Iran-US war latest: Trump says Tehran willing to ‘give us anything’ as Senate votes to block his military action

At least four vessels operated by South Korean shippers exited the Strait of Hormuz to sail to their destinations, the South Korean maritime ministry said.

The ministry said that 18 of the 26 vessels that had been stranded since the start of the Middle East conflict were still in the Persian Gulf.

Oil prices fell this morning, extending this week’s losses and trading near four-month lows hit in the previous session, on signs that more oil tankers stranded ​in the Gulf since the start of the Iran war are set to ‌move out of the Strait of Hormuz.

Brent crude futures were down 37 cents, or 0.5 per cent, at $76.71 a barrel and US West Texas Intermediate slipped 36 cents, or 0.5 per cent, to $72.85 a barrel.

Both benchmarks declined nearly 1 per cent on Tuesday, touching their lowest levels since early March.

President Donald Trump said the Senate vote on war powers related to Iran had made his job more difficult.”So, I have Iran on the ‘ropes,’ ready to go down for the fall, willing to give us practically anything,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

He added that for “the first time in decades” Iran was “respecting the hell out of the United States and its President, ME, and the US Senate decides to have a poorly timed and meaningless War Powers Act Vote, telling the Number One Sponsor of Terror in the World that the United States doesn’t like what I am doing to them, and I must stop, and by so doing has provided aid and comfort the Enemy.”

Trump added: “These Senators have just made my job more difficult, but I will get it done, one way or the other, because I always get it done.”

The US Senate backed legislation directing president Donald Trump to halt US military action against Iran, the latest rebuke of the Republican president from an increasingly restive Congress.

The Senate voted 50-48 in favour of the war powers resolution, which passed the House of Representatives early this month, reflecting growing concern even among some of Trump’s Republicans ⁠about the unpopular conflict that began on 28 February when the US and Israel launched an attack on Iran.

It was the first time both chambers of Congress had passed a resolution directing a president to remove US armed forces from hostilities since the War Powers Resolution, more commonly known as the War Powers Act, was enacted in 1973.

While likely to remain largely symbolic, the vote was a setback for Trump, who until recently had enjoyed near-unanimous support from Republican members of Congress.

It also comes as the administration is expected to ask Congress to authorize tens of billions of dollars to pay for the war.

Donald Trump has said that Iran has agreed to indefinite nuclear inspections on its facilities accusing “fake news” media of distributing false rebuttals.

“Iran has fully and completely agreed to highest level Nuclear inspections long into the future (Infinity!!!),” he wrote in a post on Truth Social on Tuesday.

“This will insure ‘Nuclear Honesty’. If they did not agree to this, there would be no further negotiations!”

Iran has denied that it will allow inspectors into its nuclear sites despite US vice president JD Vance also insisting that Tehran had agreed to the visits.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Tuesday that Tehran had agreed “no new commitments” on inspections, adding that Iran would continue its current obligations as a member of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and under its safeguards agreement with the IAEA.

It is nearly four months since the US and Israel launched war on Iran – a decision which had a dramatic and devastating impact stretching almost every corner of the world.

From skyrocketing oil prices, rising costs of global commodities, and deepening levels of food insecurity and poverty, normal people have been paying the price for a war involving the world’s most advanced military and the two most powerful forces in the Middle East.

But a war that many believed would be short-lived – with Donald Trump repeatedly vowing it would end “soon” with a total victory – dragged on for days, weeks, and then months, inflicting spectacular damage not only on global finances, but on the US military’s reputation as an unassailable force.

Iran alone will decide how to use assets that are unfrozen under a deal with the United States, an Iranian envoy said on Tuesday, denying Washington would have any control over the funds or that they must be used to buy U.S. commodities.

The U.S. waived sanctions on Iran for 60 days from Monday after the talks in Switzerland on turning an interim deal into a lasting peace agreement. Frozen Iranian assets worth about $12 billion are expected to be released under the initial accord.

Vice President JD Vance said on Monday the U.S. and Qatar would have control over the funds when they are unfrozen, and that the money ⁠could be ​spent on U.S. corn, soy and wheat.

Ali Bahreini, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, said on Tuesday the two sides had held “very good talks” but challenged Vance’s statement on use of the assets.

“Iran is the only country to decide what to do with its assets, which are going to be defrozen, and so I reject any claim about that if there would be any role for any other country to have an influence on those decisions or on those processes,” Bahreini told reporters in Geneva.

Donald Trump has said that Iran has agreed to indefinite nuclear inspections on its facilities accusing “fake news” media of distributing false rebuttals.

“Iran has fully and completely agreed to highest level Nuclear inspections long into the future (Infinity!!!),” he wrote in a post on Truth Social on Tuesday.

“This will insure ‘Nuclear Honesty’. If they did not agree to this, there would be no further negotiations!”

Iran has denied that it will allow inspectors into its nuclear sites despite US vice president JD Vance also insisting that Tehran had agreed to the visits.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Tuesday that Tehran had agreed “no new commitments” on inspections, adding that Iran would continue its current obligations as a member of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and under its safeguards agreement with the IAEA.

However, nearly four months later the government of the Islamic Republic remains in power despite weeks of conflict with the US and Israel. The Trump administration has since entered negotiations with the regime on its nuclear programme after striking an initial agreement to end the violence.