Russia has ordered a two-day ceasefire in the war against Ukraine to coincide with Victory Day, which marks the anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.
The Russian Ministry of Defence said on Monday that this would apply on May 8 and 9, following an order from President Vladimir Putin, adding that Moscow expects the Ukrainian side to observe the truce.
“If the Kyiv regime attempts to implement its criminal plans to disrupt the celebration of the 81st anniversary of Victory in.
Russia has ordered a two-day ceasefire in the war against Ukraine to coincide with Victory Day, which marks the anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.
The Russian Ministry of Defence said on Monday that this would apply on May 8 and 9, following an order from President Vladimir Putin, adding that Moscow expects the Ukrainian side to observe the truce.
“If the Kyiv regime attempts to implement its criminal plans to disrupt the celebration of the 81st anniversary of Victory in...
Two people were killed and two severely injured when a car ran into a crowd in the centre of the eastern German city of Leipzig on Monday, local broadcaster MDR reported, citing police. A suspect has been arrested.
“A car hit several people on Grimmaische street and fled the scene,” police said in a post on social media. “The driver has been arrested and no longer poses any danger.”
Leipzig mayor Burkhard Jung confirmed the deaths, adding nothing was known about the motive of the driver....
Two people were killed and two severely injured when a car ran into a crowd in the centre of the eastern German city of Leipzig on Monday, local broadcaster MDR reported, citing police. A suspect has been arrested.
“A car hit several people on Grimmaische street and fled the scene,” police said in a post on social media. “The driver has been arrested and no longer poses any danger.”
Leipzig mayor Burkhard Jung confirmed the deaths, adding nothing was known about the motive of the driver....
RABAT: Two US service members participating in the African Lion joint military exercises were reported missing near the city of Tan Tan in southern Morocco, the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) and the Moroccan Royal Armed Forces said on Sunday.
US, Moroccan and other partner forces launched coordinated search-and-rescue operations, including ground, air and maritime assets, to find the service members, who went missing near the training site of Cap Draa, the two militaries said in separate statement
RABAT: Two US service members participating in the African Lion joint military exercises were reported missing near the city of Tan Tan in southern Morocco, the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) and the Moroccan Royal Armed Forces said on Sunday.
US, Moroccan and other partner forces launched coordinated search-and-rescue operations, including ground, air and maritime assets, to find the service members, who went missing near the training site of Cap Draa, the two militaries said in separate statements.
The Moroccan army said the service members went missing near a cliff.
“Initial reports indicate the two soldiers may have fallen into the ocean,” a US defence official told Reuters. “I can confirm this incident is not related to terrorism.”
African Lion is the US Africa Command’s largest annual joint exercise, aimed at improving interoperability among US forces, Nato allies and African partner nations.
This year’s edition runs from April 27 to May 8 across the four nations of Ghana, Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia.
The largest part of the drills takes place in Morocco involving approximately 5,000 personnel from over 40 countries, according to AFRICOM.
WASHINGTON: A man stands atop the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge on Saturday to protest the US-Israeli war on Iran. Guido Reichstadter climbed the bridge in Washington on May Day, stayed there overnight, and posted a sunrise photo from one of the bridge’s arches while calling for an end to the war on Iran. Speaking to the media from atop the 51-metre structure, the 45-year-old father of two called for peaceful means to build pressure on the authorities to end what he descri
WASHINGTON: A man stands atop the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge on Saturday to protest the US-Israeli war on Iran. Guido Reichstadter climbed the bridge in Washington on May Day, stayed there overnight, and posted a sunrise photo from one of the bridge’s arches while calling for an end to the war on Iran. Speaking to the media from atop the 51-metre structure, the 45-year-old father of two called for peaceful means to build pressure on the authorities to end what he described as an ‘illegal war’.—Reuters
• Iranian military warns renewed hostilities with Washington ‘likely’ • Trump boasts of Hormuz blockade, says ‘we are like pirates’ • Tehran reaches out to Qatar, South Korea to discuss ongoing negotiations • Israeli strikes in Lebanon kill over 12 people, injure dozens; Lebanese army chief meets US general
TEHRAN/BEIRUT: Amid a surge in deadly strikes by Israeli forces in southern Lebanon and little headway in talks between the US and Iran, an Iranian military official warned against the ‘likely’ resumption of hostilities whereas diplomats in Tehran were told that the ball was in US court to pick fight or return to table after US President Donald Trump had rejected yet another Iranian proposal.
