Has Trump missed the deadline for congressional approval for the Iran war?
FRANCE 24 international affairs editor Kethevane Gorjestani breaks down the timeline leading up to the 60-day deadline for US President Donald Trump to secure congressional approval for the US-Israeli war against Iran.
Israeli authorities taking 2 activists who led a Gaza-bound flotilla to Israel for questioning
Israeli authorities say they are taking two activists who led an aid flotilla bound for Gaza – and who were captured by Israel in international waters of the Mediterranean Sea – to Israel for questioning.
The activists, Palestinian-Spanish citizen Saif Abukeshek and Brazilian citizen Thiago Avila, were among dozens of activists intercepted by the Israeli navy off the coast of Crete. They are members of the Global Sumud Flotilla’s steering committee, whose mission was to break Israel’s naval blockade and bring some humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory.
Israeli officials said they needed to take early action against the flotilla before it reached Israeli waters because of the high number of boats involved.
According to the Global Sumud Flotilla, 175 activists are now in Crete
“Following the attack on the flotilla, 175 activists were taken to the Greek island of Crete to face deportation proceedings.
The Turkish nationals among the activists are expected to arrive at Istanbul Airport between 5:00pm and 6:00pm today.”
Iran judiciary chief says Tehran open to US talks but against policy ‘imposition’
“The Islamic Republic has never shied away from negotiations… but we certainly do not accept imposition,” Ejei said in a video carried by the judiciary’s Mizan Online website.
“We do not welcome war in any way; we do not want war, we do not want its continuation,” he said.
He however insisted that Iran was “absolutely not willing to abandon our principles and values in the face of this malicious enemy in order to avoid war or prevent its continuation”.
63rd day of internet blackout in Iran
Activists on Gaza aid flotilla detained by Israel disembark in Crete
Dozens of activists on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla which was intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters off Crete disembarked in the Greek island, an AFP journalist saw.
Escorted by Greek coast guards, some 175 activists were taken in four buses to a town whose name was not disclosed by the authorities.
Israel’s foreign ministry earlier said around 175 activists had been taken off more than 20 boats on Thursday. Flotilla organisers put the number at 211.
“In coordination with the Greek government, the individuals transferred from the flotilla vessels to the Israeli vessel will be disembarked on a Greek beach in the coming hours,” Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar wrote on X late Thursday, thanking Greece “for its willingness to receive the flotilla participants”.
Several European governments with nationals among those arrested have called on Israel to free the activists and called its action a flagrant contravention of international law.
US-led Hormuz coalition ‘not in competition’ with France, UK-led bid, French FM says
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said a new US-led coalition to reopen the Strait of Hormuz would complement and not compete with a similar mission spearheaded by France and Britain.
Speaking in Abu Dhabi following a regional tour, Barrot said he briefed Gulf allies on the UK-France initiative which was now at an “advanced” stage.
On Thursday, a US official confirmed to AFP that Washington was launching an international coalition dubbed the “Maritime Freedom Construct” to restart shipping in the vital route.
The UK and France have led talks on a separate maritime effort, recently holding a meeting with more than 50 countries.
The US mission is “not of the same nature as the one we established … it comes as a sort of complement”, Barrot said in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, following visits to Saudi Arabia and Oman.
“It is not in competition with the initiative we have launched and on which we are focused,” he added.
‘The sharpest issue of the moment is deterioration of access to fertiliser’: What the Hormuz Strait’s closure means for global food security
International Chamber of Commerce secretary general John Denton told FRANCE 24 that “the Strait of Hormuz is about much more than oil and gas”, warning that the world was drifting towards a food security crisis of global proportions due to the paralysed fertiliser trade.
Watch the full interview by clicking on the player below.
Singapore economy to ‘slow’ this year on prolonged Hormuz closure, PM says
Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong warned that economic growth will slow this year and some countries may slip into recession as the Strait of Hormuz closed due to the US-Israeli war on Iran.
In a May Day speech, Lawrence Wong said the war was not expected “to be over anytime soon” and supply disruptions may worsen in the months ahead.
“Here in Asia, we are especially affected because of our high dependence on energy and other critical supplies from the Gulf,” Wong said.
Some regional countries are already facing fuel shortages, airlines have cut flights and factories are reporting delays, he said.
“Globally, inflation will rise, spreading from energy to food and then other essentials. Some economies may well slip into recession, and Singapore will feel the impact directly,” he said.
“Our growth this year will slow, and inflation will be higher, and all this will put real pressure on businesses, workers and households.”
He did not give any figures, but the trade ministry in February said it expected the economy to expand 2.0-4.0 percent this year, a bump from its previous forecast of 1.0-3.0 percent.
Trump administration says its war in Iran has been ‘terminated’ before 60-day deadline
The Trump administration is arguing that the war in Iran has already ended because of the ceasefire that began in early April, an interpretation that would allow the White House to avoid the need to seek congressional approval.
The statement furthers an argument laid out by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during testimony in the Senate earlier Thursday, when he said the ceasefire effectively paused the war. Under that rationale, the administration has not yet met the requirement mandated by a 1973 law to seek formal approval from Congress for military action that extends beyond 60 days.
A senior administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the administration’s position, said for purposes of that law, “the hostilities that began on Saturday, February 28 have terminated”.
The official said the US military and Iran have not exchanged fire since the two-week ceasefire that began April 7.
Iran’s supreme leader vows to protect nuclear and missile capabilities
Iran’s supreme leader defiantly vowed Thursday to protect the Islamic Republic’s nuclear and missile capabilities, which US President Donald Trump has sought to curtail through air strikes and as part of a wider deal to cement the war’s shaky ceasefire.
In a statement read by a state television anchor, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said the only place Americans belonged in the Persian Gulf is “at the bottom of its waters” and that a “new chapter” was being written in the region’s history. Khamenei has not been seen in public since taking over as supreme leader following the killing of his father in the war’s opening air strikes.
His remarks come as Iran’s economy is reeling and its oil industry is being squeezed by a US Navy blockade halting its tankers from getting out to sea. The world economy is also under pressure as Iran maintains its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of all crude oil is transported. On Thursday, the global benchmark for oil, Brent crude, traded as high as $126 a barrel.