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Two lawmakers in the United States Congress are pushing to repeal a section in an upcoming defence budget that would deepen integration between the US and Israeli militaries.

Their effort comes amid outcry against the latest draft of the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a bill that sets the budget for the US military.

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It includes a provision, dubbed Section 224, that would boost ties between the two militaries through the appointment of an “executive agent” to oversee joint technological development and coordination.

On Sunday, Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna said he would use his seat on the House Armed Services Committee to put forward an amendment to remove Section 224 from the bill.

His Republican colleague Thomas Massie also warned that, if the bill is approved by the committee, he would work to oppose it on the floor of the House of Representatives. He framed the issue as a question of US independence from foreign governments.

“We are a sovereign country,” Massie wrote on the social media platform X.

Khanna responded to Massie’s post, pledging to stand by the Kentucky Republican in opposing Section 224. He also denounced Republican President Donald Trump for attacking Massie, contributing to his primary defeat earlier this month.

“Trump can’t kill the Massie/Khanna partnership no matter how much he posts on Truth Social,” Khanna wrote.

Massie, a libertarian, and Khanna, a progressive, have formed an unlikely alliance to push forward anti-war measures and scrutinise US-Israeli policy. They also led the campaign to release government files related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

It is not uncommon for the annual US military budget to be loaded with pro-Israel measures.

But the technological integration provision, which comes at a time of increased scepticism towards the US’s unconditional support for Israel, raised questions and protests over the past week.

Section 224 “would require the Secretary of Defense to designate an executive agent responsible for synchronising cooperative efforts between the United States and Israel,” the budget bill reads.

The executive agent would be in charge of overseeing a range of joint initiatives, “including bilateral defence technology research, development, testing, evaluation, integration, and industrial cooperation”.

Critics have expressed concern that the push may make US military aid to Israel less transparent, concealing it as cooperation rather than a separate expense.

The measure also risks tethering the US military to its Israeli counterpart technologically at a time when the American public is rapidly turning against Israel, according to recent public opinion polls.

For instance, a survey this month from The New York Times and Siena College found that 57 percent of US voters opposed providing Israel with additional economic and military support.

Separately, 62 percent said they disapproved of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel’s genocidal war against Gaza, which started in 2023, has killed more than 75,000 people, prompting widespread condemnation.

The US has fielded criticism for its role in backing Israel during that war, as well as its devastating campaign in Lebanon. The role of technology has also come under scrutiny, particularly as Israel becomes more heavily reliant on artificial intelligence (AI) to surveil, identify and strike targets.

But some legislators in the US Congress consider questioning US-Israeli ties to be a political third rail. Congressman Derrick Van Orden criticised Massie on Sunday for speaking out against Section 224, accusing his fellow Republican of anti-Semitism.

“This security agreement will allow for the US to leverage advanced Israeli technologies,” Van Orden said.

Massie responded by pointing to an incident in 2024 when Israel rigged pagers carried by Hezbollah civilian and military members to explode, killing and injuring hundreds of people, including children.

“Does this deal qualify us for those advanced Israeli pagers?” Massie asked Van Orden in a social media post.

This year’s $1.15 trillion NDAA contains several other proposals to deepen US support for Israel. An entire section is titled, “Matters relating to Israel”.

It includes mandating cooperation with the Israeli military on anti-tunnel and anti-drone capabilities.

Ras Baraka, the mayor of Newark in New Jersey, has imposed a curfew on the area surrounding Delaney Hall, the immigration detention centre that has become a flashpoint in the debate over United States President Donald Trump’s mass deportation drive.

The Sunday morning announcement came amid a flare-up in tensions outside the detention centre, which is run by the private contractor GEO Group, as part of a 15-year deal with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

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“Due to the escalating situation at Delaney Hall and the increasing need for police intervention, immediate action is required to protect public safety,” Baraka wrote in a statement.

“Multiple individuals have already been arrested and found in possession of weapons, underscoring the seriousness of the threat.”

