House blocks effort to pull US forces from Iran war, Republicans back Trump
The House rejected a resolution Thursday requiring President Donald Trump to withdraw US forces from the war with Iran unless Congress authorises military action. It was the latest such vote that fell short of passage as Republicans largely continue to support Trump's operation.
Democrats voiced concern that the United States is becoming further entrenched in another lengthy conflict in the Middle East. They promised to keep raising the issue through more war powers votes in the coming weeks.
The 213-214 vote came one day after a similar effort failed in the Senate. The US and Israel struck Iran on Feb 28, and a fragile ceasefire is now in its second week.
Democrats overwhelmingly supported the attempt to rein in Trump's use of military force.
"We're standing at the edge of a cliff and Congress must act before the president pushes off," said New York Rep. Gregory Meeks, the ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. "Every day we delay, we inch closer to a conflict with no exit ramp."
Republicans tried to cast the effort as hypocritical.
Florida Rep Brian Mast, the committee chairman, said Congress never voted on a war powers resolution when the US attacked Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen in 2024 while Democrat Joe Biden was president.
"When Joe Biden was responding to merchant marine vessels being attacked, it was OK. No war power needed. It went on for about a year," Mast said. "President Trump responds - war power, war power, war power... That's the hypocrisy."
Hezbollah Says Lebanon Has “Right to Resist” Israeli Military Presence
Hezbollah says Israeli troop presence in Lebanon gives its people the “right to resist”
Hezbollah lawmaker said Iran’s envoy briefed the group on a potential short-term ceasefire
Senior Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said the group had been briefed on a possible short-term ceasefire to start on Thursday night by Iran's ambassador to Beirut.
Fadlallah spoke to Reuters minutes before U.S. President Donald Trump announced that a ceasefire would start at 5:00 p.m. U.S. eastern time (2100 GMT). When asked whether Hezbollah would abide by a possible truce, Fadlallah said everything depended on Israel halting all forms of hostilities.
Trump to invite Netanyahu and Lebanon’s President Aoun to the White House for meaningful first talk
Trump said he will invite Netanyahu and Lebanon’s President Aoun to the White House for what he called the first meaningful Israel-Lebanon talks.
Israel, Lebanon to start a 10-day ceasefire soon, says Trump
Trump says they will formally begin a 10 day ceasefire at 5 p.m. est.
Ceasefire in Lebanon could be announced as soon as April 16 night: Israeli source
Israeli source to Reuters: A ceasefire in Lebanon could be announced as soon as April 16 night.
Lebanese President disusses ceasefire efforts with US President Trump
Lebanese President Aoun discusses ceasefire efforts in phone call with US President Donald Trump.
Over 10,000 US troops enforcing Iran blockade, but no ships boarded so far: military
More than 10,000 American troops are helping enforce the blockade on Iranian ports, and while no ships have yet been boarded, the US military said Thursday that it is warning Iran-linked ships that it could fire warning shots or escalate to other force if they try to outrun the Navy.
Thirteen vessels have turned around rather than confront a naval blockade that began earlier this week, Gen Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters at the Pentagon.
Some Iran-linked or sanctioned vessels that have left the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial waterway for energy shipments, have appeared to halt their movements, turn off their radio transponders or head back toward Iran's coast, shipping data firms say.
Vessels that approach the blockade, which is being enforced in Iran's territorial seas and international waters and not in the Strait of Hormuz, are given a warning, Caine said.
"Any ship that would cross the blockade would result in our sailors executing pre-planned tactics designed to bring the force to that ship - if need be, board the ship and take her over," he said.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said "less than 10% of America's naval power" is being used to enforce the blockade. The Navy has 16 warships - 11 destroyers, three amphibious assault ships, an aircraft carrier, and a littoral combat ship - in the Middle East out of a battle force of roughly 300 total warships.
Also supporting the blockade are refuelling ships as well as surveillance, reconnaissance and intelligence operations designed to give the Navy the latest information on the vessels it is encountering.
Restricting Iran's sea access is a global effort, Caine said, and US military assets in other parts of the world, including in the Pacific, would pursue vessels illegally shipping Iranian oil or trying to provide material support to Tehran.
Caine noted the congestion of the area around the blockade, likening it to a crowded parking lot and US destroyers to high-powered sports cars.
"There is a lot out there," Caine said. "It is like driving a sports car through a supermarket parking lot on a payday weekend, with thousands of kids in that parking lot, as you attempt to maneuver through there to get to that ship that would attempt to run that blockade."
Death toll of Lebanese killed in Israeli strikes increases to 2,196
Lebanon's Health Ministry on Thursday the death toll of Lebanese killed in Israeli strikes has increases to 2,196.
