Latest in Middle East war: Trump says hostilities in Iran ‘terminated’, 14 Iran soldiers die in demining op, Iran urges ‘economic battle’
US President Donald Trump attends an event at the Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach, Florida May 1, 2026. — Reuters pic
Saturday, 02 May 2026 9:34 AM MYT
PARIS, May 2 — The latest developments in the Middle East war:
Trump says hostilities in Iran ‘terminated’
US President Donald Trump told top US lawmakers that hostilities in Iran had ended, after coming under pressure from Congress to seek authorisation for the conflict as it headed into its third month.
“There has been no exchange of fire between United States Forces and Iran since April 7, 2026. The hostilities that began on February 28, 2026, have terminated,” he wrote in letters to House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate president pro tempore Chuck Grassley.
Lebanon says 12 dead in Israel strikes
Lebanon’s health ministry said 12 people were killed yesterday in Israeli strikes on the country’s south, including in a town where Israel’s army had issued an evacuation order despite a ceasefire.
The strikes in Habboush — where the evacuation warning was issued — killed eight people and wounded 21.
Other strikes in Zrariyeh killed four people and wounded four more, the ministry said.
14 Iran soldiers killed in demining op
Fourteen soldiers were killed yesterday during operations to defuse unexploded ordnance in Iran’s north-western Zanjan province, local media reported.
“Today, during one of these missions, 14 of these dedicated forces were martyred and 2 were injured,” Fars news agency reported, citing the powerful Revolutionary Guards.
Fourteen soldiers were killed yesterday during operations to defuse unexploded ordnance in Iran’s north-western Zanjan province, local media reported.
“Today, during one of these missions, 14 of these dedicated forces were martyred and 2 were injured,” Fars news agency reported, citing the powerful Revolutionary Guards.
Iran leader calls for economic battle
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei urged his people to wage economic battle and “disappoint” its enemies, as the war with the United States and Israel and years of sanctions take a toll.
In a written statement, Khamenei went on to call for “prioritising the consumption of domestically manufactured goods”, and said “the owners of damaged businesses should avoid, as much as possible, layoffs and separation of their workforce”.
Trump ‘not satisfied’
US President Donald Trump said he was unhappy with Iran’s new proposal for peace talks, which Iran’s state news agency IRNA said was delivered via mediator Pakistan.
“At this moment, I’m not satisfied with what they’re offering,” he told reporters. “They’re asking for things that I can’t agree to.”
Details of the proposal were not yet public.
Oil prices fall
The price of oil slid after reports of Iran’s latest talks proposal, but both West Texas Intermediate and the other main US benchmark, Brent, clawed back some ground and were trading comfortably above the symbolic US$100 (RM397) a barrel mark.
New US sanctions
The US Treasury Department slapped new sanctions on three Iranian foreign currency exchange firms to try to stem the flow of Tehran’s “financial lifelines”.
US aircraft carrier leaves Gulf
The USS Gerald R. Ford left the Middle East after taking part in operations against Iran, a US official said.
Two other aircraft carriers — the USS Abraham Lincoln and USS George H.W. Bush — are among 20 US ships still in the region.
Refugee aid hit
The UN refugee agency said the war had sent freight rates soaring for delivering aid to refugees in the Middle East and Africa.
Costs have shot up nearly 18 per cent as shipments have had to be rerouted because of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and port congestion, UNHCR said, sparking delivery delays.
Iran open to US talks
Iran’s judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said Tehran was open to talks with the United States but would not accept what he called policy “imposition” under threats.
“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. — AFP
42m ago
(02:45 GMT)
Kazakhstan officially joins the Abraham Accords:
ReplyDeleteIsraeli President, Isaac Herzog visited Kazakhstan in the last 24 hrs to consolidate on a new beautiful relationship with the country!
Kazakhstan has just joined the Abrahamic Accords and it is the first Muslim country outside the Middle East to re unite with Israel.
https://x.com/sabra_the/status/2050319696004858244?s=20
Wakakakaka…
DeleteWhere's the official declaration from the Kazakhstan authority?
Reported by Al Jezebel LAST YEAR, so it must be the Quranic Truth.
DeleteKazakhstan, which already recognises Israel, to join ‘Abraham Accords’
The Central Asian country, which established formal ties with Israel in 1992, says being part of the deals is ‘natural’.
Kassym-Jomart
By Al Jazeera Staff
Published On 6 Nov 2025
6 Nov 2025
More than 33 years after establishing official diplomatic ties with Israel, Kazakhstan says it will join the so-called Abraham Accords, which formalised ties between Israel and several Arab countries.
The announcement came on Thursday ahead of a meeting between United States President Donald Trump and the leaders of Central Asian countries.
“Our anticipated accession to the Abraham Accords represents a natural and logical continuation of Kazakhstan’s foreign policy course – grounded in dialogue, mutual respect, and regional stability,” Kazakhstan’s government said in a statement, according to the AFP news agency.
Earlier in the day, US envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff had announced that another country would join the normalisation deals without identifying it.
“Abraham Accords are big. I’m flying back to Washington tonight because we’re going to announce, tonight, another country coming into the Abraham Accords,” Witkoff said.
It is not clear how joining the accords will affect the already established Kazakh-Israeli ties. The countries established diplomatic relations in 1992, shortly after Kazakhstan gained independence from the Soviet Union.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Kazakhstan in 2016, and the two countries have several bilateral agreements.
The announcement comes at a time when Trump is promoting himself as a peacemaker after brokering the tenuous ceasefire in Gaza, despite the daily deadly Israeli violence against Palestinians and the escalation of Israeli attacks in Lebanon.
Kazakhstan appears to be pushing to deepen its ties with the US as its President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev visits Washington. On Thursday, the two countries signed a cooperation deal over critical minerals.
During his first term, Trump brokered the Abraham Accords, a series of deals that formalised ties between Arab countries – the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco – and Israel.
The push shattered Arab states’ consensus over the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, which conditioned recognition of Israel on the establishment of a viable Palestinian state.
Netanyahu has categorically rejected that “land for peace” framework, pushing instead for deals with Arab countries that bypass Palestinians.
Former President Joe Biden, who succeeded Trump, made expanding the deals a priority in his approach to the Middle East early on.
But the agreements – brokered between countries that were never at war – did little to resolve the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians and the decades-long occupation that leading rights groups say amounts to a system of apartheid.
Still, the normalisation deals withstood the two-year war in Gaza, which saw Israel flatten much of the territory and kill more than 68,800 Palestinians.
The UAE and other countries involved in the agreements have maintained their trade and security ties with Israel.
In recent months, Trump has repeatedly said he hopes that Saudi Arabia will join the accords. But Saudi officials have stressed their commitment to the Arab Peace Initiative.
https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2025/11/6/kazakhstan-which-already-recognises-israel-to-join-abraham-accords
The U.S. Congress last officially declared war on December 8, 1941, against Japan, following the attack on Pearl Harbor. Congress passed a joint resolution with only one dissenting vote shortly after President Franklin Roosevelt’s address. Subsequent declarations against Germany and Italy occurred on December 11, 1941, with final declarations in June 1942.Last Declaration: December 8, 1941 (Japan).Final WW2 Declarations: June 1942 (Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania).
ReplyDeleteTotal: Congress has only passed 11 formal declarations of war across five separate conflicts.
Modern Conflicts: Since 1942, major U.S. engagements (Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan) have used Authorizations for Use of Military Force (AUMFs) or executive actions rather than formal declarations.
Wakakaka…
DeleteShows one how the militant hawks bypassing the yankee constitution in engaging wars!