An Iranian proposal so far rejected by the Trump administration would open shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and end the US blockade of Iran while leaving talks on Iran’s nuclear programme for later, a senior Iranian official said.
A day earlier, the US rejected the fresh peace offer from Tehran, with President Donald Trump saying Iran had made “strides” in the latest proposal, but he was “still not satisfied”.
Iran on Saturday responded that it was up to the US if it wanted to pursue a negotiated settlement or return to war. “Now the ball is in the United States’ court to choose the path of diplomacy or the continuation of a confrontational approach,” Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi told diplomats in Tehran, according to state broadcaster IRIB. “Iran, with the aim of securing its national interests and security, is prepared for both paths,” he said.
The war, launched by the United States and Israel on Feb 28, has been on hold since April 8, with one round of peace talks having taken place in Pakistan since then.
Axios reported that US envoy Steve Witkoff had submitted amendments to a previous proposal, putting Tehran’s nuclear programme back on the negotiating table.
The changes reportedly included demands that Iran not move enriched uranium from bombed sites or resume activity there during talks.
Besides the nuclear programme, a major bone of contention between the two is the blockade in the Strait of Hormuz.
Interestingly, Trump while addressing a rally in Florida compared the US action in the sea to that of pirates. “We’re like pirates” as he described an earlier helicopter raid on an oil tanker under the blockade.
“We… land on top of it and we took over the ship. We took over the cargo, took over the oil. It’s a very profitable business,” he remarked.
Iranian engagements with allies
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani discussed the ongoing negotiations between Tehran and the US in a telephone call, according to Doha’s foreign ministry.
The Qatari PM “affirmed the State of Qatar’s full support for mediation efforts aimed at resolving the crisis through peaceful means, emphasising the need for all parties to engage with these efforts in a way that contributes to creating the appropriate conditions for progress in the negotiations and limits the possibilities of renewed escalation”.
Mr Araghchi and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun also discussed bilateral relations, as well as the latest regional developments and initiatives related to diplomacy aimed at ending the US-Israeli war on Iran, Al Jazeera reported.
While the situation remains highly volatile with the fragile ceasefire in Iran war, the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and a surge in deadly attacks by Israel in southern Lebanon have created fear that the regional conflict could turn into a prolonged war.
13 killed in Lebanon
Despite the ceasefire in the Gulf, fighting continued in Lebanon, where Israel has carried out deadly strikes even though it signed a US-backed truce to end the Lebanon war. Lebanon’s health ministry said 13 people were killed in the latest strikes in the south, including in a town where Israel’s army had issued an evacuation order despite a ceasefire.
The strikes in Habboush killed eight people, including a child and two women, and wounded 21 others, the ministry said, raising an earlier toll. Other strikes in Zrariyeh killed four people, two of them women, and wounded four more, it said. The ministry also reported a strike in Ain Baal near the coastal city of Tyre killed one person and wounded seven others.
In Habboush, where the Israeli evacuation warning was issued, a photographer saw clouds of smoke rising after the raids. The state-run National News Agency reported that Israeli warplanes “launched a series of heavy strikes… less than an hour after” the warning. The NNA also reported Israeli strikes and artillery fire on other south Lebanon locations, including Tyre.
The NNA said Israeli troops carried out detonations in the southern town of Shamaa, and “demolished a monastery and a school” run by a religious order in the town of Yaroun.
Lebanon’s health ministry raised the toll from Israeli strikes since March 2 to 2,600 dead, including 103 emergency workers and paramedics.
Lebanese army chief meets US general
On Saturday, Lebanese armed forces commander General Rudolf Haykal and US General Joseph Clearfield met in Beirut to discuss the security situation in Lebanon and regional developments, the army said.
Clearfield heads a committee monitoring a US-backed ceasefire in fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.
PARIS: Journalism around the world is in dire straits, with Reporters Without Borders’ (RSF) Press Freedom Index calling it the worst year since records began.
For the first time in its 25-year history, over half of the world’s countries now fall into the “difficult” or “very serious” categories for press freedom, the media watchdog noted.
“Since RSF began publishing the World Press Freedom Index 25 years ago, press freedom has been gradually deteriorating,” it noted in t
PARIS: Journalism around the world is in dire straits, with Reporters Without Borders’ (RSF) Press Freedom Index calling it the worst year since records began.
