G20

U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters on 31 Oct that negotiations with Iran are progressing and that Washington is not in a hurry to resume offensive action, citing that most of Iran's military and nuclear capabilities have already been degraded. In contrast, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been urging Trump to launch a new wave of strikes on Iran immediately after the U.S. midterm elections, seeking to use a renewed conflict to bolster his political position. Qatari mediators continue to work on a framework to de‑escalate tensions in the Strait of Hormuz.

Organizers of the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, cancelled the traditional group photo on Friday 30 Oct after several European ministers refused to pose with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. A US official said the photo was dropped to avoid a spectacle, and reports say US Secretary of State Marco Rubio made the call. Russia's visa issues for its delegation were resolved at the last minute, and the two-day meeting goes ahead as planned. Concerns about consensus persist over Ukraine, US tariffs and the South China Sea. The leaders' summit is set for December in Miami.

Flávio Bolsonaro, a senator who lost Brazil's 25 Oct presidential runoff to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, arrived at Opa-locka Executive Airport near Miami on Wednesday, 29 Oct, after leaving Brazil via Argentina and Ecuador. A Gulfstream G400 jet carried the family, and the operation was reportedly planned before the runoff. Brazilian police had cancelled his passports as part of a money laundering and corruption investigation, which he denies. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington was not directly involved in the departure arrangements.