Iran and the remaining signatories of the 2015 nuclear agreement held talks today to discuss the United States’ possible reentry to the deal and agreed to meet in Vienna (Reuters) on Tuesday to continue discussions. U.S. officials are expected to attend (WSJ) next week’s talks.

The Joe Biden administration has been attempting to negotiate (WaPo) a U.S. return to the deal, but progress has been slow as both Washington and Tehran each insist that the other take the first step toward returning to compliance with the agreement. President Donald J. Trump withdrew the United States from the agreement in 2018 and reimposed heavy sanctions on Iran that were lifted under the deal. In response, Iran began enriching uranium beyond the agreed levels. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said this week that Iran had seen “no serious efforts” (Al Jazeera) by the Biden administration to rejoin the deal.

More than fifty people were killed and scores more were injured when a passenger train derailed (NYT) inside a tunnel in eastern Taiwan. It is the island’s deadliest rail accident in decades.

Japan: Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will meet with U.S. President Biden (Yomiuri Shimbun) in Washington on April 16, the Japanese government announced today. Suga is expected to be the first foreign leader to visit Biden in the White House.

Myanmar’s military ordered wireless internet providers to cut off service (AP) as it continues to quash anti-coup protests. Late yesterday, the UN Security Council strongly condemned the use of violence against protesters. Still, China and Russia have opposed imposing sanctions. 

Pakistan: A court lifted a ban (Dawn) on the popular video-sharing app TikTok, ordering the country’s telecommunication authority to make sure “immoral content” was not shared.

This CFR In Brief looks at how countries around the world regulate social media.

A spokesperson for Yemen’s Houthi rebels said the group carried out drone strikes (Al Jazeera) in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh. The attack, which has not been confirmed by Saudi authorities, comes amid a renewed diplomatic push for a cease-fire.

The foreign ministers of Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan will meet in the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo this weekend for the latest round of talks aimed at easing tensions (AFP) over a controversial dam Ethiopia is building on the Blue Nile river. DRC President Felix Tshisekedi, who recently took over as chair of the African Union, will host the meeting.

Nigeria: A national doctors’ union announced a strike yesterday (Daily Trust), demanding the immediate payment of their salaries and calling on the government to ban public officials from seeking medical treatment abroad, which it argues would force officials to improve the country’s health-care system.

Europe’s vaccination efforts are “unacceptably slow,” (AP) the World Health Organization’s (WHO) regional director for Europe, Hans Kluge, said yesterday, noting that only 4 percent of Europeans have been fully inoculated.

Brussels: The European Union accused Russia of carrying out a “conscription campaign” (RFE/RL) in Ukraine’s Crimea region in violation of international law. Russia annexed the region in 2014.

CFR’s Global Conflict Tracker explains the conflict in Ukraine.

The Chilean government announced border closures, a ban on foreign travel, and an earlier curfew in an effort to stem a new wave (MercoPress) of COVID-19 cases. The travel ban will last through April and apply to both citizens and foreign residents.

Venezuela: The Defense Ministry announced that two soldiers were killed by a land mine as Venezuela continues an offensive against armed groups (Reuters) along its border with Colombia. Thousands of people have been displaced by the conflict.

President Biden held his first full cabinet meeting (NYT), where he tasked five secretaries with pushing his $2 trillion infrastructure plan unveiled earlier this week. He also reiterated his plans to tighten so-called Buy American rules, which mandate that the federal government purchase certain goods and services from U.S. companies.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allied countries including Russia, collectively known as OPEC+, announced plans to increase oil production (WSJ) by more than two million barrels per day in the coming months, anticipating higher demand as the global economy recovers from the effects of the pandemic.

This CFR Backgrounder looks at OPEC.