The Latest: House joins Senate in rejecting war powers resolution to halt Trump’s attacks on Iran

House lawmakers rejected a war powers resolution to halt Trump’s attack on Iran in a 212-219 vote, a day after the Senate voted down a similar measure.

The U.S. Embassy in Kuwait shut down after retaliatory Iranian strikes on the country, becoming the second American diplomatic mission to fully halt work as the war in Iran escalates. Kuwait is also where six American soldiers were killed by an Iranian drone Sunday.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday he should have a role in choosing Iran’s next supreme leader, raising questions about whether Washington and Israel seek regime change or policy concessions as the conflict has appears increasingly open-ended.

Tehran has warned of the destruction of the Middle East’s military and economic infrastructure, and the war has rattled financial markets, with the Dow dropping 1,000 points as oil prices climb more.

The war has killed at least 1,230 people in Iran, more than 70 in Lebanon and around a dozen in Israel, according to officials in those countries.

Here is the latest:

Neither Hegseth nor Cooper provided any details as to what precisely that meant.

“When we say more to come, it’s more fighter squadrons, it’s more capabilities, it’s more defensive capabilities,” he said. “And it’s more bomber pulses more frequently.”

Also Thursday, Israel’s top military general said that country had “additional surprises ahead,” also without elaborating.

The first U.S. charter evacuation flight carrying Americans stranded in the Middle East after the start of the Iran war has landed in the United States, a State Department official said.

The flight landed Thursday afternoon at Dulles International Airport, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

The office could not say how many Americans were on the plane and would not say where in the Middle East it had departed from.

— Matthew Lee

Adm. Brad Cooper, head of U.S. Central Command, said Thursday that U.S. forces had to date sunk more than 30 of Iran’s ships, including “an Iranian drone carrier ship roughly the size of a World War II aircraft carrier.”

“And as we speak, it’s on fire,” Cooper said.

In February, Cooper for the first time joined indirect U.S.-Iran talks in Oman, appearing in his dress uniform as a reminder of the American buildup of military might in the region.

Speaking at U.S. Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, Hegseth said the U.S. is solely controlling the timeline of activities in Iran and will do so “as long as it takes to ensure the United States of America achieves” its objectives.

“We set the tempo,” he said. “We set the timeline led by the commander on the ground.”

Talking about U.S. weapons stockpiles, Hegseth said “our munitions are full up and our will is ironclad.”

“We have only just begun to fight and fight decisively,” he said.

On Wednesday, Hegseth said the war could go as long as eight weeks, the longest timeline given by the Trump administration thus far.

Referring to a co-owner of Inter Miami being originally from Cuba, Trump said, “You’re gonna go back: and added, “That’s going to be a great day, right?”

Without providing details, Trump added, “We’re going to celebrate that separately. I just want to wait a couple of weeks. I want him to wait a couple of weeks. But we’ll be together again soon, I suspect, celebrating what’s going on in Cuba.”

He added of the island’s communist government, “They want to make a deal so badly. You have no idea.”

Then, referring to Marco Rubio, the president said the secretary of state wants to work on Cuba but is cautious to do so amid the war in Iran.

“Your next one’s is going to be — we want to do that special — Cuba,” Trump said. “He’s waiting. But he says, “Let’s get this one finished first.’ We could do them all at the same time. But bad things happen. If you watch countries over the years, you do them all too fast, bad things happen.”

Asked why Iran is targeting U.S. bases but also tankers, strategic energy facilities and civilians in Doha, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Israel, Iranian ambassador to Egypt, Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour, said Iran’s stated position has been consistent.

“We have declared repeatedly that if there are bases on the borders of the Islamic Republic of Iran belonging to the United States, and they will benefit from these bases, they will be targeted,” he said, from the Iranian Embassy in Egypt’s capital, Cairo, adding that the war extends beyond military engagement.

“It’s a comprehensive war. It’s cyber warfare. It’s an economic war. It’s a political and security war. … This is a war in all fields.”

Iran is not engaged in any direct or indirect communication with the United States to bring an end to the widening war, Iran’s ambassador to Egypt told AP Thursday, denying comments by Trump that the country “wants to talk.”

“That’s not true,” the ambassador, Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour, said. “I think that’s a very weak and inaccurate statement, and it’s not credible.”

