live Rubio Says US 'Completely Aligned' With Gulf Allies In Iran Talks

US President Donald Trump has criticized Congress for passing on June 23 the largely symbolic "War Powers" bill, which was designed to end the Iran war.

In an angry social media post, Trump called it "poorly timed and meaningless."

The bill, which was first passed by the House of Representatives, would require the president to withdraw US forces from a conflict with Iran unless Congress specifically authorizes this action.

Fifty senators, including four Republicans, voted in favor against 48 who opposed.

"These Senators have just made my job more difficult, but I will get it done, one way or the other, because I always get it done!" Trump complained on his social media platform, Truth Social.

Right at a time when Iran is "willing to give us anything" and "respecting the hell out of the United States" and himself, he wrote, "the U.S. Senate decides to have a poorly timed and meaningless War Powers Act Vote, telling the Number One Sponser of Terror in the World that the United States doesn't like what I am doing to them, and I must stop."

The resolution will not be presented to Trump for signature, and therefore, in terms of legal force, it is a matter of debate and is largely symbolic.

Over the past months, Democratic senators have repeatedly put bills to a vote to stop the war, but each time they have failed due to Republican opposition.

We are now closing the live blog for the day. We'll be back at 7:30 a.m. Central European time to cover the latest events across the Middle East.

The US Senate has narrowly voted in favor of a bill demanding the war against Iran be stopped and requiring US President Donald Trump to seek congressional approval if he decides to resume it, the first such war powers resolution to ever pass in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

The legislation passed in a 50 to 48 Senate vote on June 23 as four Republicans joined in with Democrat members. It requires Trump to withdraw US forces from the conflict with Iran unless Congress specifically authorizes military action in the region.

The resolution will not be presented to Trump to approve with his signature, and it was not immediately clear how it would affect the conflict with Tehran and Washington currently negotiating a peace agreement amid a cease-fire.

“With the Senate passage of my Iran War Powers Resolution, both chambers have now made clear that the president cannot continue this war of choice and must cease all hostilities against Iran," Gregory Meeks, the ranking Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee, said after the vote.

"Regardless of what President Trump says, this measure is binding under the War Powers Resolution, and I will explore all legal avenues to ensure the Executive complies with the will of Congress," Meeks added.

Over the past months, Democratic senators have repeatedly put forward bills to stop the war, only to be defeated by the Republican majority. The Republicans also hold a slim majority in the House.

US President Donald Trump said that International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors will go to Iran at the "appropriate time" to inspect nuclear facilities damaged in US air strikes earlier this year.

Reacting to reports that Iran denied inspectors would go to Iran, Trump said that Iranian officials were "wrong" to say so and that Washington had agreed with Tehran to conduct inspections.

Asked when such inspections could start, Trump told journalists on June 23: "There is no rush, but they will be on site at an appropriate time."

Trump added that the goal of the agreement with Iran is to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, and that Islamic Republic officials have agreed to this.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Abu Dhabi on June 23, opening a high-stakes Gulf tour aimed at reassuring Washington’s closest Arab allies after a fragile cease-fire framework between the United States and Iran raised fresh questions over regional security and Tehran’s future ambitions.

Rubio is in the region to hold meetings with leaders in the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Bahrain over the next two days, as Gulf capitals weigh the implications of a US-brokered de-escalation deal with Tehran.

The visit comes at a delicate moment for the region. Although oil exports and shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz have begun recovering following days of disruption, tensions remain elevated.

Iranian officials have accused several Gulf states of quietly facilitating US military operations during recent hostilities, while simultaneously signaling they will continue pressing for a reduced American military footprint across the region.

For Gulf monarchies long wary of Iran’s regional influence, Rubio’s mission is both diplomatic and strategic: to assure allies that Washington’s security commitments remain intact, even as the contours of a potential longer-term understanding with Tehran begin to emerge.

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Oman and Iran have agreed to continue discussions on the future administration of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, including maritime services and the costs associated with operating them in the strategic waterway.

In a joint statement issued after talks in Muscat on June 23, the two countries said they would establish a joint working group involving their foreign ministries and consult other Persian Gulf coastal states and relevant parties.

The move appears to implement a provision of last week's memorandum of understanding between Tehran and Washington, which called for talks on the future management of navigation and maritime services in the strait.

The announcement followed a visit by Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, who met Oman's Sultan Haitham bin Tariq and Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi.

Oman and Iran reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring safe passage through the strait in accordance with international law while respecting sovereignty over territorial waters.

They also pledged to keep the waterway a secure and open route for international navigation and to promote regional stability.

