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The US president assured this Friday, May 1, that Iran "is asking for things that it cannot agree with," which is why he was dissatisfied with a new proposal from the Islamic Republic for an eventual resumption of negotiations with Washington. Furthermore, he maintained that after a meeting with CENTCOM he has two options regarding Iran: "completely annihilate them" or "try to reach an agreement." At the same time he notified Congress that the "war is over," an argument for evading legislative authorization.

The essentials:

Below, the main news from the Middle East this Friday, May 1, amid the fragile truces in Iran and Lebanon:

US announces approval of $8.6 billion in military sales to Middle East allies

The State Department reported this May 1 that Donald Trump's Government has approved the sale of military material valued at 8.6 billion to several allied countries in the Middle East.

The Trump Administration's plans will reach at least four countries in the region: Kuwait would benefit from the sale of an integrated combat command system, worth $2.5 billion, Israel would receive an advanced precision command system worth $992.4 million, Qatar would acquire Patriot air and anti-missile defense systems for $4 billion, and the United Arab Emirates would obtain an advanced precision weapon worth $147.6 million.

The war is over: Trump declares the conflict extinct on the deadline to request permission from Congress

US President Donald Trump addressed a communication to Congressional leaders, in which he notified that the ceasefire agreed on April 8 had officially "ended" the conflict with Iran, in a resource to evade the need to request permission from legislators to continue hostilities after 60 days.

Trump complied with the obligation to inform Parliament about the start of hostilities within 48 hours after it occurred, which meant that the 60 days he had, according to the War Powers Resolution of 1973, to continue with military operations without legislative authorization began to run. That deadline was met this May 1.

The communication ends speculation that Trump would evade the deadline, after a senior administration official said the deadline did not apply, and Trump himself claimed that war powers were unconstitutional.

China urges to maintain ceasefire and reopen Strait of Hormuz

China's ambassador to the UN, Fu Cong, stressed this Friday that it is an urgent need to maintain the ceasefire in Iran, under a fragile truce since early April after the United States and Israel started a war against that country on February 28.

Likewise, Cong stressed that the Strait of Hormuz must be reopened "as soon as possible" and stated that he is sure that the maritime crossing would be high on the agenda if it remains closed when Trump travels to China this May.

Trump assures that he has two options for Iran after meeting with CENTCOM

After holding a briefing on Thursday with Admiral Brad Cooper, head of the United States Central Command (CENTCOM), this Friday, May 1, Donald Trump declared that the United States only has two options in Iran. "That is, do we want to go and completely annihilate them? Or do we want to try to reach an agreement? Those are the options," the president said.

When asked if he wants to opt for the first option, Trump responded: "I would prefer not to. Humanly speaking, I would prefer not to, but it is the option."

Likewise, Trump stated that he believes the Iranian leadership has moved toward unification around a solution. "They have made progress, but I am not sure they will ever achieve it (...) There is tremendous discord; they have great problems getting along with each other in Iran," he said.

Trump says he is not satisfied with Iran's latest proposal for possible talks with the US.

The president of the United States, Donald Trump, declared this Friday, May 1, before the press that he is not satisfied with Iran's latest proposal to resolve the conflict and that negotiations are being carried out by telephone.

"They want to reach an agreement, but (...) I'm not satisfied," Trump told the press as he left the White House for Florida, adding that the Iranian leadership is "very disorganized" and divided into two or three groups.

However, the Republican leader praised Pakistan's mediation efforts, assuring that telephone negotiations continue. "They have made progress, but I am not sure that they will reach an agreement (...) They are asking for things that I cannot agree with," he stressed.

His statements come hours after Iranian state media reported that Tehran gave Pakistani mediators a new proposal for a possible resumption of talks with Washington. At the moment, the details of the text are unknown.

Republicans affirm that they support Trump in the war against Iran, even though the 60-day deadline expires

Some Republicans who have been concerned about Donald Trump's war against Iran emphasized that May 1 is the deadline for Congress to intervene. However, it appears that the day will pass without action from ruling party lawmakers, as most of them continue to support the White House.

Under the War Powers Resolution of 1973, Congress must declare war or authorize the use of force within 60 days—a deadline that expires today, Friday, May 1—or within 90 days if the president requests an extension. But Congress made no attempt to enforce that requirement, and he left town for a week Thursday after the Senate rejected for the sixth time a Democratic attempt to stop the war.

