WASHINGTON: Congressional Republicans and Democrats have reached agreement on a huge $1 trillion-plus spending bill that would fund most government operations through September but denies President Donald Trump money for a border wall and rejects his proposed cuts to popular domestic programs.
Aides to lawmakers involved in the talks disclosed the agreement Sunday night after weeks of negotiations. The bill was made public in the pre-dawn hours Monday.
The catchall spending bill would be the first major piece of bipartisan legislation to advance during Trump’s short tenure in the White House. While losing on the wall along the US-Mexico border, Trump won a $15 billion down payment on his request to strengthen the military.
The measure funds the remainder of the 2017 budget year, through Sept. 30, rejecting cuts to popular domestic programs targeted by Trump such as medical research and infrastructure grants.
Successful votes later this week would also clear away any remaining threat of a government shutdown — at least until the Oct. 1 start of the 2018 budget year. Trump has submitted a partial 2018 budget promising a 10 percent increase for the Pentagon, financed by cuts to foreign aid and other nondefense programs that negotiators on the pending measure protected.
Democrats were quick off the mark to praise the deal.
“This agreement is a good agreement for the American people, and takes the threat of a government shutdown off the table,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., a key force in the talks. “The bill ensures taxpayer dollars aren’t used to fund an ineffective border wall, excludes poison pill riders, and increases investments in programs that the middle class relies on, like medical research, education and infrastructure.”
Trump said at nearly every campaign stop last year that Mexico would pay for the 2,000-mile (3218.54-kilometer) border wall, a claim Mexican leaders have repeatedly rejected. The administration sought some $1.4 billion in US taxpayer dollars for the wall and related costs in the spending bill, but Trump later relented and said the issue could wait until September.
Trump, however, obtained $1.5 billion for border security measures such as more than 5,000 additional detention beds, an upgrade in border infrastructure and technologies such as surveillance.
The measure is assured of winning bipartisan support in votes this week; the House and Senate have until midnight Friday to pass the measure to avert a government shutdown. It’s unclear how much support the measure will receive from GOP conservatives and how warmly it will be received by the White House.
Republicans are also eager to move on to other issues such as overhauling the tax code and reviving their moribund effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama’s health care law.
“The omnibus (spending bill) is in sharp contrast to President Trump’s dangerous plans to steal billions from lifesaving research, instead increasing funding for the NIH (National Institutes of Health) by $2 billion,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-California, said in a statement. “Now, the members of our caucus will assess the whole package and weigh its equities,” she added.
While the measure would peacefully end a battle over the current budget year, the upcoming cycle is sure to be even more difficult. Republicans have yet to reveal their budget plans, and battles between Trump and Congress over annual agency budgets could grind this summer’s round of spending bills to a halt.
Among the final issues resolved was a Democratic request to help the cash-strapped government of Puerto Rico with its Medicaid burden, a top priority of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California. Pelosi and other Democrats came up short of the $500 million or so they had sought but won $295 million for the island, more than Republicans had initially offered.
Democrats were successful in repelling many conservative policy “riders” that sought to overturn dozens of Obama-issued regulations. Such moves carry less urgency for Republicans now that Trump controls the regulatory apparatus.
House Republicans succeeded in funding another round of private school vouchers for students in Washington, D.C.’s troubled school system.
GOP leaders demurred from trying to use the must-do spending bill to “defund” Planned Parenthood. The White House also backed away from language to take away grants from “sanctuary cities” that do not share information about people’s immigration status with federal authorities.
Democrats praised a $2 billion funding increase for the National Institutes of Health — a rejection of the steep cuts proposed by Trump — as well as additional funding to combat opioid abuse, fund Pell Grants for summer school, and additional transit funding. Senate forces, led by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, and several Appalachia region Democrats, won a provision to extend health care for 22,000 retired Appalachian coal miners and their families.
Democratic votes will be needed to pass the measure even though Republicans control both the White House and Congress. The minority party has been actively involved in the talks, which appear headed to produce a lowest common denominator measure that won’t look too much different than the deal that could have been struck on Obama’s watch last year.
