir Starmer in an intraparty leadership challenge - but he had to be elected to parliament first.

And he just did, winning the Makerfield byelection today.

Burnham’s victory speech gave a strong indication that he would be going for the top job.

“Everyone knows politics isn’t working,” he said.

“Tonight could be the turning point.”

There was some anticipation that the Reform candidate could give Burnham a run for his money.

But Burnham ended up winning comfortably, with nearly 25,000 votes to Reform’s 15,396.

Conservatives couldn’t even break four digits with 997 votes.

The postponement of the Switzerland negotiation bodes poorly for a peace deal.

The Trump administration has been copping flak from all sides for its memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Iran.

But Lebanese news outlet Al Mayadeen reported the Iranian delegation had pulled out over continuing Israeli action in southern Lebanon.

JD Vance’s scheduled trip to Switzerland for negotiations with Iranian leaders has been postponed.

The White House made the announcement without going into details as to why.

“The logistics of these negotiations have never been simple or predictable. As of now the Vice President is not departing tonight,” a spokesperson said.

“We will let you know as soon as we have a concrete update about next steps.”

At the same time, a source told Al Mayadeen the Iranian delegation had also delayed their trip.

Days after Donald Trump’s much-touted renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, it appears work is falling to pieces.

Large swaths of paint or sealant have come loose from the bottom of the pool and are surfacing.

It’s the latest headache from the multi-million no-bid contract renovation of the Washington landmark.

Algae has turned the pool blue, and repeated efforts to fix it have not been successful.

Socceroos fans chants at the expense of Donald Trump are drawing attention in Washington.

“Aussie boys are on a bender, Donald Trump is a sex offender,” the Aussies in Vancouver were filmed chanting.

Republican Senator Rick Scott was asked about the chants.

“If you come to our country, you ought to be respectful of our president,” Scott said.

“They probably can’t do it in their countries.”

The reporter told him the chants were coming from Australians, to which Scott replied: “Yeah”.

The Aussie chants have already drawn the attention of USA Today, the country’s fourth most read newspaper.

The newspaper noted the song was “delivered in English”.

Barack Obama is making a return to the spotlight as he opens his Presidential Centre in Chicago overnight.

His speech began with his memories of the beginnings of his political career, but ended with a broader message.

“There’s a new generation out there ready to write the next chapter of our story,” Obama said.

“We intend to help them do it, and we ask that you join us.”

And his wife Michelle spoke glowingly about her husband.

“You were doing the people’s work, rescuing our economy, expanding health care, ending a war, ordering the Bin Laden raid, saving an auto industry, winning a peace prize,” Mrs Obama said.

The last line drew a particular, familiar laugh from the stands. Hillary Clinton was particularly amused.

Former presidents typically open a library as an archive for their records and a museum for their presidency.