US President Donald Trump insists that on this 88th day of the war with Iran he is close to a peace agreement, but today Iran condemned the US air strikes as a sign of "maliciousness and unreliability" against the backdrop of ongoing negotiations, the Associated Press reported, quoted by BTA.
The US military announced that it had acted "in self-defense". It struck targets in southern Iran, including boats whose crews were trying to lay mines and missile launch sites.
Meanwhile, state media in Lebanon reported that Israel had killed 12 more people in a new strike on Lebanese territory. Iran has demanded that the agreement with the United States include an end to hostilities in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.
As for Washington, today is President Trump's annual medical examination, and, on the other hand, the fight to redraw electoral districts in American states continues, the AP notes.
The group of black congressmen (known as the "Black Caucus") in the US Congress is calling on corporate America to intervene in defense of voting rights, thereby ending the public retreat in Trump's second term, the AP notes. On this occasion, the world agency notes that in today's runoff for the nomination of the Republican Party senator from the state of Texas, Ken Paxton, supported by the American president and involved in scandals, is the favorite in the race with John Cornyn.
Congressmen from the "Black Caucus" are calling on large corporations in the United States to oppose the Republican initiative to redraw electoral districts, which, according to them, will hurt districts with a majority of black voters for the upcoming November midterm elections for members of the House of Representatives in Congress. In a letter today, they called on more than 250 companies to denounce the "coordinated effort to silence black voices at the ballot box".
"Corporations that have profited from black consumers, relied on black workers and amassed wealth in part thanks to their communities cannot look away while political power is being destroyed before our eyes," said the group's chairwoman, Yvette Clark, a member of the House of Representatives.
Regarding Trump's medical examination, the AP emphasizes that the president, who will celebrate his 80th birthday on June 14, is trying to demonstrate strong form before the midterm elections in November, which will be a test of his popularity as the embodiment of the Republican Party among voters.
Trump last had a check-up at the "Walter Reed" Medical Center in October last year. Previously, in July, the White House announced that the president had been diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, a condition common in the elderly that causes swollen ankles and bruised hands.
For decades, US presidents have released the results of their medical examinations to assure the public that their health is adequate for their busy schedules, the AP notes.