# VOA Focus: Informal US-Iran Talks, Smaller US-South Korea Drills and Taiwan’s Defense Budget

https://mins.news/en/video/24531

- VOA Chinese, 2026-08-17 20:37 UTC
- Politics
- Original: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkJqXi_9Zg8

> Trump confirmed informal talks with Iran’s military and urged the Iranian regime to “surrender.” The United States ordered a major reduction in the scale of joint US-South Korea exercises and called on academic institutions to prevent China from obtaining sensitive research. Taiwan’s 2027 defense budget is set to exceed NT$1 trillion for the first time. The program also examines Jiang Zemin’s political and economic legacy.

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