For the first time in its 25-year history, over half of the world’s countries now fall into the “difficult” or “very serious” categories for press freedom, the media watchdog noted.
“Since RSF began publishing the World Press Freedom Index 25 years ago, press freedom has been gradually deteriorating,” it noted in the sobering report, released ahead of World Press Freedom day, which will be observed tomorrow (Sunday).
“Journalists are still being killed and imprisoned for their work, but the tactics undermining press freedom are evolving. Journalism is being asphyxiated by hostile political discourse towards reporters, weakened by a faltering media economy, and squeezed by laws being used as weapons against the press.”
RSF Press Freedom Index paints dismal picture; more than half of the world deemed ‘difficult’ for journalists or worse
According to RSF statistics since Jan 1, 2026, 13 journalists were killed around the world, while 471 are currently detained. In addition, at least 21 journalists are held hostage, while 135 remain missing in action.
The US, which had already fallen from a “fairly good” to a “problematic” situation in 2024, the year of Donald Trump’s re-election, has dropped a further seven places to 64, it said.
US President Donald Trump has turned his repeated attacks on the press and journalists into a systematic policy, pushing the US down to 64th place (-7).
The drastic cuts to the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) workforce had global repercussions, leading to the closure, suspension and downsizing of international broadcasters such as Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) in countries where they were some of the last reliable sources of information.
Among some of the most disturbing of RSF’s findings was that the criminalisation of journalism has reaches a peak.
The Index’s legal indicator has seen the most severe decline this year. This score deteriorated in more than 60pc of states — 110 out of 180 — between 2025 and 2026.
This is notably the case in India (157th), Egypt (169th), Israel (116th) and Georgia (135th). The criminalisation of journalism, which is rooted in circumventing press law and misusing emergency legislation and common law, is proving to be a global phenomenon.
In Pakistan (153rd), the press faces relentless waves of restrictions amid a fraught political climate in which authorities seek to control, and in some cases suppress, the dissemination of journalistic content, RSF said.
Among the countries closed off to the independent press, Vladimir Putin’s Russia (172nd) has become a specialist in using laws designed to combat terrorism, separatism and extremism to restrict press freedom.
Even in established democracies, legal provisions can undermine press freedom. In Japan (62nd), the state secrecy law continues to have a chilling effect on journalism as there are no adequate protections for source confidentiality to counterbalance it, which breeds self-censorship.
In South Korea (47th), government measures introduced to combat the spread of “false information” have drawn criticism from press freedom organisations, yet another example of the persistent tension between tackling disinformation and preserving the right to report.
UNITED NATIONS: The escalating crisis in the Strait of Hormuz could push tens of millions into poverty, trigger a surge in global hunger and even tip the world toward recession, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned on Thursday.
The closure of the vital waterway is “strangling the global economy,” the secretary general said in remarks to the press.
Guterres decried the restrictions on free passage through the strait, a crucial chokepoint, which he said is impeding the delivery
UNITED NATIONS: The escalating crisis in the Strait of Hormuz could push tens of millions into poverty, trigger a surge in global hunger and even tip the world toward recession, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned on Thursday.
The closure of the vital waterway is “strangling the global economy,” the secretary general said in remarks to the press.
Guterres decried the restrictions on free passage through the strait, a crucial chokepoint, which he said is impeding the delivery of oil, gas, fertiliser and other critical commodities.
Even if restrictions on shipping and trade were lifted immediately, “supply chains will take months to recover, prolonging lower economic output and higher prices,” he said.
Setting out three possible trajectories for a world still reeling from the shocks of a pandemic and the war in Ukraine, Guterres said the best-case scenario would see global growth fall from 3.4 per cent to 3.1pc, with inflation rising to 4.4pc and trade slowing sharply.
If disruptions arising from Iranian attacks and threats and the US blockade of Iranian ports continue through midyear, the consequences would deepen significantly, he added.
Under that scenario, 32 million people would be pushed into poverty, 45 million more would face extreme hunger as fertiliser runs low and crop yields fall, and “hard-won development gains” could be reversed overnight.
In a worst-case scenario, where severe disruptions persist through the end of the year, “we confront the spectre of a global recession with dramatic impacts on people, on the economy, and on political and social stability,” he warned.