As part of the curfew, movement will be restricted within half a mile (0.8km) of the detention centre between the hours of 9pm and 6am US Eastern time (1:00 to 10:00 GMT).

A nearby road, Doremus Avenue, will also be closed to pedestrians and vehicles that cannot verify their need to be in the area.

Since the reopening of Delaney Hall as an immigration detention facility last year, it has been the site of confrontations between law enforcement and protesters, including Mayor Baraka himself.

The month of May has seen more than a week of daily protests outside Delaney Hall, after lawyers for the detainees at Delaney Hall announced a hunger strike was unfolding inside.

Detainees have denounced the living conditions to human rights groups, reporting expired food, a lack of medical care and abuse at the hands of authorities.

The Trump administration has justified its mass deportation campaign as an effort to rid the US of “the worst of the worst”, framing undocumented immigrants as a criminal threat.

But critics point out that many of those detained have no criminal record, and some who do have only been cited for minor offences.

The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, a data-tracking service from Syracuse University, found that, as of April, roughly 71 percent of those in ICE detention had no criminal conviction.

To show solidarity with the hunger strike, protesters have been gathering outside Delaney Hall, locking arms to form human chains and creating barricades to prevent access.

But that has led to tense confrontations with law enforcement, who have used batons and pepper spray to try to clear roads to the facility.

Governor Mikie Sherrill called for the establishment of designated protest zones, to mitigate the likelihood of conflict between officers and demonstrators.

But clashes have continued. Overnight on Wednesday, six protesters were arrested.

Politicians themselves have encountered tense interactions at Delaney Hall.

A year ago, one protest resulted in trespassing charges against Mayor Baraka and assault charges against US Representative LaMonica McIver, after a disagreement over which officials could enter the facility for an inspection.

While the charges against Baraka were dropped, McIver continues to face legal proceedings. She has denied the charges and called the prosecution politically motivated.

“One year ago, the Trump administration threw baseless charges against me for conducting oversight to protect immigrants at Delaney Hall,” McIver wrote on social media on Saturday.

“Have they tried to silence me? Yes. Have the stakes risen? Yes. Am I backing down from speaking up for you? Never.”

This past week, Governor Sherrill was also denied access to the facility. She has since issued a statement calling for Delaney Hall to be shut down.

At a news conference on Saturday, she blamed “national extremist groups” for arriving from out of state and escalating tensions. She added that the current precautions were designed to protect the safety of peaceful protesters.

“I urge those protesting outside of Delaney Hall to bring the temperature down, so we can focus on the detainees and their families,” Sherrill said.

She suggested that the actions of state and local officials would help head off any expanded ICE operations in New Jersey.

“I will not give ICE a pretext to expand operations at Delaney Hall or across our state. I will not put lives at risk,” she said. “I’m grateful to the vast majority of protesters who have assembled peacefully and raised their voices about Delaney Hall’s conditions.”

US officials indicate Tehran may take days to respond to Trump’s tougher terms on a potential agreement to end the nearly three-month war.

President Donald Trump sought to change several terms of a proposal to end the US-Israel war on Iran, according to media reports in the United States, as a finalised deal remains elusive.

The New York Times reported on Saturday that Trump’s changes involved toughening the deal terms, and the US has sent the new framework back to be considered by Iran, according to officials familiar with the proceedings.

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The report said it was not immediately clear what the changes entailed. However, Axios reported Trump wanted to reinforce multiple points of the deal that he felt were important, such as what to do with Iran’s nuclear material.

A senior US official told Axios that Trump was informed it could take three days for Iran to respond.

“They’re literally in caves, and they’re not using email,” the official told Axios.

“There will be a deal. The imminence of it, we’ll see. We’re willing to wait so the president gets what he asks for. It could be a week. It could be less. It could be more. At the turn of the week, we hope to have something,” the official added.

