Iran war: Israeli strike kills two in southern Lebanon

French Finance Minister Roland Lescure said governments could not yet decide on releasing more strategic oil reserves to ease disruption from the Iran war because the duration and intensity of the conflict remain unclear.

In an interview with the Financial Times published on Friday, Lescure said a second coordinated release of reserves was not discussed during this week’s G7 finance ministers’ meeting in Paris.

He said oil stockpiles are finite and any decision on further releases would depend on clearer visibility over the conflict and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

Thirty-two member countries of the International Energy Agency released 400 million barrels of oil and refined fuel in March to help stabilize markets after the war disrupted supplies.

Acting US Navy Secretary Hung Cao said on Thursday that US arms sales to Taiwan were temporarily paused to ensure the US had sufficient munitions for military operations against Iran.

Speaking at a congressional hearing, Cao said foreign military sales would resume once the administration determined supplies were adequate.

“We’re just making sure we have everything, but then the foreign military sales will continue when the â administration deems ​necessary,” he said.

However, Taiwan’s Presidential Office said on Friday it had received no indication that Washington planned to adjust a proposed arms package, reportedly worth up to $14 billion (€12.06 billion), according to Reuters news agency.

US President Donald Trump has not committed to approving the sale and said after talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping that he would decide on the matter “over the next fairly short period of time.”

The US is legally required to provide de facto self-governing Taiwan with defensive weapons, despite recognizing Beijing diplomatically and maintaining only informal ties to Taipei.

Irancondemned the United States’ decision to sanction the country’s designated ambassador to Beirut.

Iran’s foreign ministry said in a statement that the decision to impose sanctions on Mohammad Reza Raouf Sheibani is “another example of the lawlessness and disregard for the principles of international law and the UN Charter.”

The country also condemned the sanctioning of Lebanese parliament members of Iran-backed militia Hezbollahand officials of the Amal Movement, a political party that represents Shiite Muslim interests and has an alliance with Hezbollah’s political wing in Lebanese parliament.

This comes after Lebanon itself declared Shabani a persona non grata and ordered him to leave the country last March.

Republican leaders in the US House on Thursday delayed a planned vote on legislation seeking to force President Donald Trump to end the Iran war unless he obtains congressional approval, after struggling to secure enough votes to block the measure.

Two days ago, a similar measure advanced in the US Senate.

The resolution would require Trump to end military operations against Iran unless authorized by Congress.

The delay underscored growing unease within Trump's Republican Party over the conflict, which began more than two months ago without congressional approval.

The House had blocked three previous war powers resolutions in close votes earlier this year, but ​the margins had become increasingly narrow. The last resolution failed on ​a tie ‌vote.

“We had the votes without question, ‌and they knew it,” Democratic Representative Gregory Meeks said after the vote was canceled.

The measure is now expected to return in June after a Memorial Day recess.

The White House has defended its military campaign as legal, arguing Trump has authority as commander-in-chief to order limited operations against imminent threats.

The Israeli military said on Friday it carried out an air strike in southern Lebanon that killed two armed individuals moving “in a suspicious manner” near the border.

“A short while ago, [Israeli military] 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.”

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported that separate overnight strikes in the Tyre district killed four people and wounded two medics at an Islamic Health Committee site.

Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group have continued exchanging fire despite a ceasefire that was extended last week following talks in Washington between Lebanese and Israeli representatives.

Good morning! Welcome to our coverage of the of events in the Middle East as a widening conflict grips the region triggered by a US-Israeli offensive against Iran.

Here is a quick recap of our top headlines from Thursday:

• Tehran said it is reviewing Washington’s latest peace offer after US President Donald Trump said he could wait a few days to “get the right answers”
• US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he hoped Pakistan's engagement with Tehran could help advance efforts to end the war
• Iran’s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, issued a directive that the country’s near-weapons-grade uranium not be sent abroad
• IEA warned oil market at risk of entering ‘red zone’ by summer
• Israel said it deported ‘all foreign activists’ from Gaza aid flotilla