“These consequences are not cumulative. They are exponential,” Guterres stressed, cautioning that the longer the vital artery is choked, the harder it will be to reverse the damage.
Guterres highlighted diplomatic efforts underway to break the deadlock in the US-Iran talks.
“My message to all parties is clear: Navigational rights and freedoms must be restored immediately,” Guterres said. “Open the Strait. Let all ships pass. Let the global economy breathe again.”
US President Donald Trump and the head of the Secret Service said on Thursday the federal agent injured during the attack at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner had not been hit by friendly fire, as authorities released a video of the incident.
Jeanine Pirro, the US Attorney for the District of Columbia, posted the nearly six-minute video on social media amid lingering questions over whose bullet struck the officer.
Pirro noted that the security footage captured suspect Cole Tomas
US President Donald Trump and the head of the Secret Service said on Thursday the federal agent injured during the attack at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner had not been hit by friendly fire, as authorities released a video of the incident.
Jeanine Pirro, the US Attorney for the District of Columbia, posted the nearly six-minute video on social media amid lingering questions over whose bullet struck the officer.
Pirro noted that the security footage captured suspect Cole Tomas...
• Trump warns Iran to ‘get smart soon’, accept N-curbs; signals months-long extension of naval blockade• Tehran warns of ‘unprecedented military action’ over shipping curbs• USS Gerald R. Ford to return after 10-month deployment in ME
TEHRAN/WASHINGTON: Amid reports about Iran’s plan to make a fresh proposal, US President Donald Trump on Wednesday rejected an Iranian offer to end the conflict, saying that the naval blockade would remain till Tehran agreed to a nuclear deal.
The US president to
• Trump warns Iran to ‘get smart soon’, accept N-curbs; signals months-long extension of naval blockade • Tehran warns of ‘unprecedented military action’ over shipping curbs • USS Gerald R. Ford to return after 10-month deployment in ME
TEHRAN/WASHINGTON: Amid reports about Iran’s plan to make a fresh proposal, US President Donald Trump on Wednesday rejected an Iranian offer to end the conflict, saying that the naval blockade would remain till Tehran agreed to a nuclear deal.
The US president told Axios that the blockade was “somewhat more effective than the bombing” and things would get “worse for them”.
“They want to settle. They don’t want me to keep the blockade. I don’t want to [lift the blockade], because I don’t want them to have a nuclear weapon,” he added during the 15-minute interview with Axios.
The Iranian proposal, passed along by Pakistan, had laid out red lines, including on nuclear issues and the Strait of Hormuz. The plan would reportedly see Tehran ease its chokehold on the strait and Washington lift its retaliatory blockade while broader negotiations continue, including over the nuclear programme. However, it was rejected and a new offer is on the cards.
However, The Washington Post in a report quoted multiple US officials as saying that the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford would depart the Middle East and begin the sail for home in coming days.
The planned withdrawal comes as an expected relief for roughly 4,500 sailors, who have been deployed there for 10 months, but a loss of significant firepower as peace talks between the United States and Iran stagnate.
Earlier, Iran’s Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad, according to Al Jazeera, said Iran’s supply and distribution of fuel remained stable despite the US blockade on Iranian ports. Iran’s parliament speaker Bagher Ghalibaf said the US wanted to divide Iran using the blockade.
The US president also discussed the Iran war with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, days after the visit of Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to St Petersburg.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, US President Donald Trump said he talked “a little bit”. “He told me he’d like to be involved with the enrichment, if he can help us get it,” Trump said, referring to retrieving Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium. “I said, ‘I’d much rather have you be involved with ending the war in Ukraine.’ To me, that’d be more important,” he added.
Ghalibaf calls for unity
“The enemy has entered a new phase and wants to activate economic pressure and internal division through naval blockade and media hype to weaken or even make us collapse from within,” Ghalibaf added, calling for “maintaining unity” as the only solution.
However, the US president told oil executives that the US could extend its naval blockade of Iran for months more. “Iran can’t get their act together… They better get smart soon,” Trump posted on his social media platform, above a mocked-up picture of himself toting a rifle in front of explosions wrecking a desert fortress and the slogan: “No more Mr. Nice Guy!”
According to the administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, Trump discussed with the oil executives “steps we could take to continue the current blockade for months if needed and minimise impact on American consumers”.
