• On June 19, 2026, President Trump signed a new peace deal between the United States and Iran to stabilize international relations.
• Tehran responded to the agreement by warning that the cost of violating the deal will be significantly higher now than in previous iterations.
• This development is critical as it attempts to resolve long-standing geopolitical tensions and economic sanctions between the two nations.
Musical stars and retired politicians from less polarised era seeming antidote to cage fights on White House lawnThe Barack Obama presidential center opened in Chicago on Thursday after more than a decade in the making amid a musical fanfare and paeans to democratic principles that evoked a previous age, all while delivering an implied rebuke to Donald Trump.Featuring appearances by a cast of musical stars and retired politicians from a less polarised era, it was a seemingly perfect antidote to the crass spectacle of cage fights on the White House lawn. Continue reading...
• World leaders have gathered in Evian-les-Bains, France, for the 2026 G7 summit to address critical global challenges.
• Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has met with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and is scheduled to hold discussions with U.S. President Donald Trump today.
• European leaders aim to persuade Trump to sustain sanctions and military aid to Kyiv while establishing a diplomatic framework between Europe, Ukraine, Russia, and the U.S.
Republican primary runoff voters chose US representative Mike Collins to face Ossoff in November Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog.Donald Trump’s pick to face rising Democratic star Jon Ossoff in Georgia’s midterm election for senator later this year swept to victory last night.Donald Trump laid into Benjamin Netanyahu, telling a news conference at the G7 summit in France that the Israeli prime minister “has to be more responsible with respect to Lebanon”.The Republican-led US Senate on Tuesday narrowly failed to advance a war powers resolution introduced by Democrats that would have directed the president to end hostilities with Iran, by a vote of 48-47.The justice department announced charges against five men for an alleged plot to carry out an attack to kill government officials at the White House UFC event on Sunday.Kash Patel, the FBI director, reportedly surprised and angered US Secret Service officials by announcing an alleged plot to attack the White House UFC event on social media early Tuesday before about 10 suspects had been arrested. Continue reading...
Voters have also been casting ballots in Alabama and Washington DC, where for the first time in over 10 years, the city will elect a new mayor in NovemberDonald Trump has a strong record in this year’s primaries so far – with many of his preferred candidates winning their primaries.But none have faced a self-funded rival with Rick Jackson’s spending power, the AP reports. Trump has backed Burt Jones, who, as lieutenant governor, was part of Trump’s attempt to overturn his 2020 defeat to Joe Biden, and the president has repeatedly praised Jones’ loyalty. Continue reading...
• A peace deal is expected to be signed this Friday to end military operations across all fronts, including conflicts in Lebanon.
• Donald Trump has announced that the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz will be re-opened as part of the resolution.
• Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif confirmed that both sides have agreed to an immediate and permanent termination of hostilities.
President’s UFC fights held on the White House lawn overshadowed by chants about former first ladyHello and welcome to the US politics live blog.Donald Trump’s UFC fights held on the White House lawn were marred by a misogynistic smear aimed at former first lady Michelle Obama last night.Trump arrives in Evian-les-Bains on Monday afternoon for talks with G7 leaders, including some who have been sharply critical of his managing of the roughly 15-week conflict that has led to a surge in global energy prices. World leaders began gathering in a French spa town for the summit with a new impetus following the US president’s announcement of an agreement that he says will bring an end to the war against Iran.The Iranian deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, confirmed in the early hours of Monday an agreement for an “immediate end” to the US-Iranian war, and said Lebanon was included in a peace deal due to be signed on Friday. Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, announced the agreement on Sunday afternoon, saying both sides would be declaring “the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts”.Trump told Vladimir Putin that ending Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine was critical and that he was prepared to help, reported Russia’s TASS news agency. During a phone call on Sunday, Trump also informed the Russian president that the US was nearing a peace deal with Iran as the US-Israel war against the country continues, according to Yuri Ushakov, a Putin adviser.JD Vance said he would discuss a 2028 US presidential run with his wife, Usha, after the 2026 midterms. “Usha and I will absolutely sit down and talk about what comes next for our family,” said Vance. The US vice-president gave insight into his ongoing decision on whether to run during an interview with CBS Sunday Morning where he spoke on his new memoir, Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith, which details his conversion to Catholicism. Continue reading...