For instance, the measure contains a $2 billion disaster aid fund, $407 million to combat Western wildfires, and additional grants for transit projects, along with $100 million in emergency funding to fight the nation’s opioid crisis.
The measure also taps $68 million to reimburse New York City and other local governments for unexpected costs involved in protecting Trump Tower and other properties, a priority of lawmakers such as Rep.
Lawmakers settle on hard-fought $1 trillion spending bill
Lawmakers settle on hard-fought $1 trillion spending bill
Israel says attacks on Iran are ‘nothing’ compared with what is coming
- Netanyahu said Israel’s strikes had set back Iran’s nuclear program possibly by years but rejected international calls for restraint
JERUSALEM/DUBAI: Iran and Israel traded missiles and airstrikes on Saturday, the day after Israel launched a sweeping air offensive against its old enemy, killing commanders and scientists and bombing nuclear sites in a stated bid to stop it building an atomic weapon.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel’s strikes had set back Iran’s nuclear program possibly by years but rejected international calls for restraint, saying the attack would be intensified.
“We will hit every site and every target of the Ayatollahs’ regime, and what they have felt so far is nothing compared with what they will be handed in the coming days,” he said in a video message.
In Tehran, Iranian state TV reported that around 60 people, including 20 children, had been killed in an attack on a housing complex, with more strikes reported across the country. Israel said it had attacked more than 150 targets.
In Israel, air raid sirens sent residents into shelters as waves of missiles streaked across the sky and interceptors rose to meet them. At least three people were killed overnight. An Israeli official said Iran had fired around 200 ballistic missiles in four waves.
US President Donald Trump has lauded Israel’s strikes and warned of much worse to come unless Iran quickly accepts the sharp downgrading of its nuclear program that the US has demanded in talks that had been due to resume on Sunday.
But with Israel saying its operation could last weeks, and urging Iran’s people to rise up against their Islamic clerical rulers, fears have grown of a regional conflagration dragging in outside powers.
The United States, Israel’s main ally, helped shoot down Iranian missiles, two US officials said.
“If (Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali) Khamenei continues to fire missiles at the Israeli home front, Tehran will burn,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said.
Iran had vowed to avenge Friday’s Israeli onslaught, which gutted Iran’s nuclear and military leadership and damaged atomic plants and military bases.
Tehran warned Israel’s allies that their military bases in the region would come under fire too if they helped shoot down Iranian missiles, state television reported.
However, 20 months of war in Gaza and a conflict in Lebanon last year have decimated Tehran’s strongest regional proxies, Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, reducing its options for retaliation.
Lawmaker and military general Esmail Kosari said Iran was reviewing whether to close the Strait of Hormuz, the exit point for oil shipped from the Gulf.
Nights of blasts and fear in Israel and Iran
Iran’s overnight fusillade included hundreds of ballistic missiles and drones, an Israeli official said. Three people, including a man and a woman, were killed and dozens wounded, the ambulance service said.
In Rishon LeZion, south of Tel Aviv, emergency services rescued a baby girl trapped in a house hit by a missile, police said, but later on Saturday Tel Aviv beaches were busy with people enjoying the weekend.
In the western suburb of Ramat Gan, near Ben Gurion airport, Linda Grinfeld described her apartment being damaged: “We were sitting in the shelter, and then we heard such a boom. It was awful.”
The Israeli military said it had intercepted surface-to-surface Iranian missiles as well as drones, and that two rockets had been fired from Gaza.
In Iran, Israel’s two days of strikes destroyed residential apartment buildings, killing families and neighbors as apparent collateral damage in strikes targeting scientists and senior officials in their beds.
Iran said 78 people had been killed on the first day and scores more on the second day, many of them when a missile brought down a 14-story apartment block in Tehran.
State TV said 60 people were believed to have been killed there, though the figure was not officially confirmed.
