According to the report, which cited four U.S., Israeli and regional sources, the proposed arrangement would begin with a temporary ceasefire lasting 45 days, during which negotiators would seek to reach a permanent agreement to end the war.

A second phase would focus on finalizing terms for a comprehensive settlement.The report said the ceasefire period could be extended if additional time is needed to conclude negotiations.

Reuters could not independently verify the Axios report, and neither the White House nor the U.S. State Department immediately responded to requests for comment.

The development comes as tensions remain high, with U.S. President Donald Trump reiterating a deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face potential strikes on critical infrastructure.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Trump said the deadline would expire on Tuesday evening.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was urged by Steel to “take appropriate diplomatic steps to preserve democracy in Pakistan” in a tweet.

“I share the worries of many of my colleagues that the Pakistani government violates human rights and represses opposition. I support demands for Secretary Blinken to use diplomatic means to protect Pakistan’s democracy, she wrote in a tweet.

In a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, more than 60 US legislators raised concerns about human rights abuses in Pakistan and encouraged him to put pressure on the Pakistani government to address the problem.

Elissa Slotkin and Brian Fitzpatrick wrote the letter, which was also signed by 65 other members and was the result of efforts made by the Pakistani-American Political Action Committee (PAKPAC), according to a report in Geo News.

Imran Khan, the leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and former prime minister who was ousted from office in April of last year, was recently detained in Pakistan on “illegal” charges.

On May 9, amidst deadly riots around the nation, Khan was taken into custody. The former prime minister was arrested in connection with the Al-Qadir Trust corruption scandal, but was eventually freed after the Pakistani Supreme Court ruled that his detention had violated the law.

One of the most recognizable journalists covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for two decades, Abu Akleh was killed in May 2022 during an Israeli raid in the West Bank city of Jenin. Her death triggered outrage across the region.

Israel says Abu Akleh, who was wearing a clearly marked protective press vest and helmet, was likely unintentionally shot by an Israeli soldier but could also have been struck by Palestinian fire. Abu Akleh’s family believes she was killed deliberately, and witnesses to the incident have said there were no Palestinian fighters firing in the area she was standing.

The U.S. Security Coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority (USSC) conducted an investigation, but the report remains classified. In a statement, Van Hollen, a Democrat on the Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee, said the report contains important insights into her death.

That includes “relevant information and findings about the conduct of the Israel Defense Forces (Israeli military) unit involved in that operation – as well as other IDF units operating in the West Bank,” Van Hollen said.

Van Hollen said that while the USSC team was “unable to conduct an independent investigation” due to lack of access to key witnesses, the report’s public release was still vital to ensuring accountability in the shooting death of a U.S. citizen.

The U.S. State Department, which oversees the USSC, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In December, Al Jazeera made a submission to the International Criminal Court over Abu Akleh’s killing. Her family has supported such efforts while urging action by the Biden administration.

Israel insists that its soldiers do not deliberately target journalists and has refused to identify the soldier who may have shot Abu Akleh.

Dubai (AP) — The U.S. Navy said Monday its sailors and the United Kingdom Royal Navy came to the aid of a ship in the crucial Strait of Hormuz after Iran’s Revolutionary Guard “harassed” it.

Three fast-attack Guard vessels with armed troops aboard approached the merchant ship at a close distance Sunday afternoon, the U.S. Navy said in a statement. It offered black-and-white images it said came from a U.S. Navy Boeing P-8 Poseidon overhead, which showed three small ships close to the commercial ship.

The U.S. Navy’s guided-missile destroyer USS McFaul and the Royal Navy’s frigate HMS Lancaster responded to the incident, with the Lancaster launching a helicopter.

“The situation deescalated approximately an hour later when the merchant vessel confirmed the fast-attack craft departed the scene,” the Navy said. “The merchant ship continued transiting the Strait of Hormuz without further incident.”

The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, sees 20% of the world’s oil pass through it.

While the Navy did not identify the vessel involved, ship-tracking data from MarineTraffic.com analyzed by The Associated Press showed the Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier Venture erratically changed course as it traveled through the strait at the time of the incident. Its location also matched information about the incident given by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, a British military operation overseeing traffic in the region. The vessel also resembled the images released by the Navy.

The ship’s registered manager, Trust Bulkers of Athens, Greece, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Iranian state media and the Revolutionary Guard did not immediately acknowledge the incident. Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This latest incident comes after a series of maritime incidents involving Iran following the U.S. unilaterally withdrawing from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers in 2018.

The suspected American seizure of the Suez Rajan, a tanker linked to a U.S. private equity firm believed to have been carrying sanctioned Iranian crude oil off Singapore, likely sparked Tehran to recently take the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Advantage Sweet. That ship carried Kuwaiti crude oil for energy firm Chevron Corp. of San Ramon, California.

