Iran activates air defences as Trump faces congressional deadline

Tehran's air defences were activated to counter small aircraft and drones late Thursday, as the White House signaled that it will not be reined in by a congressional deadline on the Iran war.

The Tasnim and Fars news agencies reported that air defence systems, heard in some parts of the Iranian capital, were activated "to counter small aircraft and reconnaissance drones" for around 20 minutes, but that the situation had returned to "normal."

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration faced a looming midnight deadline to secure congressional authorization for the war against Iran, setting up a clash between the White House and Congress.

The Trump administration argued that the 60-day clock to seek authorization was effectively paused by a ceasefire announced last month.

"For War Powers Resolution purposes, the hostilities that began on Saturday, February 28 have terminated," a senior administration official told AFP late on Thursday, noting that there has been no exchange of fire between the United States and Iran since the April 7 ceasefire.

Earlier on Thursday, Iran's supreme leader declared that the United States had suffered a shameful defeat, defiantly rejecting a warning from Trump that an economically punishing U.S. naval blockade could be enforced for months to come.

Oil prices hit a four-year high, then fell back slightly before Mojtaba Khamenei issued a written statement read on state television declaring that Iran was now in the driver's seat in the crisis.

"Today, two months after the largest military deployment and aggression by the world's bullies in the region, and the United States' disgraceful defeat in its plans, a new chapter is unfolding for the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz," he said, hailing Iran's control over shipping in the strait.

He went on to predict a bright future for the Gulf without the United States, saying those who interfere in the region from afar "have no place there except at the bottom of its waters."

Khamenei was wounded in the initial U.S.-Israeli strikes that killed his father, Ali Khamenei, and has not been seen in public since being named his successor as supreme leader in March.

The United States imposed a blockade on Iran's ports two weeks ago, while the Islamic Republic has maintained its stranglehold over the strategic Strait of Hormuz since the start of the Middle East war at the end of February.

Washington is now seeking to assemble an international coalition of allied states and shipping firms to coordinate safe passage through Hormuz -- while maintaining its blockade of ships serving Iran, a State Department official told AFP.

Trump threatened Thursday to withdraw U.S. troops from Italy and Spain, extending similar warnings already made against Germany, after lambasting the NATO allies for failing to support U.S.-Israeli operations against Iran, including in the Strait.

AFP