He said a lack of trust makes any such engagement impossible after talks for a possible nuclear deal twice failed and ended with the war.

“There will be no trust in Trump,” he said.

Trump said Thursday that Iranian diplomats who sought immunity could “help us shape a new and better Iran with great potential.”

He also urged the Iranian people to “help take back your country,” saying the U.S. would provide them with “immunity.”

“So you’ll be perfectly safe with total immunity, or you’ll face absolutely guaranteed death,” Trump said, of the war and ongoing dangers under the current Iranian regime. “And I don’t want to see that.”

The House narrowly rejected a war powers resolution Thursday to halt Trump’s attacks on Iran, an early sign of unease in Congress over the rapidly widening conflict that is reordering U.S. priorities at home and abroad.

It’s the second vote in as many days, after the Senate defeated a similar measure along party lines. Lawmakers are confronting the sudden reality of representing wary Americans in wartime and all that entails — with lives lost, dollars spent and alliances tested by a president’s unilateral decision to go to war with Iran.

While the tally in the House, 212-219, was expected to be tight, the outcome provided a clarifying snapshot of political support for, and opposition to, the U.S.-Israel military operation and Trump’s rationale for bypassing Congress, which alone has the power to declare war.

Trump, speaking from the East Room of the White House, said Thursday that “further action to reduce pressure on oil is imminent.”

“The oil seems to have pretty much stabilized. We had it very low, but I had to take this little detour,” he said.

Trump earlier this week said on social media that he ordered the U.S. development finance arm to provide political risk insurance for tankers carrying oil and other goods through the Persian Gulf.

Political risk insurance is a type of coverage intended to protect firms against financial losses caused by unstable political conditions, government actions, or violence.

At an event with players from MLS champion Inter Miami, Trump said of Iran: “Their navy is gone” and that the U.S. had wiped out “24 ships in three days.”

He added that the country’s anti-aircraft weapons and airplanes “are gone.”

Trump gave the brief update on the war at the top of the event and didn’t provide details, making it difficult to immediately check the accuracy.

“They have no air force they have no air defense,” the president said.

Trump also suggested that Iranian leaders are now ready to make a deal and end the fighting but said: “We want to fight now more than they do.”

The number of people killed in Lebanon since a resurgence in hostilities between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group Monday has risen to 123, with 683 people wounded, the Lebanese health ministry said Thursday.

It was not clear how many of the casualties were civilians. The health ministry had earlier said that seven children were killed.

Meanwhile, Israel struck Beirut’s southern suburbs Thursday evening after issuing an evacuation notice earlier, urging residents to “save your lives and evacuate your homes immediately,” prompting a mass exodus as people scrambled to find shelter.

Two hospitals in the area also evacuated patients and staff ahead of the anticipated bombardment.

Ambassador Jamal Alrowaiei told the U.N. Security Council that Iran’s actions “are threatening the freedom of navigation” and critical energy infrastructure.

Alrowaiei, the Arab representative on the U.N.’s most powerful body, said Iran has targeted “critical infrastructure” in Bahrain and the region. And he echoed the regional Gulf Cooperation Council’s strong condemnation of Iran’s “unjustified” aggression and demand for an immediate halt to its attacks.

“Any attempt to jeopardize navigation in the Strait of Hormuz will lead to an increase in energy prices … and negatively affect international economies,” he warned at the U.S.-called meeting on “Energy, Critical Minerals, and Security.”

Bahrain urges international cooperation “to protect critical corridors and strategic infrastructure” and stresses its support for international law and the sovereignty of nations, Alrowaiei said.

The report came late Thursday night. Israel military said its defense systems were working to intercept them.

Israel on Thursday warned its citizens traveling abroad that the ongoing hostilities could make them targets of attacks or otherwise endanger them. The country’s Government Press Office said in a statement that “several attempts to carry out terrorist attacks against Israelis have been thwarted and disrupted.”

It urged Israelis to conceal Jewish identifiers, avoid traveling through the United Arab Emirates, refrain from sharing personal information on social media and remain vigilant or avoid visiting Jewish sites.

The warning cited recent violence in Canada and Texas, where authorities are investigating whether motive of a gunman who opened fire at a bar in Austin was Iran-related.