While authorities have not acknowledged the Suez Rajan’s seizure, the vessel is now off the coast of Galveston, Texas, according to ship-tracking data analyzed by the AP.

Meanwhile, Iran separately seized the Niovi, a Panama-flagged tanker, as it left a dry dock in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, bound for Fujairah on the UAE’s eastern coast. While not carrying any cargo, data from S&P Global Market Intelligence seen by the AP showed the Niovi in July 2020 received oil from a ship known then as the Oman Pride.

The U.S. Treasury in August 2021 sanctioned the Oman Pride and others associated with the vessel over it being “involved in an international oil smuggling network” that supported the Quds Force, the expeditionary unit of the Guard that operates across the Mideast. Purported emails published online by Wikiran, a website that solicits leaked documents from the Islamic Republic, suggest that cargo carried by the Niovi was sold on to firms in China without permission.

Satellite images analyzed by the AP show those two vessels anchored off Bandar Abbas, Iran.

The recent seizures have put new pressure on the U.S., long the security guarantor for Gulf Arab nations. The United Arab Emirates claimed last week it earlier “withdrew its participation” from a joint naval command called the Combined Maritime Forces though the U.S. Navy said it was still in the group. Meanwhile, the U.S. military’s Central Command said Saturday its chief visited the region, met with Emirati leader Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and “discussed shared regional security concerns as well as U.S. and UAE security partnerships.”

The Mideast-based commanders of the U.S., British and French navies last month also transited the Strait of Hormuz on Friday aboard an American warship, a sign of their unified approach to keep the crucial waterway open after Iran seized the two oil tankers.

The encounter comes as both countries have traded blame for not holding military talks – with disagreements between the two over everything from trade and Taiwan to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – and raises the spectre of future face-offs that could spiral out of control.

The U.S. military said the USS Chung-Hoon, a destroyer; and Canada’s HSMC Montreal, a frigate, were conducting a “routine” transit of the strait on Saturday when the Chinese ship cut in front of the U.S. vessel, coming within 150 yards (137 metres).

In the video, released by the U.S. Navy late Sunday, a Chinese warship can clearly be seen sailing across the path of the Chung-Hoon in calm waters. The Chung-Hoon does not change course.

A voice can be heard in English, apparently sending a radio message to the Chinese ship, warning against “attempts to limit freedom of navigation”, though the exact wording is unclear because of wind noise.

China has not commented directly on the U.S. criticism of the encounter, and its foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.

On Saturday night, China’s military rebuked the United States and Canada for “deliberately provoking risk” with the rare joint sailing.

Chinese military commentator Song Zhongping told Reuters that this “point blank interception” was a demonstration of both the capabilities and “courage” of China’s navy.

“The more intensified the provocation from the United States, the stronger the countermeasures from China,” Song said.

It was the second such encounter in recent days.

On May 26, a Chinese fighter jet carried out an “unnecessarily aggressive” manoeuvre near a U.S. military plane over the South China Sea in international airspace, according to the United States.

“It seems to me that Beijing has instructed its forces to respond more assertively against what it believes are encroaching U.S. and allied forces,” said Derek Grossman, senior defence analyst at the RAND Corporation, a U.S. think tank.

“By doing so, China is only increasing the chances for miscalculation – namely ships or aircraft accidentally colliding – that could then spiral into armed conflict,” he added.

In 2001, a U.S. spy plane made an emergency landing on China’s Hainan island after a collision with a Chinese fighter jet, whose pilot died.

Taiwan’s defence ministry on Sunday called China’s actions with the U.S. and Canadian ships “provocation” and said it was the common responsibility of free and democratic countries to maintain peace and stability in the strait.

“Any actions to increase tension and danger will not contribute to regional security,” it said in a statement.

The ministry called on China to respect the right to freedom of navigation.

China views Taiwan as its own territory, a claim the government in Taipei strongly rejects.

Beijing has been stepping up military and political pressure to try to force Taiwan to accept its sovereignty, including staging regular manoeuvres near the island.

Sudan descended into chaos after fighting broke out in mid-April between the military, led by Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo.

For weeks, Saudi Arabia and the United States have been mediating between the warring parties. On May 21, both countries successfully brokered a temporary cease-fire agreement to help with the delivery of much-needed humanitarian aid to the war-torn country. Their efforts, however, were dealt a blow when the military announced on Wednesday it would no longer participate in the cease-fire talks held in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah.

Following the military’s decision, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia said they were suspending the talks “as a result of repeated serious violations of the short-term ceasefire.” President Joe Biden’s administration imposed sanctions against key Sudanese defense companies run by the military and the RSF and people who “perpetuate violence” in Sudan.