• The BSE Sensex and Nifty50 are expected to open higher on Monday following news of a preliminary peace deal between the US and Iran.
• This geopolitical development has caused global crude oil prices to plunge, leading to a rally in Asian equities and hopes for reduced global inflationary pressures.
• Market analysts from Bajaj Broking Research note that the Nifty50 previously closed the week up 1.1%, ending above the 23,600 level.
Deal could see strait of Hormuz immediately ‘open to all’, but Trump says US retains the ‘ultimate alternative’ if talks failHello and welcome to the Guardian’s continuing coverage of the crisis in the Middle East.Peace talks between the US and Iran grind on with Donald Trump on Saturday saying the US is set to sign a new agreement with Iran today, and claiming the deal would prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, while reopening the strait of Hormuz to international shipping.Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, said on Saturday Islamabad was preparing for an electronic signing within 24 hours to be followed by technical-level talks next week. “We are closer to a peace deal than ever before,” Sharif wrote on social media.But an Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei, counselled caution. “We will have to wait and see about the exact date of the signing of the memorandum of understanding, although it will not be tomorrow,” Baghaei was quoted as saying. “The possibility of this happening in the coming days cannot be ruled out.”Pro-government night-time rallies continue across Iran, and have now been held for more than 100 nights, with some people protesting an agreement with the US. A resident in the north-eastern city of Mashhad told Reuters in Dubai that some protesters chanted: “Death to the compromiser,” in an apparent reference to the foreign minister Abbas Araqchi.Meanwhile, Trump discussed the efforts to end the Iran conflict in a call with the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, Downing Street said on Saturday. Continue reading...
US president says ‘great settlement’ reached but Iranian spokesman says there has been no final conclusionFull report: Trump claims US and Iran on verge of signing peace agreementHello and welcome to the Guardian’s continuing coverage of the crisis in the Middle East.Iran’s foreign ministry has contradicted claims from Donald Trump that a peace deal between Washington and Tehran could be signed as soon as this weekend.Trump said he was cancelling a third day of US airstrikes and bombings that he had earlier said would happen because “discussions” with Iran “have been brought to the highest level of Iranian leadership and approved”. He also said on social media: “Discussions and final points have been, in both concept and great detail, approved by all parties involved, including the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, and others.”Israel, however, said it was “not a party to” what prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office described as an emerging memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran. But the office said Netanyahu had spoken with Trump and that the final agreement at the conclusion of negotiations would include the removal of enriched material, the dismantling of enrichment infrastructure, limits on missile production, and the cessation of Iran’s support for its terrorist proxies in the region – measures that have been red lines for Iran in the past.The strait of Hormuz would open “as soon as we sign” the documents of the “great settlement” reached with Iran, Trump said. “The whole Middle East is happy.”Iranian media said the country’s forces had stopped a “violating tanker” from entering the strait of Hormuz. The report from the Fars news agency – closely linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards – came shortly after the sound of explosions were reportedly heard near the port city of Bandar Abbas.Trump had earlier posted on social media that the US would seize Iran’s Kharg Island “in the not too distant future”, but later said the seizure would be off the table “if we sign this agreement”.The price of oil rose after Trump threatened a “very hard” attack on Iran, but plunged hours later after he said he was cancelling the strikes. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 1.9% to $86.08 a barrel, on top of a 2.6% drop overnight, and Brent dropped 1.5% to $89.08 a barrel, having fallen nearly 3% overnight. Asian stocks joined a global rally, with South Korea’s Kospi surging 7.4% and Japan’s Nikkei up 2.7%.A strike wounded 10 staff members of a hospital in the Lebanese city of Tyre on Thursday, the facility’s director told the AFP news agency, as Israeli raids continued in the country’s south. All three of the historic city’s hospitals have been hit since the start of the latest war between Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah and Israel in early March.India’s government voiced a “strong protest” after three Indian seafarers were killed in US military strikes against oil tankers travelling through the strait of Hormuz. Continue reading...