Meanwhile, Iran’s chief negotiator said Sunday that Tehran would not agree to any deal with Washington unless it fully secures Iranian rights.

“There is no trust in the ⁠enemy’s words and ⁠promises. Our only criterion is to achieve tangible results ⁠before we fulfill our ⁠commitments in ⁠return,” Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said after taking an oath as ‌the re-elected speaker of parliament.

The new tweaks could prolong negotiations between the parties for days before a decision is reached on whether the deal would end the war, which began after the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28.

US sources told the AFP news agency that the proposal had been waiting on Trump’s sign-off, but he made no decision after a White House Situation Room meeting on Friday.

Richard Weitz, senior fellow at NATO Defense College, says that “the longer we don’t have an agreed, standard ceasefire and perhaps an eventual peace agreement, there is heightened risk that the kinetic operations will restart” in the US-Israeli war on Iran.

“The risks are moderate compared to the value of reaching an agreement, in which both sides feel satisfied and therefore stick to that agreement rather than try to revise it later, which could lead to even more escalation,” he told Al Jazeera.

Trump has said his priorities for any deal included Iran agreeing to never develop nuclear weapons and the reopening of the blockaded Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil supply transits.

On Saturday, the Iranian military’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters reasserted the country’s control over the strait, warning that foreign commercial and military vessels would be targeted if they did not comply with regulations governing passage through the strategic waterway.

Tehran has also said repeatedly that it does not intend to build nuclear weapons. In March 2025, Tulsi Gabbard, the former US director of national intelligence, testified to Congress that Washington “continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon”.

US President Donald Trump says talks with Iran are progressing ‘slowly but surely’, as Israel intensifies operations in Lebanon.

United States President Donald Trump has told Fox News he is in “no hurry” for a deal with Iran as the Israeli army claimed to have captured a strategic castle in southern Lebanon in the deepest incursion into the country in 26 years.

The comments come as US media reported that Trump asked for several amendments to the preliminary agreement with Iran during his meeting at the White House on Friday.

Here is the latest on the US-Iran negotiations as Israel expands its invasion of Lebanon on day 93 of the war on Iran:

In Iran

• A senior Iranian commander warned against any further attacks on his country. “The enemy should know that any aggression against the country’s territory will be met with a response even more forceful than before,” Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, the deputy army commander for coordination, said, according to Press TV.
• The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it shot down a US drone attempting to carry out a “hostile operation” in its territorial waters, according to Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency.
• Fars reported that the military unveiled its newest naval attack craft, 27 Rajab, during a ceremony in Tehran’s Enqelab Square. The agency said the vessel can achieve speeds of up to 100 knots (185km/h) and is equipped to launch long-range cruise missiles.
• The US military said its forces “disabled” a Gambia-flagged ship attempting to sail towards an Iranian port. Iran accused the US of betraying diplomacy by continuing its naval blockade.

War diplomacy

• Trump told Fox News he is in no hurry for a deal with Iran and that the US is getting what it wants “slowly but surely” in the ongoing negotiations. “The one guarantee that I have to have is that there will be no nuclear weapons,” he told his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, in an interview on Fox News on Saturday night.
• The comments came as US media reported that Trump asked for several amendments to the preliminary agreement with Iran during his meeting in the White House Situation Room on Friday. The New York Times reported that Trump has “toughened the terms” of the potential framework. Axios reported that the president asked for “several amendments” to the preliminary agreement his envoys reached with Iran.
• Iranian state media reported on Saturday that a proposed memorandum of understanding with the US included an agreement to release $12bn in frozen assets. The report cited an “unofficial” draft of the memorandum, and a similar item carried by state TV earlier this week was dismissed by the White House as a “fabrication”.