In their statement on Sunday, Washington and Riyad said they continued to engage representatives of the military and the RSF who remained in Jeddah. They urged the Sudanese warring sides to agree to and implement a new cease-fire following the latest one which expired late Saturday. The aim is to eventually establish a permanent cessation of hostilities in the war-wrecked country, they said.

The statement said the discussions focused on “facilitating humanitarian assistance” and reaching an agreement on “near-term steps the parties must take” before resuming the talks.

The fighting has turned the capital, Khartoum, and other urban areas into battlefields, resulting in widespread looting and destruction of residential areas across the country. The conflict has also displaced more than 1.65 million people who fled to safer areas in Sudan and neighboring countries.

Residents reported intense fighting over the past two days in Khartoum and its neighboring cities of Omdurman and Bahri.

Loud sounds of shelling and gunfire were heard early Sunday in parts of Omdurman, as the military’s aircraft flew over the capital.

Fighting was also reported in the northern part of the Darfur region, which had witnessed some of the worst battles since the fighting began on April 15.

Sunak is due to be in the U.S. capital on Wednesday and Thursday for talks with politicians in Congress and business leaders as well as with the president.

“The U.S. is our closest ally. We are one another’s partner of first resort when it comes to everything from keeping our people safe to growing our economies,” Sunak said in a statement ahead of his first official visit to Washington as prime minister.

“That’s why it is so important for a UK Prime Minister to forge a close and candid relationship with the President of the United States – on every global problem, you will see us working side-by-side.”

Sunak and Biden are expected to discuss improving economic ties and sustaining military support for Ukraine in its conflict with Russia. But there will be no talks about a formal free trade deal, Sunak’s spokesperson said earlier this week.

London wants to forge better relations with the U.S. after they were strained by Britain’s departure from the European Union in 2020.

In April, a White House official denied Biden was “anti-British” after he spent just half a day in the British province of Northern Ireland before travelling to the Irish Republic for two-and-a-half days of meetings.

Downing Street said in Saturday’s statement that Sunak’s meeting with Biden would be his fourth in as many months, representing more “sustained contact” with a U.S. president than any other prime minister has had in recent years.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will arrive for meetings with officials of the world’s largest oil exporter next week, the State Department said, following a May 7 visit by White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan.

Although no breakthroughs are expected, analysts said the aims of the trip include to regain some sway with Riyadh over oil prices, to fend off Chinese and Russian influence, and to nurture hopes for an eventual Saudi-Israeli normalization.

In a brief statement, the State Department said Blinken would visit Tuesday to Thursday to discuss economic and security cooperation as well as for a U.S.-Gulf Cooperation Council meeting and a conference on combating Islamic State militants.

He will contend with a U.S.-Saudi relationship battered by disputes over Iran and journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s 2018 murder and weakened by the fading of an oil-for-security bargain that has united the countries for decades.

President Joe Biden got off to a rocky start with Riyadh after saying in 2019 that he would treat it like “the pariah that they are” and, soon after taking office in 2021, releasing a U.S. intelligence assessment that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved the operation to capture or kill Khashoggi.

Saudi Arabia has denied involvement by the crown prince.

Despite a visit by Biden to Saudi Arabia in July 2022 that was intended to improve ties, Riyadh angered Washington just three months later when the OPEC+ group, which includes Russia, cut oil production ahead of U.S. midterm elections in which gas prices were an issue.

The difficulties predate the Biden administration.

Saudi leaders were unhappy about the U.S. negotiation of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which Gulf nations believed left them vulnerable to the possibility Tehran would eventually acquire nuclear arms. Iran denies any such ambition.

And while then-U.S. President Donald Trump abandoned the pact in 2018, Riyadh was angry at his failure to retaliate against Iran after a 2019 drone and missile attack on Saudi Arabia’s Abqaiq and Khurais oil facilities.

Washington and Riyadh blamed the attacks on Tehran, which denied responsibility.

“They (the Saudis) wanted to see rubble bounce in Tehran after Abqaiq,” said David Des Roches of the U.S. National Defense University, saying Riyadh had expected Trump to respond by ordering air strikes.

Saudi authorities did not respond to a request for comment.

The End Of Oil – For – Security?

Two long-term shifts add to the challenges facing Blinken.

First, the long-standing pillar of U.S.-Saudi relations, the U.S. provision of security in return for steady supplies of Saudi oil, has withered.

The United States – now the world’s top oil producer – is no longer as dependent on Saudi crude as it was in the 1970s.

“Both sides of the equation – preferred access to Saudi energy and U.S. defense of Saudi Arabia against foreign challenges – seem to be gone,” said Chas Freeman, a former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia.