President steered no-bid contract for project that he said would cost $1.8m to company that worked on his golf resortThe final drops of water have been added, and the nanobubbler switched on. Donald Trump’s “beautiful” makeover of the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool, one of Washington DC’s most historically symbolic attractions, is officially complete, and the public is getting its first glimpse of how the project’s $14.2m was spent.Contrary to the president’s predictable assertion that it was receiving “rave reviews”, however, early impressions are decidedly mixed. Some of the first visitors declared themselves underwhelmed by the 2,000ft pool’s somewhat dull color – American flag blue, according to the specifications. Continue reading...
US launches second round of airstrikes on Iran, and Tehran responds by targeting Bahrain, Kuwait and JordanUS strikes Iran for second day, as ceasefire appears close to collapseWelcome to our live coverage of the conflict in the Middle East.The US has launched a second round of airstrikes, after Donald Trump warned that Tehran would “pay the price” for stalled negotiations, and Iran responded with strikes targeting Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan.US Central Command said it had “completed” its latest round of airstrikes just before sunrise in Iran. It said the strikes targeted “Iranian military surveillance capabilities, communication systems and air defense sites,” and were carried out by the US air force, Marines and Navy.The sounds of explosions echoed around Tehran, the port city of Bandar Abbas and other southern areas along the strait of Hormuz.Iran responded by launching strikes on Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan.Kuwait closed its airspace as its air defences fought off the attack. Kuwait’s directorate general of civil aviation said flights were being diverted to other airports, without elaborating.Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had fired ballistic missiles at a US command centre in Jordan, according to state media.Iran’s UN envoy said the US should refrain from threats of force if it wants a deal.Israel early on Thursday warned residents in the north to seek shelter after the detection of suspected incoming fire from Lebanon.The international benchmark for crude oil traded above $93 a barrel on Wednesday, up more than 25% since the start of the war. Continue reading...
• President Donald Trump has rejected claims that his administration's actions toward Iran betrayed his campaign promise of "no new wars."
• The statement comes as tensions escalate, occurring just hours before Israel and Iran engaged in a series of retaliatory strikes.
• This development is significant as it highlights the contradiction between Trump's non-interventionist rhetoric and the volatile military reality in the Middle East.
• Israel's air force launched strikes against targets in Iran following a series of escalating military exchanges between the two nations.
• Donald Trump has urged both sides to cease hostilities, calling for a return to peace and diplomacy to avoid further violence and destruction.
• The strikes occur while negotiators are reportedly working with international partners to secure a peaceful diplomatic solution to the ongoing conflict.
President posts screenshot on Truth Social attacking Californian election, after walking out of NBC interview after refusing to substantiate his claims of election riggingSign up for the Breaking News US emailWelcome to our coverage of US politics.Donald Trump has repeated a claim made during an NBC interview on Sunday that he walked out of claiming that the California gubernatorial race is rigged.Later today Trump is expected to attend a campaign rally in New Jersey, before attending the Knicks game in New York’s Madison Square Garden. Trump’s appearance at the game means that there will be heightened security, a strict no-bag policy and airport-style screening for attenders of the game.This comes after a stabbing occurred in Penn Station directly below the arena, injuring 6 people. The suspect is in custody.The president also claimed that Iran’s military has been “virtually decapitated” as the war between the Middle Eastern country and the US reaches its 100th day. Earlier today, Trump urged Iran and Israel to “stop shooting” in a social media post. You can follow our Middle East liveblog coverage here: Continue reading...
