Tehran/Washington, 22 May (H.S.): There are signs of progress amid efforts to broker a peace agreement between the United States and Iran, as tensions continue across West Asia and the Strait of Hormuz. Mediating countries are trying to persuade both sides to step back from confrontation. For now, the effort is to get the two parties to reach a lasting agreement.

Meanwhile, Democrats in the United States have failed in their attempt to place curbs on President Donald Trump’s powers related to military action. A motion brought to the House for a vote on the bill did not go through.

Reports from Al Jazeera, CBS News, and Iran’s ISNA news agency said that talks between Tehran and Washington are continuing through several countries. Both sides are exchanging messages and draft proposals as they try to create a formal framework for an agreement to end the conflict. A senior Iranian official said the deal is close, while another source said it was still too early to say whether a final agreement would be reached.

Earlier on Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there were “some good signs” from the talks. U.S. President Trump, meanwhile, warned that if Iran does not give up its uranium stockpile, “very tough” steps will be taken against it.

At the same time, House Republicans cancelled a vote on the Iran war bill. Had the vote taken place, Trump’s powers would have been limited and he would have been forced to back away from war. The vote has now been postponed until June.

Democratic Congressman Gregory Meeks, who introduced the bill, said, “We had enough numbers. That is why they are playing a political game.”

House Democratic leaders said in a joint statement, “The Republican-controlled House continues to act like a full subsidiary of the Trump administration.” They added, “Republicans showed cowardice by cancelling the vote on the war powers resolution. This was a piece of legislation that would have passed with bipartisan support and forced the president to end the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.”

House Republican leader Steve Scalise told reporters that the vote was postponed to give lawmakers who were not present at the time a chance to vote. House Speaker Mike Johnson did not respond to questions from reporters as he left the House chamber.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar