Iran talks intensify as Trump announces surprise troop move to Poland
Rubio denounces NATO refusal to help on Iran ahead of alliance talks
US President Donald Trump announced plans to deploy 5,000 additional troops to Poland even as Washington reduces its broader military presence in Europe, adding fresh uncertainty for NATO allies. Meanwhile, political pressure over the Iran conflict is intensifying in Congress as indirect US-Iran talks continue, with intelligence reports suggesting Tehran is rebuilding key military capabilities faster than previously expected. Follow our live coverage for the latest updates.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is on his latest mission to assuage nervous U.S. allies in Europe about the Trump administration's intentions with NATO or at least put a friendlier face on whipsawing changes and uncertainty about American troop reductions.
Rubio will attend a NATO foreign ministers' meeting in Sweden on Friday - the same day senior Pentagon officials are expected to brief the 32-nation alliance on plans for the U.S. military's commitment to European defense at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels.
The meeting of diplomats, which precedes a NATO leaders' summit in Turkey in July, comes amid great uncertainty over how the war in Iran will play out and whether stalled U.S. efforts to broker an end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict will resume. Resentment also still simmers on the continent over President Donald Trump's criticism of allies and his interest in taking over Greenland, a territory of NATO ally Denmark.
On his departure to the meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden, Rubio declined to discuss any further changes to the American military presence in Europe, including a possible reduction in the number of troops that the U.S. will commit under the NATO Force Model, which is a contingency plan for European defense in the event of serious security concerns.
The Israeli military carried out an airstrike in south Lebanon, killing two people it said on Friday were armed and "moving in a suspicious manner" in an area where it is fighting Hezbollah.
Israel and the Iran-backed group have been regularly trading fire in the country's south despite a ceasefire, which was extended by Israeli and Lebanese authorities last week.
"A short while ago, IDF surveillance identified two armed individuals moving in a suspicious manner hundreds of meters from Israeli territory, in southern Lebanon," the Israeli military posted on Telegram.
"Following their identification and continuous monitoring by the IDF, the armed individuals were struck and eliminated in an aerial strike," the post said.
NATO's European members will look to sound out US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on troop cuts by Washington Friday, as they seek to smooth over President Donald Trump's ire ahead of a July summit.
The meeting of alliance foreign ministers in the Swedish city of Helsingborg comes after the US leader lashed out at Europe over its response to his war on Iran - and threatened he could consider quitting NATO.
One of the goals in Helsingborg "is to see whether we've turned the page or not ahead of the Ankara summit," a European diplomat said.
Judging by Rubio's comments as he set off for the talks - denouncing NATO for failing to weigh in behind Trump on Iran - the answer appears far from clear.
The US president is "not asking them to send their fighter jets in. But they refuse to do anything," the US top diplomat told reporters. "We were very upset about that."
Japan's inflation slowed more than expected in April, government data showed Friday, as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi considers further measures to drive down costs linked to the Middle East war.
The year-on-year rise in "core" consumer prices, which excludes volatile fresh food, eased to 1.4 percent from 1.8 percent in March.
The figure was lower than market expectations of 1.7 percent, but analysts warn inflation will likely pick up in the coming months.
April consumer prices slowed partly thanks to expanded subsidies for high school tuition and a slowdown in price rises of some foods such as rice, according to the internal affairs ministry.
Gasoline prices also fell in April after the government began an emergency subsidy programme the previous month, the ministry said.
Trump and his administration have said for weeks that the U.S. is reducing the American military footprint in Europe by about 5,000 troops.
U.S. officials confirmed last week that about 4,000 service members were no longer deploying to Poland.
Trump's latest social media announcement made Thursday raises more uncertainty for European allies that have been blindsided by the changes.
"Based on the successful Election of the now President of Poland, Karol Nawrocki, who I was proud to Endorse, and our relationship with him, I am pleased to announce that the United States will be sending an additional 5,000 Troops to Poland," Trump said on Truth Social.
Republicans struggled Thursday to find the votes to dismiss legislation that would compel President Donald Trump to withdraw from the war with Iran, delaying planned votes on the matter into June.
The House had scheduled a vote on a war powers resolution, brought by Democrats, that would rein in Trump's military campaign. But as it became clear that Republicans would not have the numbers to defeat the bill, GOP leaders declined to hold a vote on it. It was the latest sign of the slipping support in Congress for a war that Trump launched more than two months ago without congressional approval.
"We had the votes without question and they knew it, and as a result they're playing a political game," said Democratic Rep. Gregory Meeks, who sponsored the bill.
Republicans in the Senate are also working to ensure they have the votes to dismiss another war powers resolution that advanced to a final vote earlier this week, when four GOP senators supported the resolution and three others were absent from the vote.
The actions by congressional leaders showed Republicans are struggling to maintain political backing for Trump's handling of the war. Rank-and-file Republicans are increasingly willing to defy the president over the conflict.