US president says he would ‘like to meet’ Mojtaba Khamenei, who US officials have previously said was injured in attacks, and says Iran has said it will not have a nuclear weaponHello and welcome to the Guardian’s continuing coverage of the crisis in the Middle East.Donald Trump has claimed Iran has agreed it will not have a nuclear weapon and that the country’s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is involved in negotiations with the US.One person was killed and several people were injured in an Iranian drone attack that targeted Kuwait’s airport, according to authorities and state media. Flights were suspended this morning but some later resumed after the country’s civil aviation authority said it assessed the damage at the airport.The attack came hours after US forces fired a Hellfire missile to disable a tanker attempting to break through the American blockade of the strait of Hormuz, and later said they repelled Iranian reprisal attacks in the region and attacked sites on Iran’s Qeshm Island.Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said it attacked the US Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain with missiles and drones in response to the strike on Qeshm, a claim the US military’s Central Command (Centcom) denied.Centcom said two Iranian missiles fired at Kuwait “fell short or broke apart enroute”, and that three missiles targeting Bahrain were intercepted by US and Bahrain.US forces also said they shot down three one-way attack drones “launched by Iran toward civilian mariners that were rightfully transiting regional waters” but gave no further details.Israel kept up strikes on southern Lebanon, pressing its campaign against Hezbollah a day after Donald Trump asked Benjamin Netanyahu not to attack Beirut to avert further escalation in the three-month-old war. Israeli airstrikes and artillery fire hit south Lebanon on Tuesday, killing at least eight people, Lebanese state media reported. Israel’s military ordered residents of the city of Nabatieh, a major Hezbollah stronghold, to leave ahead of strikes.Lebanon’s government has said it would seek a full ceasefire in a new round of talks with Israeli officials in Washington that began on Tuesday, the latest in a series of face-to-face meetings Beirut has attended despite Hezbollah objections.Hezbollah said it fired artillery shells at Israeli troops near Beaufort and targeted Israeli military vehicles south of Nabatieh on Tuesday. It has not announced cross-border attacks since Monday. Continue reading...
Israeli military says it intercepted missiles from Lebanon this morning while Netanyahu says his forces will continue operating in the south of the countryTrump says Hezbollah and Israel have agreed to ‘stop all shooting’Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s continuing coverage of the crisis in the Middle East.Donald Trump has hailed an agreement to de-escalate the fighting in Lebanon, which has killed thousands of people and inflamed tensions in the broader US-Israeli war with Iran.Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) threatened to open “new fronts” and keep the strait of Hormuz closed over Israel’s offensive in Lebanon, state media reported. “Iran considers crossing the red lines in Lebanon and Gaza to mean direct war,” state TV quoted the IRGC’ intelligence organisation as saying.The ceasefire already in place between Iran and the US is unequivocally a ceasefire on all fronts, including in Lebanon, Iran’s top diplomat said yesterday after Netanyahu ordered attacks on the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut. “Violation on one front is a violation of the ceasefire on all fronts. The US and Israel are responsible for the consequences of any violation,” foreign minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X.US secretary of state Marco Rubio will face questions at Congress today for the first time since the Iran war began. He will testify before House and Senate committees on the state department’s 2027 budget request, where he is expected to face questions about Trump’s war efforts and shifting diplomatic goals.Oil prices jumped and equities slid as Middle East peace talks stumbled and tensions mounted between Iran and the US. Crude futures shot more than 5% higher yesterday as an Iranian news agency announced Tehran had suspended the negotiations with the US via mediators, AFP reported.US forces intercepted two Iranian ballistic missiles targeting American forces based in Kuwait late on Sunday, the US military said yesterday. No American personnel were harmed, it added. Continue reading...
The lawsuit is one of several that the president has brought in his personal capacity against news organizationsHello and welcome to the US politics live blog.Donald Trump has refiled a defamation lawsuit seeking at least $10bn in damages against the Wall Street Journal over its reporting on his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, after a judge threw out an earlier version over legal deficiencies.In a new interview with CBS News, Jill Biden, the former first lady, said that she was “frightened” as she watched her husband, then-president Joe Biden, freeze up during his disastrous 2024 debate against Donald Trump. Pressed to explain what happened, Jill Biden said: “I don’t know what happened. I mean as I watched it, I thought, ‘Oh, my God, he’s having a stroke’. And it scared me to death.”Two House Democrats, Don Beyer of Virginia and Dina Titus of Nevada, announced that they plan to introduce a bill that would “explicitly prohibit construction of President Trump’s proposed ‘triumphal arch’ outside Arlington National Cemetery”.Cam Higby, a rightwing activist disguised as a pro-Palestinian activist, disrupted a news conference with the Democratic congressmen Jerry Nadler and Dan Goldman outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey. Continue reading...
President’s remarks indicate the two countries remain far apart over initial deal to end warAfter 88 days of near-total internet blackout in Iran, long-delayed messages, images and poems flooded phones and social media feeds at about 5pm on Tuesday, when still-limited connectivity flickered back to life.The first reactions, however, were not celebratory. Many new posts were threaded with scepticism, anxiety and anger.The Israeli military declared a new swathe of southern Lebanon a combat zone and said residents in the area should move north, warning it would act “with great force” against the Iran-backed Hezbollah in the zone. The statement on Wednesday appeared to signal a further escalation after more than 120 strikes hit Lebanon’s south and east on Tuesday, despite a ceasefire.The major Lebanese city of Tyre has come under constant Israeli bombardment, according to local media. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it is hitting Hezbollah targets in the ancient coastal city in southern Lebanon, a day after issuing a warning forcing thousands of people to leave Tyre and surrounding areas. Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported two people were killed in Tyre in an Israeli drone strike on Thursday morning. Continue reading...
Victor who secured Republican nomination for Senate seat praises president after defeating incumbent CornynSign up to the Breaking News US emailHello and welcome to the US politics live blog.Texas attorney-general Ken Paxton said Donald Trump’s endorsement is “the most powerful force in politics” as he comfortably won the Republican nomination for the Senate last night.Christian Menefee defeated Al Green to represent Texas’s newly redrawn 18th congressional district. Green, 78, had served 11 terms as a Democrat, earning a reputation as one of Donald Trump’s top critics, when he became the first member of Congress to call for his impeachment, as early as 2017. Menefee, 38, began serving in Congress earlier this year after he won a special election. The two Democrats faced off against each other in this year’s election after Republican redistricting saw their home districts near Houston redrawn.Two Republican-led efforts to redraw congressional maps in Alabama and South Carolina hit setbacks. In Alabama, a federal court said the proposed map could not be used because it was drawn to intentionally discriminate against Black voters. The South Carolina Senate voted against redrawing the state’s congressional map due to political and administrative reasons.Construction is under way on the White House lawn for a UFC arena that will host a cage-match next month to mark the United States’s 250th anniversary and Donald Trump’s 80th birthday. The mixed martial arts fight is planned for 14 June.Donald Trump completed his annual physical after year of public attention to health issues. Trump, the oldest inaugurated president in US history, completed a physical exam on Tuesday at Walter Reed national military medical center, amid questions around his health. “Everything checked out PERFECTLY,” the US president declared in a social media post.The Trump administration considered asking federal workers to sign NDAs. The goal of asking federal employees to sign nondisclosure agreements is to prevent them from sharing confidential information with journalists. Continue reading...
Vote for Republican nomination is latest test of President’s grip over GOPHello and welcome to the US politics live blog.Texans are voting for a Republican nominee for US Senate in Tuesday’s runoff election, following Donald Trump’s late bid to influence the race in his latest effort to rid the GOP of less devoted leaders.Iran has poured cold water on suggestions that a deal with the US is imminent, pointing to the confusion in US positions and Israeli interference as reasons why an agreement is proving difficult to secure. Speaking at the weekly foreign ministry press briefing, Esmail Baghaei, the spokesperson for Iran’s negotiating team, also said future management of the strait of Hormuz was a matter for Oman and Iran to agree on, and that it was not tolls that were being proposed but “fees for navigational services”.By contrast, the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said that a deal was still possible, adding that the strait of Hormuz would open “one way or another”. “There were some talks going on in Qatar today, so we’ll see if we can make progress. I think it’s a lot of talking back and forth going on about specific language in the initial document,” Rubio told reporters in Jaipur during an official visit to India.A Trump Tower planned for the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, is to be built on land currently part-owned by the son of the US-sanctioned leader of the country, according to official records. The proposed skyscraper, a joint venture between a local consortium and the Trump Organization, which is managed by the US president’s sons, Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump, will be on a plot whose current registered owner is the International Charity Fund Cartu.Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, said on Monday her government agreed to allow the Iranian national football team to stay in Mexico during the World Cup, adding that the United States did not want to host the team. Sheinbaum said football’s governing body Fifa approached her government after the US said it did not want Iran’s squad to stay in the country throughout the tournament, despite Iran playing all three of its group matches there. Continue reading...
US president says strait will be opened as part of the deal, but Iran’s influential Fars news agency reports that vital waterway would remain under Iranian controlFull report: Trump says peace deal with Iran ‘largely negotiated’ with strait of Hormuz to openHello and welcome to our live coverage of the Iran war and the wider Middle East crisis.Donald Trump has announced that a peace deal with Iran “has been largely negotiated”, after calls with a Pakistani mediator, Gulf allies and Israel, potentially paving the way for an end to the war launched by the US and Israel in February. Continue reading...
The US president said he doesn’t ‘want to do anything to get in the way’ of tech firms competing with ChinaHouse Republicans canceled a scheduled Thursday vote on a war powers resolution aimed at ending the US war with Iran, a measure that likely would have advanced had the vote been held.Donald Trump has announced he will deploy an “additional” 5,000 US troops to Poland, just days after the Pentagon controversially halted a long-planned deployment of forces to the country – the largest on Nato’s eastern flank.Nato’s secretary general Mark Rutte struck somewhat more cautious note, saying the bloc’s trajectory was one that was prioritising a stronger Europe, “less reliant on the US”.On Thursday, the US president admitted that he might skip Donald Trump Jr’s wedding, reportedly taking place in the Bahamas over the upcoming Memorial Day weekend, citing that he has “this thing called Iran”.US arms sales to Taiwan have been “paused” to ensure the US military has enough munitions for its Iran operations, according to Washington’s acting navy secretary.The US president, Donald Trump, and the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, on Thursday again raised the spectre of military intervention in Cuba, a day after the administration announced criminal charges against Raúl Castro, the island’s former leader.The US president Donald Trump postponed signing an executive order on AI because he did not like certain aspects of it and did not want to take any steps that might undermine the US position in its AI competition with China. Continue reading...
Republican senators have queried the timing and lack of detail in secret service bid to add money to the Department for Homeland security billHello and welcome to the US politics live blog.Senate Republicans could strip Donald Trump’s lavish White House ballroom complex from the Department of Homeland Security funding bill after members queried the timing and lack of detail in the $1bn Secret Service request.The US issued a federal criminal indictment against Raúl Castro, Cuba’s former president, potentially paving the way for a US military raid to capture him.Two police officers attacked by rioters at the US Capitol during the January 6 riot sued Donald Trump over plans to create a $1.776bn “anti-weaponization” fund.Brian Fitzpatrick, a Republican congressman from a Philadelphia-area district carried by Kamala Harris in 2024, pledged on Wednesday to “try to kill” the $1.776bn slush fund created by Donald Trump’s Department of Justice this week, which could be used to compensate rioters who tried to keep Trump in office after he lost the 2020 election.Republican senator Bill Cassidy denounced two of Trump’s passion projects: $1bn in taxpayer funding for the White House ballroom the president can’t stop talking about, and the $1.776bn slush fund he plans to use to reward supporters who stormed the Capitol to try to keep him in office despite losing the 2020 election.A former federal prosecutor in Florida pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to charges that she illegally emailed herself a copy of the unreleased special counsel report on Trump’s mishandling of classified documents. Continue reading...