It broadcast pictures of a building flattened into debris and the facade of several upper storys lying sideways in the street, while slabs of concrete dangled from a neighboring building.
“Smoke and dust were filling all the house and we couldn’t breathe,” 45-year-old Tehran resident Mohsen Salehi told Iranian news agency WANA after an overnight air strike woke his family.
Fars News agency said two projectiles had hit Mehrabad airport, located inside the capital, which is both civilian and military.
With Iran’s air defenses heavily damaged, Israeli Air Force chief Tomer Bar said “the road to Iran has been paved.”
In preparation for possible further escalation, reservists were being deployed across Israel. Army Radio reported units had been positioned along the Lebanese and Jordanian borders.
Iranian nuclear sites damaged
Israel sees Iran’s nuclear program as a threat to its existence, and said the bombardment was designed to avert the last steps to production of a nuclear weapon.
A military official on Saturday said Israel had caused significant damage to Iran’s nuclear facilities at Natanz and Isfahan, but had not so far taken on another uranium enrichment site, Fordow, dug into a mountain.
The official said Israel had “eliminated the highest commanders of their military leadership” and had killed nine nuclear scientists who were “main sources of knowledge, main forces driving forward the (nuclear) program.”
Tehran insists the program is entirely civilian in line with its obligations under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and that it does not seek an atomic bomb.
However, it has repeatedly hidden some part from international inspectors, and the International Atomic Energy Agency on Thursday reported it in violation of the NPT.
Iranian talks with the United States to resolve the nuclear dispute have stuttered this year.
The next meeting was set for Sunday but Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Saturday that continuing the talks while Israel’s “barbarous” attacks lasted was unjustifiable.
Saudi crown prince discusses Israeli military operations against Iran with British PM
- Prince Mohammed and Starmer discussed latest developments in the region and the importance of resolving disputes through diplomatic means
RIYADH: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman discussed the repercussions of Israel’s military operations against Iran with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer during a phone call on Saturday.
The call comes a day after Israel launched a blistering surprise attack on Iranian nuclear and military sites, killing a number of top generals. The two countries continued to trade blows on Saturday.
Prince Mohammed and Starmer discussed the latest developments in the region and the importance of exerting all efforts to de-escalate and resolve disputes through diplomatic means, Saudi Press Agency reported.
Pakistan arrests suspects in visa fraud targeting job seekers hoping to reach Gulf, Europe
- All three suspects, including a woman, took large sums from people before going into hiding
- FIA arrested them from different cities after they failed to deliver on promised overseas jobs
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Saturday arrested three individuals, including a woman, for allegedly defrauding job seekers by promising employment in Gulf countries and Europe, state media reported.
The arrests were made during raids in Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar, Multan, and Lodhran. The suspects, identified as Abid Hussain, Hira Noor and Ajmal, are accused of collecting large sums from citizens in exchange for fake overseas job arrangements.
“These suspects were arrested for their involvement in visa fraud and human smuggling,” the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) news agency said, adding all three went into hiding after failing to deliver on their promises.
The report further said Abid Hussain received Rs800,000 ($2,800) from one victim for a job in Saudi Arabia. Hira Noor allegedly took over Rs2.9 million ($10,150) from another individual, promising work in Europe. Ajmal is accused of charging Rs400,000 ($1,400) to arrange employment in Dubai.
The arrests come amid renewed efforts by Pakistan to crack down on human smuggling networks after a series of deadly boat tragedies in recent years involving Pakistani nationals trying to reach Europe as undocumented migrants.
Despite enforcement drives, criminal syndicates continue to exploit economically vulnerable individuals seeking better opportunities abroad.
Analysis: Could Israeli strikes on Iran revive specter of $100 oil?
- Crude oil caught between escalation pressures and supply shortage scenarios as prices surge
LONDON: Energy and oil market analysts, speaking to Independent Arabia, unanimously described the surprise Israeli military strikes on Iranian targets as creating an “instantaneous market shock.”
