US-Iran Responses, Trump's Trip To China Amid Iran War, Congress To Do List

0:02President Trump called Iran's counteroffer to end the war totally unacceptable. Iran's president says the country will, quote, never bow our heads to the U.S. Officials there are increasingly calling Iran a global superpower. I'm Michelle Martin. That's A. Martinez. And this is Up First from NPR News.

0:20President Trump heads to Beijing tomorrow to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping. The war in Iran is in its third month with no end in sight. So how will that affect the high-stakes meetings? And Congress is back in session after a week-long break. Republicans are starting with a major push to lock in three years of funding for immigration enforcement. How much oversight are lawmakers giving up? Stay with us. We'll give you news you need to start your day.

0:51On Consider This, NPR's afternoon news podcast, we cover everything from politics to the economy to the world. But every story starts with a question. At NPR, we stand for your right to be curious, to make sense of the biggest story of the day and what it means for you. Follow Consider This wherever you get your podcasts. Iran has responded to President Trump's latest terms for ending the war with its own set of demands. Trump called Iran's response totally unacceptable. There is a flurry of diplomacy now behind the scenes by countries in the region to break the impasse. But the gap between what Trump wants and what Iran is willing to agree to is still wide.

1:32For now, the ceasefire is still holding, but a shadow drone war continued over the weekend, with Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and Iran each saying they intercepted hostile drones. Joining us to tell us more about all this from Dubai is NPR International correspondent Aya Barchawi. Aya, good morning. Good morning, Michelle. So what do we know so far about this stalemate? Well, we don't know what was in that U.S. proposal that was sent to Iran last week, but we do know that Trump has made clear he wants Iran to halt nuclear enrichment and to open the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping again.

2:02You know, oil prices are still trading more than 40 % higher than they were before the war. But we also know that Iran has consistently rejected halting its nuclear enrichment, and it wants the U.S. to not only lift sanctions, but to unfreeze billions of dollars in its own money in overseas banks. And Iran's leaders remain defiant. You know, Despite a U.S. naval blockade that's now choking off its oil exports, they seem to believe that they have leverage now with their control of the Strait of Hormuz where they've been blocking ships from passing. Iranian officials have also increasingly been referring to Iran as a global superpower now.

2:35Iran's elected president, Masoud Pazeshkan, said that, quote, we will never bow our heads before the enemy. What about Iran's response to that U.S. proposal? Do we know anything about that? So Iran's foreign ministry spokesman today said that the U.S. demands were unreasonable. And Iranian state media says Iran's response emphasized its rights as a nation, but it didn't really elaborate more on that. But they do also say Tehran's response included red lines. And they said that includes ending the Israeli war in Lebanon with the Iran-backed Hezbollah. And that's where Israeli troops still occupy a large part of the territory in the south.

3:08But the big picture here, Michelle, is that there's really no trust in negotiations. You know, President Trump did pull the U.S. out of that first deal with Iran in his first term as president. And then he ordered, you know, attacks on Iran during the last two rounds of talks in June and February. So Iran says any deal has to be reciprocal with both sides taking steps. Still, it doesn't seem either side is eager to return to war. And Arab Gulf states are still reeling from Iran's attacks on their energy infrastructure in this war. Well, what about that? The diplomatic efforts in the region to end the war, are those ongoing?

3:39So Pakistan is still working as a mediator to bridge gaps between the U.S. and Iran. And Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed al-Fani this weekend met with top Trump officials in the U.S. And he spoke by phone with the foreign minister of Iran as well as foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and other countries. It's important to remember Qatar has had to halt its gas production because of this war. But, you know, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he says this war is not yet over. However, his tone has shifted. At the start of this war, he was calling for a regime change, and Israel's airstrikes actually took out Iran's supreme leader at the start of the war.

4:17But in an interview with CBS's 60 Minutes that aired Sunday, Netanyahu was pressed about how to deal with Iran's enriched uranium, and he said it should be removed, quote, if you have an agreement. And when he was pressed on whether he'd planned for Iran's control of the Strait of Hormuz and Iran's attacks on its Gulf Arab neighbors when going into this war, he said he didn't have, quote, perfect foresight. But I will say here there is economic pressure building for this war to end, including by China. And that is where Trump is heading this week for a major summit with Xi Jinping. That is. And PR International Correspondent Aya Bertraoui in Dubai.

4:50Aya, thanks. Thanks, Michelle. OK, President Trump leaves for Beijing tomorrow to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping. A state visit was rescheduled after Trump said it wouldn't be right to leave the U.S. in the middle of the war with Iran. It's very simple. We've got a war going on. I think it's important that I be here. That was two months ago. The trip is back on, but the war is not over. NPR senior political correspondent Tamara Keith will be traveling with the president to China. She's here to tell us more about this. Good morning. Good morning. So is it surprising that the president is going ahead with this trip now?

5:24You know, in some ways it is. The war hasn't ended quickly and conclusively, as Trump had expected. He called the latest offer from Iran totally unacceptable. A senior U.S. official not authorized to speak publicly told me a better way to think about this is why would he not continue with this trip and all the other duties that he has as president? Kurt Campbell, chairman of the Asia Group, says the timing is awkward. It is remarkable that President Trump is prepared to go to China under these circumstances. But may I also say that it's also deeply unusual that China is prepared to host him. And with a celebratory state visit at that.