Republican Congressman defeated by Trump-backed challenger in most expensive House primary in historySign up for the Breaking News US emailGood morning, and welcome to our live coverage of US politics. Donald Trump has tightened his grip on the Republican party after the independent-minded Congressman Thomas Massie was defeated in the Kentucky Republican House primary by the president’s hand-picked challenger.Massie lost by a vote of 55% to 45%, in what became the most expensive House primary in US history, drawing over $32m in spending. Continue reading...
Trump says he could strike Iran again as Tehran threatens ‘new fronts’ in war if an attack takes placeTrump threatens ‘a big hit’ if Tehran does not make deal soonWelcome to our live coverage of events in the Middle East.Donald Trump warned the US may strike Iran again – a day after he said he had held off a major assault in hopes of a peace deal – but Tehran’s army threatened to open “new fronts” if he went ahead.The US Senate has advanced a war-powers resolution that would end the Iran war unless Trump obtains Congress’ authorisation. The vote on a procedural measure to advance the resolution was 50 to 47, as four of Trump’s fellow Republicans voted with every Democrat but one in favour. Three Republicans missed the vote.The Israeli military launched a series of strikes across Lebanon, killing 19 people, according to the Lebanese health ministry. One strike, in the town of Deir Qanun al-Nahr in the Tyre district, killed 10 people including three children and three women, the ministry said.The Israeli army in turn said that it intercepted a drone fired from Lebanon. Israel and Lebanon’s central government have twice extended a US-brokered ceasefire, but Israel says it does not apply to its attacks on Hezbollah.Israeli authorities said 430 activists aboard a Gaza-bound aid flotilla were taken to Israel after their vessels were intercepted in international waters near Cyprus. Sailing from Turkey last week, the Global Sumud Flotilla is the latest in a string of attempts by activists to breach Israel’s blockade of the Palestinian territory, with the last convoy intercepted by Israeli forces last month.Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, said Moscow was ready to help with talks between the US and Iran to end the war, according to the Russian Tass news agency. His remarks came as the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, held talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing.The United Arab Emirates was rattled by a drone attack on its Barakah nuclear power plant last week. On Tuesday the UAE said it originated from Iraqi territory, where Iran backs groups accused of launching attacks on Gulf nations in the war. The UN Security Council on Tuesday condemned the attack. Russia, which often defends Iran, joined the other members.Two Chinese tankers laden with oil exited the strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, according to shipping data. Continue reading...
Contest seen as latest test of president’s grip on GOP as he urges voters to reject one of the few senior Republicans who has defied himSign up for the Breaking News US email Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog.Voters will head to the polls in primaries across six states today, with the contest in Kentucky seen as a test of Donald Trump’s grip on the Republican party.Police are investigating a deadly shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego as a hate crime, after three people were killed and two dead suspects were identified near the scene. Democratic leaders from across the country issued statements in the wake of the shooting calling out Islamophobia and advocating for stricter gun laws.At a healthcare affordability event, Donald Trump announced that his website TrumpRx.gov will now include a catalog of generic drugs. Trump touted the move as “increasing the number of drugs available on TrumpRx by nearly seven times, adding over 600 affordable generics to the website”.Trump moved to dismiss a $10bn lawsuit against the Interal Revenue Service and his administration created a $1.776bn “anti-weaponization” fund to compensate his allies for supposed persecution by the government. Democrats harshly criticized the settlement, saying it amounts to the creation of a “slush fund” for the president’s allies.An effort to reshape South Carolina’s congressional districts got its first full airing Monday in the state House. Lawmakers launched a lengthy discussion over the consequences of acceding to Trump’s calls for a US House map that could yield a clean sweep for Republicans.Trump also said he is requesting the attorney general and Justice Department investigate mail-in voting in Maryland. In a post on Truth Social, Trump alleged that Maryland had “sent out 500,000 Illegal Mail In Ballots” and blamed “the Corrupt Governor of the State, Wes Moore”, a Democrat, who “allowed this to happen in order to make sure that Democrats win”.Nancy Pelosi has endorsed San Francisco supervisor Connie Chan in the race to fill the seat Pelosi will vacate at the end of her term.The Trump administration has proposed allowing up to 17,500 white South Africans to enter the United States as refugees, beginning in the new fiscal year, CNN reports, citing an emergency determination letter sent to Congress that it obtained. Continue reading...