Amid escalating geopolitical tensions, the latest military confrontations between Israel and Iran are propelling crude oil prices into dramatic territory, rekindling fears of energy crises that have historically destabilized global markets.
This unprecedented escalation sparks immediate questions about energy market disruptions, petroleum price movements, and short-term risk premium adjustments — including the possibility of crude breaching the $100 per barrel threshold.
Conversely, with reports confirming that Iranian oil refining and storage facilities remained undamaged, this factor may help cushion the shock to global petroleum markets.
Crisis background and market impact
These significant developments emerge precisely as markets were starting to digest the International Energy Agency’s “Global Energy Review 2025,” which forecast a deceleration in oil demand growth stemming from the worldwide shift toward renewable energy and electric vehicle adoption.
However, Israeli attacks on Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility and additional military targets have completely reversed these projections, aggressively thrusting supply disruption concerns and price escalation back into the spotlight.
Analysts portrayed the strike as “converting the Iranian standoff from a political matter into actual combat,” propelling oil prices higher by 7 percent to 13 percent in the steepest single-session increase since March 2022. Subsequently, Brent crude exceeded $78 per barrel as West Texas Intermediate advanced past $73.
International warnings and notable statements
These incidents align with global warnings and prominent declarations from US President Donald Trump, who acknowledged that the American leadership possessed advance intelligence about Israeli attacks on Iran, while stressing Washington’s detachment from the operations.
Trump cautioned Tehran about its nuclear ambitions, declaring: “We will not allow Iran to possess nuclear weapons... but we do not want a new war in the Middle East.”
Such pronouncements intensify the complexity of circumstances, revealing that Washington maintains vigilant oversight, while seeking to circumvent direct participation in hostilities that could trigger catastrophic repercussions for the world economy.
Throughout history, the Iranian matter has remained among the most convoluted subjects in global politics, where atomic weapon concerns merge with financial and geopolitical calculations.
Momentary shock or open conflict?
Energy and oil market analysts, speaking to Independent Arabia, unanimously described the surprise Israeli military strikes on Iranian targets as creating an “instantaneous market shock,” heightening concerns that current tensions might spiral into full-scale warfare in one of the globe’s most critical oil-producing areas.
Industry experts verified that crude price movements in the upcoming phase will hinge on three primary elements: Tehran’s likely retaliation strategy, major powers’ diplomatic stances, and whether military activities persist in the short and intermediate timeframes.
Market analysts pointed out that dramatic price spikes mainly represent “uncertainty premiums” tied to geopolitical instability, which could stay heightened while hostilities continue. This premium constitutes the additional cost petroleum purchasers bear to hedge against possible supply interruptions.
They observed that escalating geopolitical threats result in increased uncertainty premiums, pushing prices higher despite the absence of real supply constraints.
Although undamaged Iranian oil processing and storage infrastructure serves as a significant stabilizing element, analysts contend that direct strikes on Iranian petroleum facilities would have triggered instant supply cuts, accelerating prices to substantially higher territory.
They stressed that present price rises reflect anticipated future threats rather than genuine supply deficits thus far, offering the market some operational room. Put differently, the market currently confronts the prospect of oil supply interruptions rather than actual losses, constraining the scale of price increases that would have occurred had petroleum installations been specifically attacked.
Reciprocal attacks
Petroleum sector expert Kamel Al-Harami considers it challenging to forecast precise oil price targets amid present conditions, citing the potential for Middle Eastern warfare or Iranian supply interruptions affecting global markets in Asia, particularly China, India, and Japan.
Al-Harami observed that although OPEC maintains spare capacity surpassing 5 million barrels per day, crude prices jumped $7 within a 24-hour period, hitting $73 per barrel. He characterized this surge as merely the initial phase of additional gains, speculating whether values might climb to $80 or potentially $90 per barrel.
Al-Harami noted that any pricing above $65 per barrel would favor American shale operations and stimulate enhanced sector investment. He underscored that greater increases would arise from expanding warfare consequences and mutual attacks between Israel and Iran, potentially encompassing other Gulf Arab countries, thus “commencing the actual calamity.”