Iran has in the past staged “ asymmetric attacks ” targeting Jews and Israelis, including in Europe and South America, and such responses were feared before the war broke out.

Israel’s top general on Thursday said the country’s military had degraded most of Iran’s air defenses and specifically hit sites used to launch missiles toward Israel.

Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the army’s chief of the General Staff, said Israel’s air force had destroyed 80% of Iran’s air defenses and 60% of its missile launchers but noted “the threat has not yet been removed. Every missile is lethal and poses a danger.”

“We are now moving to the next phase of the operation. In this phase, we will further dismantle the regime and its military capabilities. We have additional surprises ahead that I do not intend to disclose,” Zamir said.

The closure will affect tens of thousands of Muslims who would normally come to pray at the mosque compound on Fridays during Ramadan.

All holy sites in Jerusalem’s Old City — including Christianity’s Church of the Holy Sepulcher and Judaism’s Western Wall — would remain closed “to maintain public safety and protect people,” Brig. Gen. Hisham Ibrahim of Israel’s Civil Administration said in a statement on Facebook.

Although the closures will affect worshippers of all faiths, changes to the “status quo” governing Palestinian access to the mosque and surrounding compound have been politically sensitive. The site is the third-holiest in Islam and the holiest in Judaism because it was the location of biblical temples.

Israel had implemented restrictions before war broke out with Iran, including capping the number of worshippers given permits to travel from the Israeli-occupied West Bank to Jerusalem.

It’s the second diplomatic mission to fully suspend operations since the start of the war with Iran.

“While there have been no reported injuries to U.S. personnel, the safety of Americans abroad remains the highest priority of the U.S. Department of State,” it said in a statement about the status of the embassy in Kuwait City.

Shortly before the announcement, the department said that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had called the Kuwaiti foreign minister to express condolences for the deaths of at least two Kuwaiti troops in Iranian retaliatory strikes.

Although numerous U.S. embassies and consulates in the Middle East have closed to the public since the war began, only the consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, had suspended operations.

As oil prices rise further because of the war with Iran, the Dow dropped 1,052 points, or 2.2%, the S&P 500 sank 1.4% coming off a frenetic start to the week, and the Nasdaq composite fell 1.3%.

Airlines and stocks of smaller U.S. companies tumbled to some of the sharpest losses. Oil prices rallied following the latest escalations in the war. Treasury yields also jumped with worries that higher inflation could keep the Federal Reserve from cutting interest rates.

Still, the U.S. stock market has a history of bouncing back relatively quickly following conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere. That has many professional investors suggesting patience and riding through the market’s swings.

Authorities in the island Gulf kingdom have made several arrests since the war began, including people accused of documenting attacks or pro-Iran demonstrations in the Shiite-majority, Sunni-ruled country.

Bahrain’s interior ministry said the four men had posted videos online that misled the public, spread fear, and harmed security and public order. “This constitutes treason and a clear violation of the nation’s values and principles,” the statement read.

Ali Larijani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, warned that any U.S. ground forces would be met with a robust and unsparing defense.

Iranians are “ready to disgrace those corrupt American officials by killing and capturing thousands,” he said in a post on X.

American officials, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, have not said they intend to launch a ground invasion but have not ruled one out either.

Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy said Thursday that he has received a U.S. request for support to defend against Iranian drones in the Middle East.

Zelenskyy said he gave an order for equipment to be provided along with Ukrainian experts, but did not offer further details. He added in a social media post that, “Ukraine helps partners who help our security and the protection of our people’s lives.”

Missiles were shot toward Kuwait on Thursday evening, activating air defense systems, the army general chief of staff said in a statement.

The oil-rich country — home to the U.S.’s Ali al-Salem Air Base — has been among the countries hit by Iranian strikes, which have killed six American soldiers and two civilians.

Authorities in Sri Lanka were informed that one of the ship’s engines suffered a failure, the country’s president said Thursday.

The decision to take the crew ashore and the IRIS Bushehr to a Sri Lankan port comes a day after a U.S. submarine sank another Iranian warship off the island’s coast, said President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. He said his government held discussions with Iranian officials and the captain of the ship.

Sri Lankan officials say 87 bodies were recovered and 32 people rescued from the roughly 180 people believed to have been aboard to IRIS Dena sunk Wednesday.