In Lebanon

• The Associated Press and Reuters news agencies reported that Israeli forces captured the Beaufort Castle, locally also known as Qalaat al-Shaqif, near the city of Nabatieh in southern Lebanon.
• The Israeli military issued a new warning, asking residents to flee south of the Zahrani River in southern Lebanon. It said it was acting forcefully against Hezbollah in the region and told all residents located south of the river to leave their homes immediately.
• Israeli air raids on Sunday morning targeted the southern Lebanese towns of Arnoun, Kfar Tebnit and Kfar Remman, according to our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic. Israeli shelling also hit the Kfarjouz area in the Nabatieh district and the town of Dbeibine in the Marjayoun district.
• Israel’s military spokeswoman Ella Waweya said it launched “a large-scale operation” in the Beaufort Ridge and the Wadi al-Salouqi area in southern Lebanon.
• The Israeli military issued a “precautionary directive” following “the identification of launches from Lebanon toward several communities in northern Israel”. The military instructed residents to take shelter, but Israeli media reported shortly afterwards that air raid sirens did not sound in the region.
• Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam accused Israel of pursuing a “scorched-earth policy” as Israeli forces expand their ground invasion and continue to push towards the city of Nabatieh.

In Israel

• Israeli forces said on Sunday they were advancing in Lebanon as part of expanded ground operations to strengthen their military position in the south of the country, where they are fighting Iran-backed Hezbollah.
• A significant number of Israeli ground soldiers “commenced offensive operations aimed at expanding the Forward Defense Line”, the Israeli military said in a statement, adding that the operation was expanding and forces had crossed the Litani River.
• The Israeli military said a 21-year-old soldier had been killed in battle in southern Lebanon on Saturday. It said four others were wounded in the incident.

In the US

• Trump said on Saturday that the US intentionally refrained from targeting Iran’s military, arguing that past wars have shown the dangers of dismantling a country’s institutions and armed forces. He pointed to Iraq as an example of what he described as a failed US approach in past conflicts. “You look at what happened with Iraq; we did so badly, that was such a foolish thing,” he told Fox News.
• Congress advanced a US-Israeli military integration plan that could tie the US and Israeli militaries far more closely together, deepening their cooperation on weapons research, production and technology.

The San Antonio Spurs, sparked by superstar Victor Wembanyama, have advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2014 by dethroning the defending champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder, 111-103, to book a championship showdown against the New York Knicks.

The Spurs captured the best-of-seven Western Conference finals 4-3 on Saturday and reached the NBA Finals, which begin on Wednesday against the Knicks in San Antonio.

“Though we’re still hungry for one more, this feeling is, I can’t explain it, it’s so powerful,” Wembanyama said. “We want four more. We’re not done. Go Spurs go.”

French 7-foot-4-inch (224cm) centre Wembanyama scored 22 points and grabbed seven rebounds, Julian Champagnie added 20 points, including six three-pointers, and Stephon Castle had 16 points for the Spurs, who led the winner-take-all contest almost the entire way.

“We had a good team, a great team,” Champagnie said. “We had to stay the course and play a good game.

“We were passing the ball. We were playing as a team. We come out here and play together.

“We never knew if we were going to get this far, but when you’ve got the greatest player in the world, things happen.”

That was a nod to Wembanyama, the Most Valuable Player of the Western Conference finals and the NBA Defensive Player of the Year.

“It doesn’t mean anything for me other than the fact we are a team,” Wembanyama said of his series MVP award. “I got this for all of us and all the fans right here.”

Of his teammates, Wembanyama added, “They don’t even know how much I love them. They are just incredible. Everybody stepped up tonight.”

“Wemby” dominated in his first playoff game seven and was emotional at the finish, laughing, crying and hugging teammates over reaching his first NBA Finals.

“Realising that some part of the childhood dream was going to come true,” the 22-year-old Frenchman said of his reaction.

The win sets up an NBA Finals repeat of this season’s NBA Cup final, which the Knicks won with a 124-113 defeat of San Antonio last December in Las Vegas.

“A lot of physicality, hit first, and rebounding,” Champagnie said of the Knicks. “It will be a nice challenge for us.”

NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led Oklahoma City with 35 points.