Second, the rise of China, now the biggest buyer of Saudi oil and largest source of Saudi imports, as well as the so-called U.S. “pivot” to Asia, have led Riyadh to hedge its geopolitical bets.

“In the Cold War, the U.S. could pretty much count on the Saudis to back its big strategic initiatives. When the Cold War ended, the Saudis didn’t have much choice,” said Texas A & M Professor Gregory Gause.

“Now they have choices,” he added. “The period of American unipolarity is basically over and the Saudis understand that and they are seeing other options.”

In one sign of evolving allegiances, Saudi Arabia and Iran said in March they planned to reestablish diplomatic relations after undisclosed talks in Beijing.

Normal Israel Relations Unlikely

One aim of Blinken’s trip is to reinforce that “the United States is a strong player that is in the region to stay … that we won’t leave a vacuum for other competitors to fill,” Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Benaim told reporters.

However strained, a true rupture in ties is unlikely because Riyadh needs the U.S. military to ensure the flow of oil from the Gulf – a role neither China nor Russia, which has expanded its influence in the region, seem prepared to play – and Washington wants Riyadh to moderate world oil prices.

Still, the U.S. is unlikely to achieve one goal any time soon: convincing Riyadh to follow the 2020 move by Arab nations including the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to normalize relations with Israel under the so-called Abraham Accords.

On Wednesday, the top U.S. diplomat for the Middle East, Barbara Leaf, dismissed as “hyperventilation” reports in the Israeli press about the possibility.

She said the Saudi crown prince had other priorities – notably his Vision 2030 plan to modernize Saudi Arabia’s economy and reduce its dependence on oil – and said smaller steps like sports exchanges could improve ties with Israel.

“That’s going to be the hard one,” said a Gulf official on condition of anonymity, suggesting normalization was unlikely while Saudi King Salman was alive and right-wing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in power.

Arvan Cloud has a close relationship with Iran’s intelligence services and its executives have ties to senior Iranian government officials, the U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement.

“The … government has regularly used Internet restrictions and the throttling of Internet speeds to suppress dissent, surveil and punish Iranians for exercising their freedom of expression and assembly both online and offline,” it said.

The September death of Kurdish-Iranian woman Mahsa Amini in morality police custody after she was accused of violating Iran’s strict dress code unleashed mass protests for months, posing one of the boldest challenges to Iran’s clerical leaders in decades.

Arvan Cloud played a major role in Iran’s development of the “NIN infrastructure,” a censored version of the internet controlled by the government, and has explicitly agreed to provide interception for the government, the Treasury said.

This allows the Iranian authorities to control and censor incoming and outgoing traffic and to monitor data, it added.

“The United States is committed to holding accountable those who seek to undermine freedom of expression and suppress dissent,” Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson said in the statement.

Arvan Cloud co-founders Pouya Pirhosseinloo and Farhad Fatemi, were sanctions targets, the Treasury said.

As a result of the sanctions, all property of the people and companies subject to U.S. jurisdiction are blocked. In addition, carrying out some transactions with them can lead to “secondary sanctions” under which the United States can penalize non-U.S. individuals and entities.

The Shangri-La Dialogue, which attracts senior military officers, diplomats, weapons makers and security analysts from around the globe, is taking place June 2-4 in Singapore.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will deliver the keynote address on Friday evening, before U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and China’s new Defence Minister Li Shangfu are expected to trade barbs in speeches over the weekend.

The relationship between the U.S. and China is at its lowest point in decades, as the two superpowers remain deeply divided over everything from the sovereignty of Taiwan to cyber espionage and territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

Hopes that the summit in Singapore could be a chance to mend ties between Washington and Beijing were dealt a blow last week when Li declined an offer to meet with Austin.

Li, who was named China’s new defence minister in March, was sanctioned by the U.S. in 2018 over weapons purchases from Russia.

Albanese’s speech comes as Australia tries to strike a delicate balance between its strong ties to the U.S. and its often tense relationship with China, which buys the bulk of its valuable iron ore and is its biggest trading partner.

A deal announced in March to buy U.S. nuclear-powered submarines threatens to strain Australia’s fragile ties with Beijing, which has been critical of the plan.

Australia is due to spend A$368 billion ($250 billion) over three decades on the submarine programme, part of a broader security pact with the U.S. and Britain known as AUKUS.

Australia is also part of the Five Eyes intelligence collection and sharing network, along with the U.S., Britain, Canada and New Zealand – a grouping that Chinese officials say is part of the West’s lingering “cold war mentality” and an attempt to contain its rise.

Since being elected in May 2022, the Albanese Labor government has sought closer ties with ASEAN countries. Australia’s defence chief has said that as great power competition in the region persists, his country is focused on deterring conflict and deepening engagement with partners, including Pacific island and South East Asian nations.