House Republican Leader Steve Scalise told reporters that the vote was delayed to give lawmakers who were absent a chance to vote. House Speaker Mike Johnson did not answer questions from reporters as he exited the House chamber.
Frustration with Iran war grows on Capitol Hill
Venezuela's president will travel to India next week to discuss selling oil, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, an unusual announcement of a foreign leader's travel that shows the new US influence over Caracas.
Rubio mentioned the trip by interim President Delcy Rodriguez, in power since US forces deposed Nicolas Maduro in January, as the top US diplomat left on his own trip that will take him to India starting Saturday.
Oil prices rose in Asian trading Friday after stronger US fuel demand data, thinning US strategic petroleum reserves and ongoing concerns over supply disruptions in key producing regions supported the market, while natural gas edged lower. As of 10:18 am Tokyo time, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained $1.75, or 1.82%, to $98.10/barrel. Brent crude rose $2.38, or 2.32%, to $105/barrel. Market sentiment was buoyed by expectations of tighter crude supplies heading into the Northern Hemisphere summer driving season, with traders also monitoring geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and production risks affecting global exports. Murban crude, the benchmark grade traded in Abu Dhabi, fell $1.07, or 1.04%, to $102.2 a barrel, diverging from gains in U.S. and Brent contracts.
The United States and Iran are engaged in "instense" indirect talks aimed at developing a framework for a possible agreement, Iran's ISNA News Agency reported.
According to the report, the two sides are currently exchanging messages and draft texts.
German prosecutors charged two men Thursday with planning to kill a prominent pro-Israel public figure and spying on Jews on behalf of Iranian secret services. Danish national Ali S. is charged with espionage, attempted murder, attempted arson and sabotage, prosecutors in Karlsruhe said. His alleged Afghan complice, Tawab M., is accused of attempted murder.
US crude oil inventories fell sharply while emergency petroleum reserves dropped to their lowest level in nearly two years, according to new government data, as the war involving Iran continues to disrupt one of the world’s most critical energy chokepoints.
The latest figures from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed commercial crude inventories declined by 7.9 million barrels for the week ending May 15, far exceeding analyst expectations for a smaller drawdown.
At the same time, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, or SPR — America’s emergency crude stockpile — fell by another 9.9 million barrels, marking the eighth consecutive week of declines. The drop pushed the reserve to its lowest level since July 2024.
The inventory declines come amid escalating energy market disruptions tied to the Iran conflict.
Iran has restarted parts of its drone production and is rebuilding its military-industrial base faster than US intelligence agencies expected, according to intelligence assessments cited in recent reports.
This has raised concerns that Tehran could again threaten US allies in the Middle East if fighting resumes.
The assessment, first reported by CNN and cited by Reuters, said Iran resumed some drone manufacturing during a six-week ceasefire that began in early April after intense US-Israeli strikes targeted Iranian missile sites, defence facilities and military infrastructure.
US officials familiar with intelligence findings reportedly concluded that Tehran’s recovery effort is moving “much faster” than early Pentagon estimates, though an independent verification of the assessment is not immediately possible, Reuters reported.
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US President Donald Trump said the United States is currently engaged in negotiations with Iran, but insisted the outcome would prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
“Right now, we’re negotiating, and we’ll see, but we’re going to get it one way or the other. They’re not going to have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said.
When asked by a reporter whether Iran could keep its highly enriched uranium, Trump replied: “No. We will get it. We don’t need it. We don’t want it. We’ll probably destroy it after we get it — but we’re not going to let them have it.”
Trump said the US is reviewing Iran’s proposal to impose tolls on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Asked about the idea, Trump told reporters: “We’re looking at it.”
He claimed the United States maintains “total control” of the strategic waterway through a naval blockade.
“We have total control of the Strait of Hormuz, as you know, with our blockade. The blockade has been 100 percent effective. Nobody has been able to get through it; it’s like a steel wall,” Trump said.
“We want it free, we don’t want tolls. It’s international, it’s an international waterway,” he added.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there are “some good signs” that a deal between Washington and Tehran could be reached, while cautioning against being overly optimistic.
Speaking to reporters, Rubio said Pakistani officials would be travelling to Tehran on Thursday, adding: “So hopefully that will advance this further.”
He said US President Donald Trump’s “preference is to do a good deal,” adding that this has “always been his preference.”
“If we can get a good deal done, that would be great,” Rubio said.
“But if we can’t get a good deal, the president has been clear – he has other options. I’m not going to elaborate on what those are, but everybody knows what those are.”
Rubio added: “There are some good signs, but we understand … I don’t want to be overly optimistic, as well, so let’s see what happens over the next few days.”
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said 31 vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz over the past 24 hours.
In a statement carried by Iran’s Tasnim news agency, the IRGC said the ships, including oil tankers, container ships and other commercial vessels, transited the waterway' with the coordination and security of the IRGC Navy.'
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