“He was brilliant. He had a great game,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “He delivered. It was a really big-time game for him.

“That would have been one of the stories of the game if we had been able to figure out a way to win it.”

Daigneault said the challenge to repeat was not among the things that led to the defeat.

“You can be proud of effort and progress and the level we played … and we can also be really disappointed,” he said.

“Felt like we could have won the series. We were right there. There’s nobody we don’t think we can’t beat.

“I thought we had enough to win, but credit San Antonio – they’re the ones who did.”

A Spurs squad with only one player who had been in a game seven before overcame a more experienced Thunder squad that won the title in a game seven last year.

“Back in October, we knew we had a chance to be pretty good,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said.

“There’s a lot being talked about, words like competitiveness, resolve, togetherness, execution – who gives a damn about the word experience?

“They had to go out and execute, and they did.”

Wembanyama hit two three-pointers in a 17-9 run to start the fourth quarter that lifted the Spurs ahead 97-86 with eight minutes remaining.

“Wemby” was whistled for his fifth foul seconds later and went to the bench, boosting Thunder hopes in the dying minutes while Gilgeous-Alexander tried to rally the reigning champions, only to fall short at the finish.

The warm-up friendly simulated World Cup conditions, including cooling breaks for the players, at the Rose Bowl stadium.

World Cup cohosts Mexico have savoured a ‌‌confidence-building 1-0 friendly win over Australia in front of a mammoth crowd in the United States with the result leaving both sides’ coaches with hard choices before naming their squads for the tournament.

A Johan Vasquez header from a set piece in the ⁠⁠28th minute on Saturday gave a much-changed Mexico the lead, which they held successfully despite a better second half from the Socceroos after a shaky start at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.

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Mexico coach Javier Aguirre made nine changes from the starting 11 that beat Ghana 2-0 in a friendly in ⁠⁠Puebla, Mexico, last week.

All 48 participating nations must submit their 26-man World Cup squads to FIFA by Monday for a tournament that begins on June 11 and will be played in Mexico, the US and Canada.

There was much to like about the performance of the fringe lineup, barring a howling mistake in defence that should have cost an equalising goal in added time before the main interval.

A long ball forward put Mexico in disarray with midfielder Luis Chavez heading straight to Mohammed Toure on the edge of the area ‌‌as goalkeeper Raul Rangel charged off his line.

But the Socceroos striker volleyed wide with an empty goal at his mercy, drawing a collective gasp from the pro-Mexico crowd of 78,479.

That was Australia’s only genuine chance in an opening half in which they were largely under siege.

Chavez blazed over from long range in the 10th minute, and goalkeeper Mat Ryan had to make a fine save 15 minutes later when he tipped a close-range header from Alexis Vega over the bar.

The pressure finally told as Vega swung ⁠⁠in a corner kick and Vasquez soared over Aiden O’Neill to thump in ⁠⁠a header off the left post.

Simulating World Cup conditions, the friendly included midhalf drinks breaks, but their timing – the first in the 32nd minute and the second in the 79th – appeared confusingly ad hoc. The teams were also permitted 11 substitutions for the friendly ⁠⁠compared with six for a regular World Cup match, and they made liberal use of the quota.

Aguirre replaced Rangel with 40-year-old stopper Guillermo Ochoa for the second ⁠⁠half to the delight of Mexican fans, then made five substitutions ⁠⁠in the 60th minute, including injecting rising 17-year-old attacker Gilberto Mora.

Popovic followed suit with four changes eight minutes later and was all but rewarded immediately when substitute Kai Trewin’s through-ball found Ajdin Hrustic in the area, only for the midfielder to slam his shot straight ‌‌into Ochoa.

On 76 minutes, Mexico had a goal disallowed from a free kick taken much too quickly for the referee, triggering a heated exchange between the teams before the kick was retaken.

Mexico play the opening match of the World Cup  against South Africa in Mexico City before playing South Korea and the Czech Republic.