With reporting by Reuters

US President Donald Trump has repeated his claim that Iran has agreed to the highest level of nuclear inspections of its facilities and that the inspections will continue indefinitely

In a post on the Truth Social platform on June 23, Trump wrote that despite Iranian "protestations and false statements to the contrary coupled with the drumbeat of the Fake News, which is doing everything possible to make the US Victory as small and insignificant as possible, Iran has fully and completely agreed to highest level Nuclear inspections long into the future (Infinity!!!)"

According to Trump, the arrangement will ensure “Nuclear Honesty.”

“If they did not agree to this, there would be no further negotiations!” he wrote.

The claim was first made on June 22 by US Vice President JD Vance, who said Iran had agreed to inspections of its nuclear facilities and that such inspections could take place this week.

However, officials from the Islamic republic have rejected any suggestion that international inspectors will be granted access to the country’s nuclear sites.

Earlier on June 23, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said that Iran has no plans to allow inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of nuclear facilities that were bombed.

Since the summer of 2025, when the United States and Israel bombed Iranian nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan, Tehran has suspended cooperation with the IAEA and blocked inspectors’ access to those sites.

In another part of his Truth Social post, Trump said that in light of Iran’s agreement to IAEA inspections and “other important concessions,” he had agreed to keep the Strait of Hormuz open and not impose a naval blockade.

However, he added that US naval forces in the Middle East would remain in position and could reimpose a blockade if necessary, although he said such a scenario currently appeared “highly unlikely.”

Trump also said that Iran’s frozen assets would be placed in an escrow account under US control and could be used exclusively to purchase food and medical supplies from the United States, including corn, wheat and soybeans from American farmers.

“These are things that are desperately needed by Iran,” Trump wrote. “This is a humanitarian crisis, and I feel it is necessary to help, NOW, before it is too late.”

The US president also said that negotiations with Iran were “going well.”

Bread prices in Tehran and the nearby city of Varamin have doubled, with some staple flatbreads rising by up to 100 percent, according to Iranian news agencies ILNA and Mehr.

The increase was confirmed by Mohammad Javad Karami, head of the Flour and Bread Working Group of Iran’s Chamber of Guilds.

New prices were introduced through bakery payment systems late on June 22, affecting widely consumed breads, such as lavash, barbari and sangak.

The move follows months of reports of unofficial bread price increases in several provinces.

The sharp rise comes despite Agriculture Minister Gholamreza Nuri Ghezeljeh saying just two days earlier that bread price hikes were not under consideration, with the government instead focusing on reforms to bread subsidies and food-voucher support.

With reporting by RFE/RL's Radio Farda

Commodity vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz reached its highest level since the start of the Middle East war, with at least 36 carriers transiting the waterway on June 22, according to maritime tracking firm Kpler.

The figure represents nearly a third of normal peacetime traffic through the strategic passage, which typically handles about a fifth of global oil and gas exports. The total is expected to rise further as additional ship movements are detected.

Traffic, including oil tankers, liquefied natural gas carriers, and dry bulk vessels carrying commodities such as fertilizers, has increased since Washington and Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding last week aimed at ending the conflict.

Before the June 14 agreement, fewer than 10 commodity vessels a day passed through the strait after Iran closed it on March 1 following US and Israeli strikes. Since June 15, average daily crossings have climbed to 21.

Amid ongoing negotiations, Iran's chief negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said: "The Strait of Hormuz will never return to its pre-war conditions and will be administered by the Islamic Republic of Iran, in accordance with international law."

Whether Iran will ultimately administer the vital waterway remains one of the key questions in talks scheduled over the next two months.

Iran said on June 20 that it had again closed the strait in response to Israeli attacks on Lebanon, while the United States announced on June 22 a temporary easing of sanctions to allow Iran to produce, sell, and deliver crude oil and related products through August 21.

Iran says it has no plans to allow International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors to visit nuclear facilities damaged in US and Israeli strikes last year, contradicting claims by US Vice President JD Vance.

The denial came as diplomacy intensified following a memorandum of understanding between Tehran and Washington aimed at ending a war that destabilized the Middle East and triggered a 60-day process to address Iran's nuclear program and sanctions relief.

Speaking to reporters on June 23, Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said: "We have not had a meeting with the director general of the IAEA, nor do we have any plans for the agency to inspect Iran's nuclear facilities damaged by the US and Zionist military aggression."

Iran's UN ambassador, Ali Bahreini, also said "there hasn't been such a decision" to permit inspectors' return to the country.