Strong blow to sentiment
IG market specialist Tony Sycamore described the escalation as “a major hit to market confidence” throughout financial sectors generally, not limited to energy trading, forecasting significant capital flight from risk investments by week’s close. He observed that market participants are watching for “potential Iranian reprisals,” which might shape trading patterns in upcoming sessions.
Supply concerns
Strategic analyst at Pepperstone Ahmed Aseeri explained that current price increases reflect a combination of immediate supply concerns and expectations of gradually escalating tensions, unlike previous Iran-Israel tension rounds that usually ended quickly or through international containment pressures.
Contagion spread
Phillip Nova Singapore market analyst Priyanka Sachdeva verified that Iran’s preparation for military reprisals amplifies dangers, extending beyond supply interruptions to include prospects of geopolitical spillover affecting neighboring oil-producing nations, possibly driving crude prices back to heights not witnessed in 10 years.
Production disruption
Lipow Oil Associates President Andy Lipow outlined that crude prices might surpass $100 per barrel should any Gulf petroleum production installations face disruption, although he emphasized the baseline projection presumes leading nations will work to limit escalation and avoid further deterioration.
Major doubts
XM Australia’s CEO Peter McGuire depicted “Israeli-Iranian conflicts” as producing “considerable anxiety” spurring market fluctuations, explaining that oil values react predominantly to imminent supply vulnerabilities compared with other elements.
Price projections
Natasha Kaneva, JPMorgan’s global commodities strategy chief, projected possible price crests at $120, though she balanced this by saying that markets could tumble to $40 if additional supplies materialize and demand weakens. Geopolitics maintains its dominance.
Broader conflict and worst scenario
JPMorgan detailed in a latest research analysis that the gravest outcome entails possible hostilities spreading to encompass oil supply interruptions from surrounding states, including endangering maritime transit via the Strait of Hormuz.
JPMorgan specified that this hard-line possibility holds approximately 7 percent likelihood, implying prices might achieve “explosive” growth propelled by international market alarm if the area deteriorates into extensive conflict.
Despite such warnings, the bank retained fundamental projections for Brent petroleum in the 60s per barrel territory for the remainder of 2025, expecting area and worldwide powers to suppress escalation, followed by approximately $60 in 2026.
Future scenarios
As regional geopolitical strain escalates, market observers concentrate on potential developments that might determine global crude price directions. If leading powers including the US and EU intervene to ease hostilities and forestall military reprisals between Iran and Israel, prices would likely diminish progressively toward pre-tension benchmarks. This pathway hinges on diplomatic effectiveness and immediate crisis management, which JPMorgan endorses in its fundamental outlook.
Alternatively, if Iran strikes back forcefully or hostilities broaden to encompass Iranian oil installations or Strait of Hormuz transit, petroleum prices could climb beyond $100-120 per barrel within global energy market pandemonium. This scenario might worsen should obstruction of the Strait of Hormuz happen, which JPMorgan characterized as the direst possibility, cited by Andy Lipow and Priyanka Sachdeva as realistic.
Three key factors to monitor
Against this backdrop of tensions, markets demonstrate limited potential for immediate calm, particularly as the Iranian challenge represents one of the most convoluted international political crises spanning over two decades. While investors endeavor to absorb ongoing developments, the short-range objective involves “stability” over inflated values. Hence, three principal indicators should be watched to determine pricing patterns:
First, Iran’s response style: Will it remain token or threaten supply continuity? Analysts regard Tehran’s reaction approach as the decisive factor influencing market trends in coming days.
Second, global powers’ effectiveness: Will they manage to shield the area from regional conflict? International mediation efforts need to serve crucial roles in limiting escalation and preventing progression toward wider confrontation.
Third, futures trading patterns: Do they demonstrate “sustained crisis” or “momentary surge” characteristics? Oil derivative contracts will deliver clear indications of market projections for extended timeframes. If pricing sustains long-term increases, this signals markets foresee continuing instability; if levels stabilize, this reflects perception of current turbulence as fleeting.
