Iran-US war live: Germany responds to Trump’s decision to withdraw 5,000 troops as dispute deepens – UK Times

Just hours before a crucial deadline, the Trump administration argued the war in Iran has been effectively “terminated” under the ongoing ceasefire, which, the claim also stops the clock on a crucial deadline for congressional approval of ongoing actions in the conflict.

Under the War Powers Resolution, President Donald Trump faced a 60-day clock — expiring Friday, May 1 — to either end the war in Iran or secure congressional approval to continue. Now, a senior administration official tells the Associated Press the U.S. and Iran haven’t exchanged fire since April 7, and that the hostilities have been “terminated.”

A U.S. official also told Reuters: “For War Powers Resolution purposes, the hostilities that began on Saturday, February ​28, have terminated.”

A bulk carrier reported a suspicious approach by a skiff accompanied by a fishing vessel on Saturday, 84 nautical miles southwest of the port of Mukalla on the southern coast of Yemen, Britain’s maritime security agency UKMTO reported.

We’ll bring you more on the incident as it comes in.

An Iranian proposal so far rejected by Donald Trump would open shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and end the US blockade of Iran, a senior Iranian official said on Saturday.

It would leave talks on Iran’s nuclear programme for later, they added/

Four weeks since the United States and Israel suspended their bombing campaign against Iran, no deal has been reached to end a war that has caused the biggest disruption ever to global energy supplies.

Iran has been blocking nearly all shipping from the Gulf apart from its own for more than two months. Last month the US imposed its own blockade of ships from Iranian ports.

Trump said on Friday he was “not satisfied” with Iran’s latest proposal, without spelling out in detail which elements he opposes.

Discussing a Thursday briefing with Admiral Brad Cooper, head of US Central Command, Donald Trump said the US had just two options in Iran.

“I mean, do we want to go and just blast the hell out of them and finish them forever? Or do we want to try and make a deal? I mean, those are the options,” he said.

Asked if he wanted to pursue the former, Trump said: “I’d prefer not. On a human basis, I’d prefer not, but that’s the option.”

Trump said he believed Iran’s leadership had made some progress towards unifying around a resolution.

“They’ve made strides, but I’m not sure if they ever get there,” he said.

“There’s tremendous discord, they’re having a tremendous problem getting along with each other in Iran.”

The US military presence in Germany began as an occupation force after World War Two.

It reached its peak during the 1960s when hundreds of thousands of American military personnel were stationed there to counter the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

The US presence includes the giant Ramstein airbase and Landstuhl hospital, both of which have been used by the US to support its war in Iran, as well as previous conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Pentagon decision means one full brigade will leave Germany and a long-range fires battalion that was due to be deployed later this year will be cancelled.

The loss of the long-range fires will be a particular blow to Berlin, as it had been due to form a significant extra element of deterrence against Russia while Europeans developed such long-range missiles themselves.

Earlier this week, the prime minister even suggested people may have to change “where they go on holiday”. Yet Britain’s airlines continue to insist they are not seeing any shortages.

So what is the prospective holidaymaker to make of it all? Simon Calder, travel correspondent of The Independent, has multiple flight bookings of his own for the coming months – and takes a look at what it all means.

Europeans must take greater responsibility for their own security, German defence minister Boris Pistorius has said, in response to the announcement of plans to withdraw 5,000 US troops from Germany.

“Germany is on the right track” in this regard, Mr Pistorius said.

He noted the expansion of its Bundeswehr armed forces, greater and faster procurement of equipment and the construction of infrastructure.

Berlin recently unveiled a military strategy which envisages Germany holding Europe’s strongest military by 2039.

“It was foreseeable that the US would withdraw troops from Europe, including Germany,” he said.

We’re hearing reports in Iranian media that Tehran has executed two men accused of spying for Israel, including one accused of gathering intelligence near the Natanz nuclear site in central Isfahan province.

Reports quote the judiciary as saying Yaghoub Karimpour and Nasser Bakarzadeh were hanged after being found guilty of intelligence cooperation with Israel and its spy agency, Mossad.

They said Karimpour passed sensitive information to a Mossad officer, while Bakarzadeh was accused of collecting details on government and religious figures and key sites, including in the Natanz area.

Like many airlines, Spirit is grappling with intense pressure from soaring fuel costs, which have roughly doubled since the outbreak of the Iran war. Without a government bailout, these escalating expenses are rapidly depleting Spirit’s remaining cash reserves.

The struggling carrier had been engaged in negotiations with the Trump administration for a $500 million rescue package. However, these efforts have stalled, as Spirit was unable to garner the necessary support from its bondholders and other government stakeholders, sources familiar with the situation informed the Wall Street Journal on Friday.