U.S. arms sales to Taiwan take years to process and are unrelated to the war with Iran, a source familiar with the matter ‌said, after a senior U.S. official suggested there was a pause due to ⁠the need to have enough arms for the conflict.

Taiwan, which China views as its own territory, has been waiting for ‌the U.S. to approve an arms sale that Reuters has reported could be worth ‌up to $14 billion.

President Donald Trump sowed ‌uncertainty ⁠in Taipei by saying, after meeting China’s President ⁠Xi Jinping this month, that he was undecided on whether to approve the package.

– Reuters

Republicans struggled Thursday (May 21, 2026) to find the votes to dismiss legislation that would compel President Donald Trump to withdraw from the war with Iran, delaying planned votes on the matter into June.

The House had scheduled a vote on a war powers resolution, brought by Democrats, that would rein in Mr. Trump’s military campaign. But as it became clear that Republicans would not have the numbers to defeat the bill, GOP leaders declined to hold a vote on it.

Pakistan on today invited the U.S. and Iran for talks in Islamabad on April 10.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in a social media post, announced that the U.S. and Iran, along with their allies, have agreed to an immediate ceasefire amid the ongoing West Asia conflict.

“With the greatest humility, I am pleased to announce that the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America, along with their allies, have agreed to an immediate ceasefire everywhere, including Lebanon and elsewhere, effective immediately,” he said.

Mr. Sharif said Pakistan has invited delegations from both countries to Islamabad on April 10 for face-to-face talks aimed at reaching a conclusive agreement “to settle all disputes”.

-AFP

A U.S. military refuelling aircraft crashed in western Iraq ‌on Thursday (March 12, 2026), in an incident U.S. Central Command said ⁠involved another aircraft but was not the result of hostile ‌or friendly fire.

In a statement, U.S. Central Command ‌said it was carrying out rescue efforts after the U.S. KC-135 refuelling aircraft went down. ‌The second aircraft landed safely.

“The incident occurred in friendly airspace ⁠during Operation Epic Fury, and rescue efforts are ongoing,” the ‌statement said, using the name of the U.S. operation against Iran.

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As a fresh West Asia conflict risks sending oil prices sharply higher, Saudi Arabia, Russia and six other key members of the OPEC+ alliance are widely expected to announce an output increase on Sunday (March 1, 2026), analysts say. 

The virtual meeting by the eight members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allied nations (OPEC+) known as the “Voluntary Eight” (V8) comes a day after the U.S. and Israel launched an ongoing wave of strikes on Iran.

Last year, the V8 group — comprising Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman — boosted production by around 2.9 million barrels per day (bpd) in total before announcing a three-month pause in output hikes.

But now the picture has changed dramatically.

Brent, the global benchmark for crude oil, jumped more than 3% on Friday (February 27) to trade over $73 per barrel, up from $61 at the beginning of the year.

-AFP