Broadly speaking, geopolitical dynamics will maintain control over petroleum markets in the near future, but if balance fails, effects will reach beyond energy to global price indices and economic development, with possible return to $100 pricing, potentially shadowing the entire world economy.
Pakistan PM urges ‘credible’ global action to halt Israel’s war in call with Iran’s president
- President Masoud Pezeshkian calls for greater Muslim unity in the face of escalating regional threats
- Pakistan’s defense minister also urges Muslim countries to sever their diplomatic relations with Israel
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday urged the international community and the United Nations to take “urgent and credible steps” to end Israel’s war in Iran, during a phone call with a phone call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, according to a statement from his office.
Israel launched surprise attacks on Iranian nuclear and military facilities in the early hours of Friday amid Tehran’s negotiations with Washington over its nuclear program. The strikes killed several senior military commanders and nuclear scientists, according to Iranian media, and also caused civilian casualties.
Israel, at war in the region since October 2023, initially launched a military campaign against Gaza following a Hamas assault, which the Palestinian group said was retaliation for decades of oppression. Since then, the Israeli government has expanded its military operations to neighboring Muslim states such as Syria and Lebanon before targeting Iran.
Sharif said Pakistan stood in “resolute solidarity” with Iranian people and government during his conversation with the Iranian president.
“The Prime Minster denounced Israel’s blatant provocations and adventurism as a grave threat to regional and global peace and stability,” said the statement released by his office after the phone call.
“He urged the international community and the United Nations to take urgent and credible steps to put an end to Israel’s aggressive behavior and its illegal actions,” it added. “He stated that Pakistan was fully committed to promoting peace in the region and stood ready to play its role in this context.”
Sharif also conveyed condolences over the loss of life in Friday’s Israeli strike and recalled Pakistan’s statement of support for Iran during an emergency session of the UN Security Council a day earlier.
The Iranian President thanked Pakistan for its solidarity and support and called for greater unity among Islamic countries in the face of escalating regional threats.
UNIFIED STRATEGY
Earlier in the day, Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif urged Muslim nations to adopt a unified strategy to counter Israel, warning that failure to act collectively would leave them vulnerable, as he expressed full diplomatic support to Iran in a speech to the National Assembly following Israeli strikes.
“Just as Israel is currently targeting Yemen, Iran, and Palestine, if the Muslim world does not unite today and continues to prioritize its own interests and agendas, then everyone’s turn will come,” he told lawmakers.
“An OIC meeting should be convened, and all Muslim countries must come together to devise a strategy through which Israel can be confronted collectively,” he continued. “There is a need for an initiative that reflects the unity of the Islamic world. Wherever there are diplomatic ties with Israel in the Muslim world, they should be severed.”
The Pakistani minister added the Muslim world remained “militarily vulnerable” and voiced what he described as Pakistan’s unwavering solidarity with Iran.
NO NUCLEAR TALKS
The Iranian foreign ministry also announced during the day it would no longer take part in planned nuclear negotiations with the United States in Oman, calling them “meaningless” while Israeli attacks continued.
“It is obvious that in such circumstances and until the Zionist regime’s aggression against the Iranian nation stops, it would be meaningless to participate in dialogue with a party that is the biggest supporter and accomplice of the aggressor,” an Iranian spokesperson said, according to international wire agencies.
Israel’s defense minister also warned “Tehran will burn” if Iran continued to launch missiles at Israeli cities. Iran had retaliated on Friday night by launching a barrage of missiles at Israel, with explosions lighting up the skies over Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
Just a day earlier, hours after Israel targeted Iran, Pakistan’s envoy to the UN, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, condemned the strike on Iran’s military and nuclear infrastructure, calling it a violation of international law.
“Iran has the right to self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter,” he said, urging all sides to avoid further escalation and emphasizing the need to resolve tensions through diplomacy.