Australia start their campaign against Turkiye on June 13 and also meet the US and Paraguay.

A provision in a bill before the United States Congress could tie the American and Israeli militaries far more closely together, deepening their cooperation on weapons research, production and technology.

The proposal, titled the “United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative,” appears as Section 224 of the House Armed Services Committee’s version of the fiscal year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the annual US defence policy bill.

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The measure is still at an early stage. The NDAA is passed by Congress each year to set US military policy and authorise defence programmes and spending levels.

If enacted, the provision could mark a major change in one of the world’s closest military relationships, shifting the two countries from a partnership centred largely on American military aid towards one in which their defence industries are more deeply intertwined.

Section 224 would require the US defence secretary to appoint an “executive agent”: a single official to coordinate military cooperation between the US and Israel.

That work would cover joint research and development, the shared production of weapons, and the linking of military systems and data.

“What Congress is trying to do now is find different ways of entrenching the relationship so deep in America’s own defence industrial base that it’s impossible to root it out,” Josh Paul, a former US State Department official and founder of the advocacy group A New Policy, said about the controversial provision.

“A new section of law in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) would give Israel unprecedented access to American technology and would force the United States military to integrate Israeli defence technologies into our own critical military supply chain, giving Israel incredible leverage over America’s own defence priorities,” he added in a video posted on social media on Friday.

The two countries already build missile defence systems together, such as the Iron Dome.

The bill would extend their joint work into many more areas of modern warfare, from artificial intelligence (AI) to drones and cyber operations.

The provision comes amid turmoil in the Middle East following the joint US-Israeli attack on Iran earlier this year.

In February, US and Israeli forces attacked Iran together, triggering five weeks of war; Iran struck back at Israel and at US bases in the Gulf before a ceasefire took hold in April.

Israel is also facing genocide allegations in a case brought by South Africa at the International Court of Justice, the UN’s top court, over its war on Gaza.

Decades of support

The bill must first clear the House Armed Services Committee, which is due to take it up in early June, and then pass the full House and the Senate.

It was proposed by the committee’s Republican chairman, Mike Rogers, and its most senior Democrat, Adam Smith, giving it support from both main parties, even as opinion polls suggest growing opposition among American Democrats and some Republicans to further military support for Israel.

The US has supported Israel’s military for decades.

Since 2008, US law has required Washington to protect Israel’s “qualitative military edge”, keeping its forces stronger and more advanced than those of any rival in the region, on the grounds that a small country must rely on better weapons rather than greater numbers.

Under the current aid deal signed during the administration of former President Barack Obama, Washington provides Israel with about $3.8bn a year in military assistance. The 10-year agreement runs through 2028.

Israel is the largest recipient of US foreign aid since 1948, almost all of it now military and worth well over $300bn when adjusted for inflation. 

The nature of that support may now be changing. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said recently that he wants to end Israel’s reliance on US military aid within 10 years, saying his country had “come of age”.

Closer cooperation between the two defence industries, rather than cash, would likely fit that goal.

Israel’s military has advanced beyond Lebanon’s Litani River for the first time since 2006.

Israel’s military has advanced beyond the Litani River in southern Lebanon for the first time since 2006 and appear poised to encircle the major city of Nabatieh.

Senior Lebanese military sources on Saturday told the Turkish state news agency Anadolu that Israeli forces had crossed the Litani River, which Israel has declared the perimeter of its unofficial buffer zone.

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Israeli forces are now on the outskirts of Nabatieh, a city that is key to southern Lebanon’s economy and a cultural hub for the region. If the Shia-majority city were to fall, it would mark a significant development in the war on Lebanon, which began in October 2023 and subsequent official ceasefire.

Nabatieh is viewed by many Lebanese as a symbol of resistance due to its historic role on the frontline of Israeli assaults.

Reporting from the southern city of Tyre, Al Jazeera’s Obaida Hitto said Israel was expanding its air campaign in southern Lebanon and encircling Nabatieh in preparation for a potential assault on the city.