Brent crude rises to $117
News that peace talks remained stalled pushed oil prices higher one again, with Brent crude for June delivery rising more than five per cent to $117 — its highest level since a fragile US-Iran ceasefire came into effect on April 8.
Iran has blockaded the Strait of Hormuz — a vital conduit for oil and gas shipments from the Gulf — since the US and Israel launched the war two months ago, sending shockwaves through the global economy. But its own economy is also suffering. On Wednesday, the Iranian rial fell to historic lows against the dollar.
Tehran warned on Wednesday of “unprecedented military action” against continued US blockading of Iran-linked vessels. Trump has stressed repeatedly that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, while Tehran says its nuclear ambitions are peaceful.
‘No trust’
During a White House state dinner on Tuesday, Trump told Britain’s King Charles III and other guests that Iran had been “militarily defeated”, and added: “Charles agrees with me even more than I do — we’re never going to let that opponent have a nuclear weapon.”
But an Iranian army spokesman told state TV on Tuesday that “we do not consider the war to be over”, saying Tehran had “no trust in America”.
“We have many cards that we have not yet used… new tools and methods of fighting based on the experiences of the past two wars, which will definitely allow us to respond to the enemy more decisively” should the fighting resume, Amir Akraminia said in an interview.
KYIV: Ukraine and Israel were on Tuesday locked in a diplomatic row over allegations Tel Aviv had accepted shipments of grain, which Kyiv said Russia had “stolen” from parts of occupied Ukraine.
On Tuesday, Kyiv summoned Israel’s ambassador to protest the alleged shipments.
One of the world’s largest grain producers, Ukraine has repeatedly accused Russia of illegally exporting agricultural products from territory that Moscow has captured since it invaded in February 2022.
“Another vessel carryin
KYIV: Ukraine and Israel were on Tuesday locked in a diplomatic row over allegations Tel Aviv had accepted shipments of grain, which Kyiv said Russia had “stolen” from parts of occupied Ukraine.
On Tuesday, Kyiv summoned Israel’s ambassador to protest the alleged shipments.
One of the world’s largest grain producers, Ukraine has repeatedly accused Russia of illegally exporting agricultural products from territory that Moscow has captured since it invaded in February 2022.
“Another vessel carrying such grain has arrived at a port in Israel and is preparing to unload,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote in a statement on social media.
“The Israeli authorities cannot be unaware of which ships are arriving at the country’s ports and what cargo they are carrying,” he added.
The development came after an investigation by Israeli outlet Haaretz found that the cargo ship Abinsk, ostensibly belonging to Russia’s shadow fleet, had docked at Haifa a couple of weeks ago.
Although Kyiv said it had warned Israel about the ship’s cargo in advance, Tel Aviv claimed that Kyiv had not provided evidence to support its claims and rejected that the ship had arrived at the port of Haifa.
However, the Haaretz report indicates that this was not the first time that stolen grain from Ukraine was imported by Israel: by 2023, at least two ships carrying stolen grain had arrived in Israel, and at least one of them unloaded here.
“The Ukrainian government has not submitted a request for legal assistance… nor has the Ukrainian government provided evidence for its claims,” Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said at a news conference in response to a question.
Ukraine alleges Russia stole more than two million tonnes of grain from occupied territory in 2025. It said it had tracked shipments to Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Europe.
• Iranian envoy lauds Pakistan for ‘persistent labour’ to pave way for dialogue• Trump claims Tehran asked him to lift Hormuz blockade• Spy agencies studying ‘likely response’ to US declaring victory• Iran’s military says ‘still in state of war’• Vance questions Pentagon assessment of conflict with Iran• UAE tanker evades Hormuz blockade
WASHINGTON: Even as US President Donald Trump appeared reluctant to accept an Iranian offer to end the Middle East war, reports suggested Tehran would share a f
• Iranian envoy lauds Pakistan for ‘persistent labour’ to pave way for dialogue • Trump claims Tehran asked him to lift Hormuz blockade • Spy agencies studying ‘likely response’ to US declaring victory • Iran’s military says ‘still in state of war’ • Vance questions Pentagon assessment of conflict with Iran • UAE tanker evades Hormuz blockade
WASHINGTON: Even as US President Donald Trump appeared reluctant to accept an Iranian offer to end the Middle East war, reports suggested Tehran would share a fresh proposal with Pakistan “in the next few days”, despite a public show of defiance.
