Iran war live: US House passes vote to rein in Donald Trump and end conflict

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the Iran war is "not a big thing" for his country, the New York Times reported.

Trump told reporters that the war was going better than expected and said he was "very proud" of what referred to as a "detour" to Iran.

US President Donald Trump acknowledged criticising Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as "crazy" in a phone call, saying he was "a little bit perturbed" that Israel's fighting with Hezbollah militants in Lebanon was holding back peace talks with Iran.

Trump conceded the tensions in an interview released on Wednesday, but insisted that his relationship with Netanyahu was solid and that they connected, in part, because they are both "wartime" leaders.

"We've worked very well together. I like Bibi a lot. And I work very well with him," Trump told The New York Post.

In an interview on the American business-news channel CNBC, Netanyahu responded that he and Trump sometimes have "tactical disagreements" but have "common goals" and "agree on the main things."

"He respects me. I respect him. We always find a way to work out our differences," Netanyahu said.

Part of the statement released by US, Lebanon and Israel reads:

Israel ‌and Lebanon have agreed to a ⁠ceasefire, a joint statement with the US ⁠released by the State ⁠Department on Wednesday.

The US House of Representatives has passed a resolution to curtail Donald Trump's war in Iran.

House representatives on Wednesday voted 215 to 208 in favour of the war powers resolution that would force Trump to seek approval from Congress or withdraw US forces from the conflict.

However the vote is largely symbolic. Any ‌resolution ⁠would also have to pass the Senate to become effective, and garner the two-thirds majorities in both chambers to overcome an ⁠almost certain Trump veto.

Marco Rubio laid out the benefits of normal relations between Israel and Arab states but gave a sober outlook on the possibility.

“We do want to expand the Abraham Accords obviously, but it’s difficult to do at this moment,” Rubio told senators. “But we’re laying the groundwork for it. It’ll be a top priority of this administration.”

His testimony strayed from Donald Trump’s recent comments, including last week, when the President said that signing on to the Abraham Accords “should be mandatory” as part of a US-Iran deal being negotiated right now.

The accords were a series of diplomatic and commercial agreements forged with US influence between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco in 2020, during Trump’s first term.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Trump administration has no intention of abandoning NATO but won’t back down on demanding significant reforms.

Rubio says the President plans to attend the annual NATO leaders’ summit in Turkey next month, at which he will make the US case for changes and again call for allies to increase their defense spending. The summit is to be held in Ankara on July 7-8.

“The president himself will be attending the next NATO, a meeting of heads of state where all of these points will be made clear. We’re still in NATO, but NATO needs significant changes, and the president has made that clear,” Rubio said.

Trump has been particularly irked by some NATO countries, mainly Spain, denying the use of airbases for the war against Iran.

A long disruption of energy supplies due to the Iran war would deal a severe blow to the global economy, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said in a report.

It said it could send some countries into recession and spread inflation as well as higher unemployment.

Hardest hit would be Asian economies that depend on crude oil, fuel and natural gas from the Persian Gulf, and poorer countries where people spend more of their incomes on fuel and food, the OECD said.

The report analyses two scenarios:

• Prolonged disruption - global growth slows from 3.4% last year to 2.1% this year and 1.8% in 2027, potentially pushing some economies into or close to recession.

• Time-limited disruption - energy production and Gulf shipments start to return to pre-war levels in the middle of this year which could see growth slow to 2.8% this year and rebound to 3.1% next year.

Donald Trump said Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is “involved” in peace talks for ending the war.

“They have a lot of respect for him,” Trump said in an interview with The New York Post’s “Pod Force One.”

The US President said Khamenei suffered injuries sustained in an airstrike, but “they say he’s giving approval because that’s the way it has been for a long, long time.”

The President added: “We seem to be getting along quite well,” but said he had not previously thought about meeting with Khamenei until he was asked about the possibility in the interview.

Iran has claimed it did not attack Kuwait Airport.

Iranian state news cites the IRGC claiming the blast was instead caused by an error in US patriot systems, which failed to intercept Iranian missiles.

Yvette Cooper defended the UK and France’s proposed mission to secure the Strait of Hormuz once the Iran war ends after Marco Rubio called the plan a “catch-22″.

The Foreign Secretary said the initiative has been “discussed many times with the US” and was part of an effort to offer support to vessels in the key global shipping lane, over which Tehran maintains its chokehold.

It comes after the US secretary of state questioned the need for naval escorts “if no-one’s shooting”, but acknowledged it could provide initial reassurance to shipping.