“It looks like Israel is trying to make this final push to encircle Nabatieh, breaking through the second and third lines of defence of Hezbollah and isolating the western Bekaa Valley from the south of the country,” Hitto said.

Israel has issued evacuation orders for at least 10 villages in southern Lebanon, as it expands its invasion, despite being engaged in ongoing peace talks with Lebanese officials.

The Israeli army’s Arabic spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, instructed residents in several Lebanese villages to evacuate immediately, warning they could be killed if they remained.

The order came the day after officials from both countries met in Washington to discuss a permanent end to the war. It began in early March when Iran-backed Hezbollah began attacking Israel following the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei.

Hitto said people fleeing their homes have few options, with more than 20 percent of the population — around 1.2 million people — displaced by fighting.

“Those options are turning into basically people living with relatives if they have that option, or people living in makeshift camps in public parks and public spaces. I’ve seen many families living in their vehicles for long periods of time,” Hitto said.

“Some of these families have been continuously displaced since 2023,” Hitto added.

The latest forced displacement orders are a further test to the nominal “ceasefire” in place since mid-April and repeatedly violated by Israel. It justifies its actions by saying it is targeting Hezbollah as part of efforts to disarm the group.

On Friday, at least 14 people were killed in Israeli air raids in southern Lebanon.

Lebanese officials are working to disarm Hezbollah, but the task has proved extremely difficult.

Lebanese and Israeli officials are currently engaged in negotiations to end the war, marking the first time the two sides have spoken directly in decades.

The talks are being facilitated by the United States, and a new round is expected in Washington next week.

Lebanon’s President, Joseph Aoun, held talks with Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on Saturday to discuss the security situation and  ongoing negotiations with Israel. According to the state-run National News Agency, they agreed to intensify efforts to end the war, which has triggered a humanitarian crisis.

Aoun also spoke by phone with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and stressed the importance of Israel respecting the current ceasefire.

United States Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been discussing key foreign policy issues for Washington at a defence summit in Singapore.

On Saturday at the Shangri-La Dialogue, Hegseth commented on America’s main rival, China, as well as Iran, NATO and Taiwan — a major point of contention between Washington and Beijing.

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US and Israel launched their war on Iran in late February, rattling global markets, triggering an energy crisis and causing shortages of critical US munitions, including Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) interceptors, which cost around $12mn each.

In a report published on Wednesday, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said it would take two years — and in some cases more than three — to replenish four critical munitions used heavily during the war.

Here are Hegseth’s most important comments.

China’s “historic military buildup”

Beijing is widely seen as Washington’s greatest geopolitical challenge, and Hegseth expressed alarm about China’s growing military presence in the Asia-Pacific region.

“There is rightful alarm regarding China’s historic military buildup and the expansion of its military activities in the region and beyond,” Hegseth said.

Washington’s latest National Defense Strategy describes China as the world’s second-most powerful country after the US.

Hegseth used his speech to call on US allies in the region to increase defence spending in an attempt to offset China’s growing power.

The defence secretary, who said relations with Beijing were “better” than they had been in many years, warned that unless action was taken, China would become the regional hegemon.

“A Pacific dominated by any hegemon would unravel the regional balance of power,” Hegseth said.

“No state, including China, can impose its hegemony and hold the security or prosperity of our nation and our allies in question.”

‘No change in our status’

Taiwan has been improving its defence capabilities in response to concerns about a potential Chinese invasion. Taiwan, which has never officially declared independence from China, has de facto functioned as a separate country since 1950, despite Beijing viewing the island as its territory.

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump travelled to China to hold talks with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, who sees Taiwan as the most important issue in China–US relations. Xi told Trump that “clashes and even conflicts” between the two countries could occur if the Taiwan situation is mishandled.

Since then, Trump has cautioned Taipei against formally declaring independence from China, prompting the island to issue a statement saying it was “sovereign and independent” but planned to maintain the status quo.