6:06So think about this. China and Iran are close allies and trading partners. And the U.S. has just spent weeks bombing Iran and is now blockading all ships connected to Iran. Campbell, who served in foreign policy roles in Democratic administrations, says the U.S. and China both have reasons to move forward. It suggests that both believe they have interests in meeting. And I think part of that is a desire to keep a relationship that is fraught and challenging with a degree at least of equilibrium. Okay, so Tam, you've been covering this administration for a long time. So how do you expect the ongoing around conflict to affect the agenda for this meeting between Trump and Xi?

6:50When this visit was first put on the books last fall, the focus was on keeping the trade truce between these two powers going. And that is still on the agenda. But now there's this pressing new global challenge, says Lyle Goldstein. He's director of the China Initiative at Brown University. I do think that this war will dominate the summit. I mean, let's face it, it will push a lot of other things off the agenda. I mean, if for no other reason, Trump is focused on it because he wants it, you know, off his desk, you know, as it were, I think, and wants to resolve this political problem. Iran's foreign minister just recently went to China and met with his counterpart there.

7:27and China is credited with helping to push Iran to accept that initial ceasefire. Goldstein says he could imagine Trump asking Xi to pressure Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and make a deal to end the war. Does that change the dynamic between Trump and Xi? Inevitably. Ali Wine with the International Crisis Group says it favors Xi. The war in Iran has given President Xi sources of leverage that he would not have anticipated having at the beginning of this year. For instance, he says the U.S. will need rare earth minerals from China to rebuild its supply of missile interceptors that have been depleted by the war.

8:04To hear Trump tell it, though, the war with Iran hasn't affected his friendly relationship with Xi. And when there have been questions about China possibly assisting Iran with the war, Trump has downplayed those concerns. That is NPS Tamara Keith. Tam, thank you. You're welcome.

8:27Congress is back after a week-long break. The focus on passing three years of funding for immigration enforcement. The goal is to take care of the most controversial piece of President Trump's agenda for the rest of his term. NPR Congress reporter Eric McDaniel is here to tell us more about this. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Is it normal to pass three years of funding in one go? No, definitely not. Generally, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, ICE, and Customs and Border Protection are funded on the same cycle as everything else. October through September. But because of the fight over how ICE and Border Patrol have conducted Trump's mass deportation agenda, federal agents killed two citizens in Minnesota earlier this year.

9:06Democrats blocked their annual funding as they pushed for reforms. These agencies weren't hurting for cash. Trump's one big, beautiful bill dedicated more than$100 billion toward the teams last year, but they have been without their usual appropriated money since February. So Republicans have decided, let's just put this issue to rest. We have the votes to end this fight through Trump's term in the White House. So what impact would having this long-term funding stream have? Well, think of it this way. If all the funding is already in the bank, Congress has one fewer tool in their box of checks and balances to oversee how immigration enforcement is conducted in the U.S.

9:41Democrats have blocked money in hopes of making ICE and CBP agents wear body cameras and limit their use of face coverings. But with money paid out for three years of operations, that lever will be gone. Congress, of course, has other oversight tools like calling in Homeland Security Secretary Mark Wayne Mullen and other officials in to testify before Congress. But make no mistake, congressional Republicans are choosing to let go of a big piece of their leverage over the executive branch here. Eric, does it seem as though this is becoming a kind of an ongoing theme in this Congress, stepping back from oversight?

10:14I'd say so. Think about the power of the purse. The Constitution says Congress, you folks get to decide how we spend taxpayer dollars. But to folks during the DHS shutdown, the president moved money around on his own to write paychecks. Congress just kind of shrugged, even though that's really their job to do. Congress also has the power to declare war and regulate the use of the military. Trump's war on Iran has lasted more than 60 days at this point. That's a key legal threshold. And Congress hasn't passed a bill to either authorize or rebuke the conflict. But in the case of long-term funding, you can also make the case that Republicans are helping to stabilize the government a bit.

10:47Most of our peer countries just don't do big shutdowns like the U.S. does. So giving these teams at the heart of the president's agenda, the issue he was elected on, funding for the rest of his term, is also a big step toward consistency, if not accountability. So what has to happen to get this over the finish line, this funding over the finish line? Well, this week, eyes are on the Senate. Republican leadership wants to keep this bill really focused. Just ICE, just CBP. But there's already a billion dollars in security money for the White House ballroom in there that could make this hard to pass if it stays in.

11:17And some House Republicans want to make it even broader than that, to add some affordability measures, to add Trump's election security proof of citizenship bill. But I think with what is a one or two vote margin to pass things through the House, I just don't see a world in which those provisions make it to the finish line. And before we let you go, where is the president on all of this? Well, he's mostly stayed out of it lately, letting Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune lead the process. He's been focused on gas prices and Iran, as well as some of the statehouse Republican primaries.

11:46Trump did set a deadline of June 1st for them to have this funding bill on his desk, though. And I think so far, so good on that front. But when it comes to Congress, things always do find a way to get stuck. That is NPR congressional reporter Eric McDaniel. Eric, thank you. Thanks, Michelle.

12:03And that's Up First for Monday, May 11th. I'm Michelle Martin. And I'm Martinez. Today's episode of Up First was edited by Tina Kraja, Rebecca Metzler, Dana Farrington, Mohamed Elbardisi, Adam Bearn, and John Stolnes. It was produced by Ziad Butch and Mia Dumas. Our director is Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Maggie Luther. Our technical director is Carly Strange. Join us again tomorrow.

12:29Thank you.