Iran war: Israeli strike kills two in southern Lebanon

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