Washington talks about "progress" in negotiations with Iran
US Vice President J.D. Vance announced that negotiations with Iran are witnessing progress, following US President Donald Trump's rejection of the latest proposal coming from Iran.
Vance's remarks came during a press conference held at the White House on Wednesday, May 13, where he explained in his assessment of the current situation after Trump's rejection of the latest Iranian proposal, that Iran should make an offer confirming that it will not have a nuclear weapon.
The US vice president noted that talks with Iranian officials are continuing, announcing phone conversations he had on Wednesday morning with both (Trump's son-in-law) Jared Kushner and (Trump's special envoy) Steve Whitkoff, as well as with some "friends" in the Arab world, as he described it.
"I think we're making progress.The key question is whether we have made enough progress to meet the red line set by Trump, calling his country's red lines "very clear."
De Vance noted that Trump wants to make sure that a series of precautionary measures are in place to ensure that Iran will "never" be able to acquire a nuclear weapon, considering that they have made some progress during the talks that took place in the Pakistani capital Islamabad, adding that we made "additional progress" later However, Tehran has not yet reached the point that Washington wants regarding the nuclear weapons file, according to him.
U.S. Senate Refuses to End War on Iran
The U.S. Senate narrowly rejected a resolution seeking to order the withdrawal of troops from the war on Iran, with the Republican majority opposing limiting President Donald Trump's military powers.
The draft resolution, like other resolutions put forward by the Democratic opposition in recent weeks, received 49 votes in favor (including three Republican senators) and 50 against.
For the first time since the start of the war, Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski voted in favor of calling for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the war on Iran, later telling Punchball News, "We thought we would get more clarity from the government about our position (in the conflict) and I didn't get any clarification."
The U.S. Constitution states that only Congress has the power to declare war, so Democrats want to reassert the legislature's powers on this issue against Trump's executive branch.
Trump circumvents the War Powers Act
The law allows the president to initiate hostilities in response to an imminent threat, requiring congressional authorization within 60 days, but in early May, Trump ignored that deadline, arguing that the conflict was over because of an ongoing ceasefire with Iran.
Democrats object to this justification, pointing to the continued deployment of U.S. troops to impose a blockade on Iranian ports, and several Republican lawmakers have stated that after 60 days, they will ask the executive branch for congressional authorization, but that while three Republican senators voted in favor of the resolution, it was not enough to pass it.