The US president said he called off a planned attack on Iran on Tuesday so that peace talks could continueFull report: Trump claims planned attack on Iran postponed after Tehran makes new proposal to end warWe are restarting our live coverage of the US-Israeli war on Iran and the other conflicts in the Middle East. Donald Trump says he has called off a planned attack on Iran on Tuesday at the request of Gulf states so peace talks could continue.In a post on Truth Social on Monday, the US president said he had been asked to do so by the leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Continue reading...
US president says there ‘won’t be anything left’ of country if it doesn’t come to an agreementUAE blames Iran or its proxies for drone strike fire near nuclear plantWe are restarting our coverage of the US-Israeli war on Iran and Israel’s war on Lebanon. Donald Trump has issued an extreme warning to Iran to quickly agree to a peace deal with the US or face devastation.As Washington struggles to break an impasse on ending the war, the US president said on his Truth Social platform on Sunday: “For Iran, the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won’t be anything left of them. TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!”Iranian media said the US had failed to make any concrete concessions in its latest response to Iran’s proposed agenda for negotiations to end the war. The Fars news agency said on Sunday that Washington had presented a five-point list that included a demand for Iran to keep only one nuclear site in operation and transfer its stockpile of highly enriched uranium to the US.Islamic Jihad commander Wael Abdel Halim and his 17-year-old daughter were killed in an Israeli missile strike on an apartment in eastern Lebanon on Sunday, Lebanese state media said. Israeli strikes on towns in southern Lebanon earlier killed five people, including two children, and left at least 15 people injured, the Lebanese health ministry said, despite Israel and Lebanon agreeing to extend their ceasefire by 45 days.Hezbollah had fired about 200 projectiles at Israel and its troops over the weekend, an Israeli military official said on Sunday.Israel’s cabinet approved a plan to build a defence compound on the site of the recently demolished premises of the UN Palestinian refugee agency (Unrwa) in East Jerusalem. Israel seized the site last year in an act the agency condemned as a violation of international law. Continue reading...
Secretary of state says US made clear America’s position on Taiwan, as Trump-Xi talks continue for second dayXi warns Trump of ‘clashes and even conflicts’ with US over TaiwanAnalysis: For anxious Taiwan, Trump’s silence after Xi talks is best possible outcomeDonald Trump and Xi Jinping are set to meet on Friday to wrap up a high-stakes two-day state visit that has featured pomp and business deals but also a stark warning from Xi that mishandling the Taiwan issue could push US-China relations to “a very dangerous place”.Trump is on the first visit by a US president to China since 2017 and has been hoping for tangible results that might improve his sagging approval ratings ahead of the crucial midterm elections.Trump told Fox News that China had agreed to order 200 Boeing jets – its first purchase of US-made commercial jets in nearly a decade. But markets were expecting a much higher number, with earlier news reports suggesting 500 or more could be involved, and Boeing shares fell more than 4% after the comments.Xi’s remarks on Taiwan, the democratically governed island Beijing claims, represented a sharp warning during a pomp-filled summit that otherwise appeared friendly and relaxed. They came in a closed-door meeting that ran for more than two hours, Beijing said.US secretary of state Marco Rubio told NBC News that Taiwan was discussed, saying the Chinese “always raise it ... we always make clear our position and we move on to the other topics”. Rubio is among a large contingent of US officials and business leaders who travelled with Trump to China.At a lavish state banquet on Wednesday, Xi called the China-US relationship the most important in the world and added: “We must make it work and never mess it up.” Trump earlier told Xi their two countries were “going to have a fantastic future together”.The summit has been aimed at maintaining a fragile trade truce struck when the leaders last met in October and Trump suspended triple-digit tariffs on Chinese goods and Xi backed away from choking global supplies of vital rare earths.With news agencies Continue reading...