Following the meeting, Trump said he was not sure whether he would approve an arms sale to Taiwan worth up to $14bn. On Saturday, Hegseth suggested Washington’s commitment to Taiwan remained, but that Trump would ultimately decide whether the weapons deal is finalised.

“Those decisions will depend on the president and the nature of that relationship. There’s been no change in our status,” Hegseth said.

“We need partners”

Trump has long pressured allies to increase their military budgets and become less dependent on US firepower under his America First doctrine.

Trump has recently confused European allies after announcing he would deploy a further 5,000 troops to Poland, despite having recently pledged to reduce the number of American soldiers on the continent.

It remains unclear whether the deployment to Poland includes the same troops the Pentagon said would no longer be stationed in Germany.

“The era of the United States subsidising the defence of wealthy nations is over,” Hegseth said.

“We need partners, not protectorates. We don’t have a strong alliance unless everyone has skin in the game. No freeloading.”

Trump seeking a “strong deal”

Hegseth also discussed Iran — a key issue for much of the world as well as the US. Tehran and Washington are believed to be close to signing a memorandum of understanding to bring the war to a permanent end.

Hegseth, who has played a key role in the US war effort as defence secretary, warned that the US would resume attacks on Iran if a satisfactory deal isn’t reached. His comments come as Washington seeks to reassure allies that the Strait of Hormuz — which Iran closed at the start of the war in a bid to deter US and Israeli attacks — will soon be reopened, helping to bring down energy prices. About 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas flowed through the crucial waterway prior to the conflict.

Trump envoy Tom Barrack to exit formal Syria post but retain key role managing US policy in Syria and Iraq.

US Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack will step down from his post following the expiration of his formal mandate, but he is set to maintain a central diplomatic role managing policy for Syria and Iraq, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced.

Barrack, a billionaire real estate investor and longtime confidant of President Donald Trump, has served as the administration’s primary envoy to Syria since May 2025, while concurrently serving as the US ambassador to Turkiye.

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“Ambassador Tom Barrack has played an invaluable role as our Special Envoy to Syria,” Rubio wrote in a statement posted on the social media platform X. “While that title is expiring, he will continue to play a leading role for the Trump Administration in Syria and Iraq, where his expertise, relationships, and understanding of the America First agenda will continue to deliver wins on behalf of our great country.”

“Barrack’s special envoy title has expired, but his role has not, and he remains Washington’s lead on Syria, Iraq, and Turkiye,” Nanar Hawach, senior Syria analyst at the think tank International Crisis Group, told Al Jazeera.

“The expiry changes little in practice, because he was already coordinating those three files together before it lapsed. By keeping him in place without naming a successor, Washington signals it wants continuity and his existing access rather than a reset on Syria.”

During his yearlong tenure as Syria envoy, Barrack oversaw Washington’s pivot towards the post-Assad administration of interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa. He heavily influenced US policy by pushing for the easing of heavy economic sanctions on Damascus and coordinating counter-Islamic State operations alongside regional allies, including Turkiye and Gulf Arab states.

The private equity mogul raised substantial capital from Emirati sovereign funds. While acquitted in 2022 of federal charges that he acted as an unregistered agent for Abu Dhabi, his connections routinely led to questions about Gulf financial influence over US policy.

Barrack’s tenure in Syria also drew significant scrutiny. His mediation of a ceasefire and integration pact between Damascus and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) drew sharp criticism from the Kurdish leadership, who accused Washington of abandoning its longtime allies to favour central state authority.

He also prompted intense backlash in Lebanon after warning journalists at a chaotic news conference to act “civilised” rather than “animalistic”.

His public assertions that “benevolent monarchy” and authoritarian governance are better suited for the Middle East than democracy caused controversy, while opposition leaders in Turkiye, where he remains ambassador, routinely criticised him for behaving like a “colonial governor”.

State Department officials have not yet announced a successor for the Syria envoy position.