Here’s what we’re following:
- U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that the ceasefire is on “life support” after he rejected Iran’s latest proposal to end the war over its lack of satisfactory nuclear concessions. The stalled diplomacy follows recent exchanges of fire between the two countries, while Iran’s chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz and the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports remain in place.
- Trump also said Monday that he would indefinitely suspend the federal gas tax, though Congress needs to approve the move. The war continues to send fuel prices skyrocketing and rattle world markets. After Trump’s comment on the weakness of the ceasefire, the price for a barrel of Brent crude oil climbed 2.9% to $104.18.
- Trump will travel to Beijing this week for a rescheduled summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. But Beijing’s deep economic ties to Iran, as well as trade tensions over tariff threats stretching back to Trump’s first term, could crimp the meeting, even though the Republican president has for years effusively praised Xi.
- Democrats on Monday filed an emergency appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to halt a Virginia ruling invalidating a ballot measure that would have given their party an additional four winnable U.S. House seats. The ballot measure, narrowly passed by voters, was struck down by the Virginia Supreme Court last week.