According to CNN, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will consult Iranian leaders upon his return from Russia for the new proposal, but “process is slow” due to “difficulty in communicating with Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, whose location is being kept secret”.
The development came as President Trump reviewed the Iranian proposals amid concerns over the Pentagon’s assessment of the ongoing war with Iran. Senior Iranian officials told Reuters the proposal carried by Iran’s Araghchi to Islamabad over the weekend envisioned talks in stages, with the nuclear issue to be set aside at the start.
A first step would require ending the US-Israeli war on Iran and providing guarantees that the US cannot start it up again. Then negotiators would resolve the US Navy’s blockade of Iran’s trade by sea and the fate of the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran aims to reopen under its control. Only then would talks look at other issues, including the longstanding dispute over Iran’s nuclear programme.
In a post on Truth Social, President Trump appeared to confirm the contents of the Iranian proposal, saying that Tehran wanted the US to “open the Hormuz strait”.
“Iran has just informed us that they are in a ‘State of Collapse’,” he said. “They want us to “Open the Hormuz Strait,” as soon as possible, as they try to figure out their leadership situation (Which I believe they will be able to do!).”
CNN, however, reported that Trump was unlikely to accept Iran’s proposal to restore traffic in the strait, as Qatar warned of the possibility of a “frozen conflict” if a resolution was not found.
Meanwhile, Iran’s ambassador to Pakistan Reza Amiri Moghadam appreciated Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and the foreign ministry officials for facilitating talks. “As trusted harbingers of international harmony, diplomats are the architects of peace, entrusted with navigating the delicate complexities of international relations through the patient craft of dialogue, empathy, and understanding,” he said in a tweet.
“Their dedicated efforts translate political will and principled determination into the practical avenues and arrangements necessary for any diplomatic process to take shape. This is diplomacy in its truest sense…” he said in a comment on Pakistan’s efforts.
‘State of war’
As the US mulled its offer, Iran struck a defiant tone, with its UN envoy also seeking guarantees that Washington and Israel would not attack again in return for security assurances for the Gulf.
Iranian defence ministry spokesman Reza Talaei-Nik, meanwhile, said that Washington “must abandon its illegal and irrational demands.”
According to Iran’s army spokesperson, it was still “a war situation” for Iran. “There is continuous monitoring … surveillance,” Fars news agency quoted Amir Akraminia as saying. “If the enemy takes a new action, they will be faced with new tools, methods, and arenas.”
Separately, Reuters reported that in order to understand the implications of Trump potentially pulling back from the damaging war, US intelligence agencies are studying how Iran would respond if the US were to declare “unilateral victory”.
The intelligence community is analysing the question along with others at the request of senior administration officials, Reuters reported, adding that some are worried the war could contribute to deep Republican losses at the midterm elections later this year.
Vance questions Pentagon assessment
In the US, President Trump faces domestic pressure as the conflict led to a spike in gas prices, while his deputy, JD Vance, appeared concerned over the Pentagon’s assessment of the Iran war.
Average US gas prices have climbed to their highest level since the start of the Iran war, as concerns grow over a prolonged energy crisis amid the Hormuz deadlock. According to AAA data, gasoline prices rose to an average of $4.18 a gallon on Tuesday — the highest since 2022.
Behind closed doors, Vance is said to have questioned whether the extent of depletion in US missile stockpiles had been fully reflected in official briefings.
Although the Strait of Hormuz remained blocked, it was reported that a UAE-flagged LNG ship had managed to slip through.
According to marine tracking firm Kpler, the LNG carrier Mubaraz is operated by the Emirati national oil company ADNOC.
Israel on Monday told residents of south Lebanon to stay out of a belt of territory running the length of the border and not to approach the area of the Litani River, entrenching its grip over southern Lebanon despite a ceasefire in the war with Hezbollah.
The US-mediated, 10-day ceasefire took effect on Thursday, largely halting the war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah that spiralled out of the conflict between the United States and Iran.
But it remains fragile, with Israeli troops...
Israel on Monday told residents of south Lebanon to stay out of a belt of territory running the length of the border and not to approach the area of the Litani River, entrenching its grip over southern Lebanon despite a ceasefire in the war with Hezbollah.
The US-mediated, 10-day ceasefire took effect on Thursday, largely halting the war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah that spiralled out of the conflict between the United States and Iran.
But it remains fragile, with Israeli troops...
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