The Health Ministry said that among the killed are 260 women and 172 children since the latest war between Israel and Hezbollah began March 2. Another 7,185 have been wounded.
Israel's latest military escalation started after Hezbollah fired rockets towards northern Israel in solidarity with its key ally and patron Iran.
Lebanon and Israel started direct talks Tuesday, the first of their kind since 1993. Lebanon hopes those talks can end the war.
Lebanese President has refused to speak to Israeli Prime Minister
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Thursday refused to speak to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. That's according to a government official familiar with the developments.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said the remarks were made during a call with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and that Washington was "understanding of Lebanon's position."
Aoun's office acknowledged a call with Rubio in a public statement, but did not mention the possibility of talks with Netanyahu.
Netanyahu's office did not do so either.
US to target ships aiding Iran in international waters, says Caine
Top US General Dan Caine on Thursday told reporters that the United States would pursue any vessel attempting to provide support to Iran, adding that enforcement would occur in Iranian territorial seas as well as and international waters.
Germany to offer surveillance help in potential Hormuz mission: Report
Germany is prepared to participate in a potential mission to secure the Strait of Hormuz by contributing demining and maritime surveillance expertise, the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper reported on Thursday.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is set to put forward this proposal on Friday at a meeting in Paris with his French, British and Italian counterparts, the report said.
Hegseth says China has assured US it won't send arms to Iran during ceasefire
China has assured the United States that it will not send weapons to Iran during the ceasefire in the Middle East war, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told a Pentagon briefing on Thursday.
US and Israel reaffirm close military coordination, says US admiral
US Central Command Admiral Brad Cooper said on Thursday that he met with the Israeli chief of defense to ensure the two sides remain closely aligned, and added that they do.
US forces ready to restart combat if Iran doesn't agree a deal: Hegseth
US forces in the Middle East are postured to restart combat operations if Iran doesn't agree to a peace deal, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told a Pentagon briefing on Thursday.
"You Iran, can choose a prosperous future, a golden bridge, and we hope that you do for the people of Iran," he said.
"But if Iran chooses poorly, then they will have a blockade and bombs dropping on infrastructure, power and energy."
US military widens blockade on Iran to include contraband shipments, advisory says
US military forces have widened their shipping blockade on Iran to include cargoes deemed contraband and any vessels suspected of trying to reach Iranian territory will be "subject to belligerent right to visit and search", the US navy said in an advisory on Thursday.
"These vessels, regardless of location, are subject to visit, board, search, and seizure," the navy said in an updated advisory after a blockade was imposed on Monday.
Contraband items included weapons, weapons systems, ammunition, nuclear materials, crude and refined oil products as well as iron, steel and aluminium.
One killed in Israeli attack
One person has been killed in an Israeli attack on a car on Lebanon’s Dar al-Baydar road, linking the country to Syria, reported Lebanon’s National News Agency.
The road has now been closed.
Israeli strike severs last bridge linking southern Lebanon to rest of country
An Israeli strike has severed the last bridge linking southern Lebanon to the rest of the country, a senior Lebanese security official told Reuters, adding that the strike "shattered" the bridge and left no possibility of repairing it.
Iran halts petrochemical exports until further notice
Iran halted all petrochemical exports to prioritise domestic supply and prevent shortages of raw materials, the economic newspaper Donya-e-Eqtesad reported on Thursday, due to disrupted production after Israel struck several petrochemical hubs.
The instruction was issued on April 13 by a senior National Petrochemical Company official overseeing downstream industries, and told petrochemical firms to suspend exports until further notice.
The export ban primarily aims to stabilise domestic markets and ensure supply to industries following damage caused by recent attacks.
Domestic prices for petrochemical and related products have been held at pre-conflict levels despite rising global prices, with officials saying the measures would remain in place to support local industry and consumers.
Key petrochemical production hubs in Asaluyeh and Mahshahr were targeted by Israel in recent weeks, with strikes hitting the utilities companies providing feedstock for petrochemical plants and disrupting production.
The U.S. military began blocking shipping traffic in and out of Iran's ports this week, a move aimed at dropping Iran's export revenues and exerting pressure on Tehran as Iranian and American diplomats consider a second round of peace talks.
According to Fars news, Iran exports around 29 million tons of petrochemical products per year, worth $13 billion.
Iran, US narrow differences after Pakistani mediation but splits remain: Iranian official
Iran and the United States have made some progress as they push for an agreement to end weeks of warfare, but more than halfway through a two-week truce big splits remain including over Tehran's nuclear ambitions, a senior Iranian official said on Thursday.
The official said a visit by Pakistan's army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir to Tehran on Wednesday had helped reduce differences in some areas, increasing hopes for an extended ceasefire and renewed talks between Tehran and Washington.
