Middle East

The Guardian -   The US House of Representatives on Thursday for the second time passed a war powers resolution directing Donald Trump to withdraw the US military from the conflict with Iran, amid renewed fighting in the Middle East that has driven oil prices to their highest levels in weeks. The resolution proposed by Democrat Pramila Jayapal passed by a 214-208 vote, with four Republicans joining all Democrats in attendance to vote in favor.

The Hill - Senate Republicans are growing increasingly concerned about what they say is a lack of a clear plan to end the military conflict with Iran, warning that rising U.S. casualties and stubbornly high gas prices are going to hurt their party in the midterm election. GOP lawmakers came away dissatisfied from a hearing Tuesday at which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth testified in support of the administration’s request for another $80 billion in emergency funding for the Iran war.

Republicans want to provide the Pentagon with more money to replenish its munitions but are frustrated the administration hasn’t given them a clearer picture of how to end the conflict, which has dragged on since Feb. 28.  

“There’s got to be an off-ramp, that’s all there is to it,” said Sen. Jim Justice (R-W.Va.).

“Naturally all of us are concerned because we’ve lost three wonderful, wonderful service people in the last little while,” he said, referring to three U.S. service members killed in recent days.

Justice also raised concern about mounting civilian casualties in Iran, which are believed to range from 1,700 to more than 3,000 people killed.

“Every last one of us is super concerned about civilian casualties because first and foremost it’s terrible. Secondarily, it’s generally not very popular in the world,” Justice said.

 MS NOW  -   The United States and Saudi Arabia signed a tremendously ill-advised agreement Wednesday granting the kingdom access to American nuclear know-how. The Trump administration expressed hope that the deal will funnel billions of dollars to the U.S. nuclear industry and steady a relationship that has been rocked during President Donald Trump’s heedless war against Iran. But that war, which Trump is threatening to further escalate, adds to this already bad deal the element of awful timing.

Despite its shifting objectives in its war with Iran, the Trump administration has consistently said a big goal is preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. In truth, the Islamic Republic was nowhere near the “breakout” point, where a quick rush could convert a civilian nuclear program into one capable of producing weapons-grade highly enriched uranium, but the ongoing attacks from the U.S. and a potentially nuclear Saudi Arabia could change the regime’s calculus. Even without Iran changing course on its nuclear program, the sudden announcement is poised to roil the geopolitics of a notoriously unstable region.

NPR's Emily Feng tells Up First that the announcement sent shockwaves through the Middle East because Saudi Arabia has sought nuclear cooperation with the U.S. for more than a decade. Concerns over the country's human rights abuses and potential ambitions for nuclear weapons previously stalled this collaboration. The agreement strengthens ties between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia at a time when Gulf states have faced heavy repercussions for aligning with the U.S. during the war in Iran. Israeli former defense and foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman has criticized this agreement, saying it could lead to a nuclear arms race in the region. Feng says Israel is widely believed to have nuclear weapons, but has never confirmed it. She adds that the agreement also raises worries in Israel about a growing rift with the U.S