The Trump Administration has shown no interest in seeking congressional approval and argues that the deadlines set by law do not apply because the war in Iran ended when a ceasefire began in early April. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, said Thursday that he does not plan to vote on or rule on authorizing the use of force in Iran.

Hezbollah claims it strengthened its presence in southern Lebanon despite disarmament

According to the head of media relations for the Shiite group, Hezbollah has deployed reinforcements and weapons in southern Lebanon since the start of the latest escalation with Israel, on March 2.

In an interview, Youssef Al Zein stated that the group had managed to "introduce forces and weapons during the conflict" and stated that the reinforcements did not use roads controlled by the Lebanese Army. Likewise, he explained that if the Jewish-majority state has been able to penetrate deeper into Lebanese territory, it is because Hezbollah has been disarmed south of the Litani River, about 30 kilometers from the border, and its infrastructure in the area, including tunnels, has been destroyed.

However, Youssef Al Zein insisted that Hezbollah has managed to "reconstitute its forces" after the last war with Israel and that it is "prepared for a long battle."

Israel announced on April 7 that it had completed the deployment of its ground forces in southern Lebanon and that it would maintain a 10-kilometer-deep "security zone."

The Lebanese Army declared in January that it had completed disarmament of the group near the Israeli border in southern Lebanon. However, Zein affirmed that the Beirut military institution is a "national army" and that the group is sure that it "would not enter into confrontation with Hezbollah."

Unilateral Iranian deals on Hormuz cannot be trusted: UAE advisor

UAE Presidential Advisor Anwar Gargash stated this Friday in a post on

Report from Istanbul: Iran-US negotiations in limbo with no signs of progress

World oil prices fall after sending Iranian proposal for possible talks with the US

Although the details of the proposal sent by Iran to Pakistani mediators for a possible resumption of talks with the United States are unknown, world oil prices – which had skyrocketed since Iran began its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz – fell following the announcement.

The blockage of this vital shipping channel has disrupted 20% of the world's oil and gas supply, and the US Navy blockades Iranian ports, thereby banning oil exports from the Islamic Republic. This has sent energy prices ever higher and raised concerns about a possible economic recession.

A fragile ceasefire has been in place since April 8, but reports that US President Donald Trump would be briefed on plans for new attacks on Tehran to force it to negotiate drove global oil prices to their highest level in four years on Thursday, April 30.

Tehran activated its air defenses after assessing that there would be a new US attack followed by an Israeli onslaught

Tehran's air defenses were activated for about 20 minutes late on Thursday, April 30, "to counter small aircraft and reconnaissance drones," according to the Tasnim and Fars news agencies reported this Friday.

Iran is planning a broad response in the event of an attack, after assessing that there would be a new brief and intense US attack, possibly followed by an Israeli assault, according to two high-ranking Iranian sources who spoke on condition of anonymity to the Reuters news agency.

Trump defies 60-day deadline to continue war in Iran without congressional approval if he so decides

This Friday, May 1, the legal limit of 60 days to sustain a war without approval from the US Congress will be met, under the 1973 law that authorizes it with an emergency directive. However, the Donald Trump Administration argues that this deadline has not been met, due to the ongoing truce. an interpretation that would allow the White House to avoid the need to obtain congressional approval.

Iran sends Pakistan new proposal for talks with US: state media

Iran's state news agency, IRNA, reported this Friday, May 1, that, on Thursday night, Tehran delivered to Islamabad, as a mediator in the talks with the United States, the text of its latest negotiation proposal. "The Islamic Republic of Iran handed over the text of its latest negotiating proposal to Pakistan, in its capacity as mediator in the talks with the United States," the official IRNA news agency reported.

At the moment, none of the parties involved have reported what the text of the new proposal would contain. Pakistan, which shares a 900-kilometre border with Iran, is facilitating indirect talks between Washington and Tehran aimed at easing tensions.

Iran and the United States held a single round of talks in Islamabad in the context of a fragile ceasefire after almost 40 days of war that broke out on February 28. Since then, talks have stalled due to the US naval blockade of Iranian ports, while Iran has kept the strategic Strait of Hormuz virtually closed, allowing only a small number of ships to pass through since the start of the war.

Welcome to this minute by minute with the main news from the Middle East, in the midst of the fragile truces in Iran and Lebanon.

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