Rhe Foreign Secretary told the Press Association: “The reason for drawing together the maritime mission, which we’ve discussed many times with the US and also with 50 countries across the world, is to ensure we have additional demining capability wherever it might be needed, and also to have the support there to be able to provide escorts for shipping or reassurance for shipping if it is needed."

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio doubled down on claims that the war with Iran is "over" on Wednesday, telling Democrats that America had acheived "victory" over the Islamic Republic.

Rubio, who refused to label the conflict with Iran as a 'war,' said it was a 'fact' that the military operation in Iran had concluded with the end of Operation Epic Fury.

"If the war is over, then who won?" asked Democratic Rep. Sarah Jacobs.

“We’re no longer conducting sustained strikes inside of Iran to degrade their military, because Epic Fury is over,” Rubio responded.

“As to the question of who won, I can tell you this: We define victory. We define victory as destroying their defense industrial base, significantly reducing the number of missile launchers that they possess, significantly reducing their stockpile of drones, and we achieved all those, in addition to destroying what they had left of an air force and wiping out their entire conventional navy.”

“Those are all gone,” he claimed. “So, I consider that victory, and we did, too. And that was the purpose of Epic Fury.”

Responding to reports that Donald Trump called him "f-ing crazy", "unhinged" and "ungrateful" during a foul-mouthed rant earlier this week - claims that Trump has since confirmed - Netanyahu claimed that while he and Trump have “tactical disagreements” over how to handle the war, they “agree on many things.”

“We sometimes disagree on tactical aspects, but we reach solutions,” the Israeli PM said, before calling Trump the "greatest friend to Israel."

The two leaders “have common goals," he added. "We want to achieve them.”

Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that the US-Israeli war in Iran is "not over" and that Tehran has been "weakened" since the start of the conflict.

During an interview with CNBC, the Israeli Prime Minister said that both US and Isaeli forces are ready to deploy if needed in Iran.

“We leave it to Trump to decide whether escalation is necessary and whether opening the Strait of Hormuz is militarily possible,” he added.

Kuwait's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has declared two Iranian diplomats "persona non grata" and demanded they leave the country immediately.

The ministry today lodged an offical protest over Iran's "brutal and relentless aggressions" in Kuwait and other Gulf states, and has given the two diplomats 24 hours to depart.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has criticised Iran for its “ongoing aggression” against Bahrain and Kuwait, telling the Islamic Republic that its “cowardly attacks on civilian objects” are a “dangerous and unprecedented escalation.”

In a statement released on Wednesday, GCC Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi said the attacks reflect the “Iranian regime’s insistence on pursuing rejected hostile policies targeting the security, stability and sovereignty of the GCC states."

Iran's attacks were "in blatant defiance of international law, the UN Charter and all international norms," he added, and called for a "firm international stance" to bring a halt to “dangerous Iranian aggressive practices.”

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has reiterated that the only safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz is the one they have designated, and that any ships that stray from this path will be targeted.

“The management of the Strait of Hormuz is exercised with full authority by the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the IRGC said in a statement.

“All ships, commercial vessels, and tankers are only required to travel through the designated routes and obtain permission from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps [IRGC] Navy. Any violation of these regulations will seriously jeopardise the security of their traffic,” they added.

Kuwait's military claims to have intercepted 13 ballistic missiles and 17 drones launched into their airspace by Iran since dawn today.

Interceptions were made over “several residential areas”, the ministry wrote on X, and urged civilians not to appraoch any of the affected sites

Donald Trump confirmed he called Benjamin Netenyahu "f***ing crazy" during a heated phone call earlier this week, and denied accusations that he was manipulated into war with Iran by the Israeli Prime Minister.

“He tricked me? I’m the one that started it,” Trump told the New York Post in an interview on Wednesday.

“I don’t want to bore anybody, but I started [the war with Iran] because we can’t let them have a nuclear weapon. Now, that pertains to Israel because they probably would have been the first one to get hit," he added.

"I’ll tell you what, if it wasn’t for me there would be no Israel right now.”

At least one person has been killed as a result of Iran's drone attack on Kuwait's International Airport last night, the country's foreign ministry has revealed.

In a statement released on X, Kuwait's government expressed “condemnation and denunciation, in the strongest terms, of the brutal and ongoing Iranian attacks using ballistic missiles and drones."

Iran's drone and missile strikes “targeting once again civilian and vital facilities, including Kuwait International Airport, resulted in the death of one individual, injuries to others, and damage to vital facilities, including diplomatic missions”.

Kuwait reserves its “full and inherent right” to respond to “sinful and repeated Iranian aggressions,” they added.

Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has claimed last night's attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait are the direct result of the US and Israel's multiple violations of the ceasefire agreement brokered on April 8, and that America must "bear responsibility" for the attacks.

In a statement, the Islamic Republic accused the Israeli regime of "flagrantly violating the ceasefire by infringing upon Lebanon’s territorial integrity and national sovereignty, resulting in the martyrdom and injury of several thousand Lebanese citizens, the displacement of two million people, and the destruction of the country’s infrastructure and residential homes.

"A violation of the ceasefire on any front constitutes a violation of the ceasefire on all fronts," they added.

The United States, meanwhile, is accused of "repeatedly committed blatant violations of the agreement, including its continued attacks against Iranian commercial shipping."

"It is self-evident that the Islamic Republic of Iran will, with full determination and by utilizing all available capacities, defend its interests wherever it deems necessary, based on its inherent right of self-defense under international law," the statement read.

An Iranian missile struck Kuwait's international airport on Wednesday morning, causing multiple injuries and forcing authorities to divert flights to avoid further casualties, state media reports.

Kuwait Defence Ministry spokesperson Brigadier General Saud Abdulaziz Al-Otaibi said commerical flights had been suspended after "a number of hostile drones" targeted the airport's passenger building, severely damaging the building and injuring "a number of individuals."

The international airport only reopened on Monday after closing in February due to tensions caused by the Iran war. The airport will now remain closed until further notice, the country's media reoprted.

Bahrain's air defence systems intercepted three Iranian missiles and “a number of” drone on Wednesday night, the country's military announced this morning.

The General Command of the Bahrain Defence Force accused Iran of continuing a "systemic hostile approach" by launching attacks at civilian targets last night, which it called a "flagrant violation of international humanitarian law." The statement also said that Bahraini forced responded to the attack with high efficiency, citing advanced combat readiness and defensive preperations.

The US Central Command said on social media that US forces attacked and disabled an oil tanker that was trying to sail toward an Iranian port on Tuesday, firing a missile into the ship’s engine room.

Crude oil prices rose more than 1 percent in early on Wednesday as the US carried out strikes on Iran's Qeshm Island and Iranian missiles and drones were launched towards Kuwait and Bahrain, according to reports from Al Jazeera.

The US Central Command issued a statement on the Iranian attacks:

Kuwait has come under intense missile attack from Iran as the Middle East edges ever closer to full-scale conflict.

The Kuwaiti military wrote in a post on X early on Wednesday, May 3: "Kuwaiti air defenses are currently repelling missile and drone attacks."

"The General Staff of the Army notes that if explosion sounds are heard, they are the result of air defense systems intercepting the hostile attacks."

"Everyone is asked to comply with the security and safety instructions issued by the relevant authorities."

Iranian state media has reported that the missiles are targeting US Camp Arifjan and Ali al-Salem airbase near Kuwait City.

Read the full story here.

The US military has stopped a seventh ship trying to run its blockade of Iranian ports on Tuesday, said US Central Command.

The Botswana-flagged merchant vessel M/T Lexie was stopped by a US aircraft firing a Hellfire missile into its engine room after the crew ignored repeated warnings over 24 hours.

The halting of the Lexie comes just days after US forces halted another merchant vessel, the Lian Star, using a similar approach.

This latest halt brings the total of commercial ships disabled by US forces to six because one stopped vessel was ultimately allowed to continue on its way. Another 122 ships have been redirected, the military said.

Marco Rubio says Iran has Chinese military equipment from their previous ties, but the US has seen no indication that anything provided has “changed the dynamic in the battlefield.”

The remarks came several weeks after the State Department sanctioned three China-based entities for providing satellite imagery that enabled Iran’s military strikes against US forces in the Middle East.

The Trump administration alleged one company collected satellite imagery of US and allied military facilities to aid Iran. Another company provided satellite imagery to Iran during the military operation and the third published open-source images detailing US military activity.

Marco Rubio said that the US has a plan for Gaza, Israel seizing 70% of Gaza was not part of it.

The Secretary of State was testifying for the second time today before lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

He was pressed on where the US stands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s goal of seizing 70% of Gaza to defeat the Hamas militant group.

Rubio said Netanyahu’s statement was not part of President Trump’s 20-point plan to end the conflict between Israel and Hamas. The plan would end Hamas’ rule and rebuild the territory.

“We have a plan — it doesn’t call for that,” Rubio said. “And at the end of the day, we understand that what we want, and I think what the Israelis would ultimately want, is a Gaza that is governed by a non-Hamas entity."