Trump formally informs US Congress of renewed war with Iran as Washington strikes targets in Tehran | Today’s news
US President Donald Trump has formally notified Congress that the country is once again at war with Iran, giving his administration an additional 60 days to use military force in the region without first obtaining congressional approval.
In a July 10 letter to the US Congress, Trump informed lawmakers that the strikes, which began on July 7, constituted “military action consistent with my responsibility to protect the American people and the interests of the United States at home and abroad,” CBS News reported.
Donald Trump’s letter to lawmakers
In a letter to the US Congress last week, the US president wrote that Washington had engaged in “productive efforts in good faith to achieve a diplomatic solution to Iran’s malign behaviour”, which led the two nations to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) last month. He added that Tehran’s attacks on three oil tankers last week violated provisions of the interim agreement that required the Islamic Republic to ensure safe transit through the Strait of Hormuz, prompting the US strikes.
The letter went on to say: “The United States Armed Forces remain prepared to take further action, as necessary and appropriate, to address additional threats and attacks against the United States or its allies and partners and to ensure that the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran ceases to be a threat to the United States and our allies and partners.”
Trade strikes between the US and Iran
The letter was sent after Trump announced last week that the ceasefire was “terminated” and announced several rounds of strikes on Iranian targets in response to Tehran’s attacks on commercial vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz. While the memorandum of understanding stated that Tehran would take measures to ensure the safe passage of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz for 60 days, Iranian authorities recently insisted that ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz must seek permission from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and use an “authorized route” before passing through the arterial waterway.
According to Politico, Washington’s war with Tehran has proven extremely difficult for Trump as the two nations vie for control of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial choke point for world energy supplies. As the US president fumes over his failure to strike a peace deal with Tehran, Republicans fear being blamed for higher gas prices ahead of November’s midterm elections.
Earlier announcements by the Trump administration to Congress
In early May, the Trump administration formally notified Congress that the war, which began in late February, was “over,” avoiding a 60-day deadline in which Washington’s military operations must cease without congressional approval. The announcement came after Trump announced a cease-fire with Tehran in early April that was extended indefinitely, with the White House claiming the move halted the warring powers’ time.
The War Powers Resolution of 1973 sets a time frame in which the president must notify Congress after U.S. forces are committed to hostilities, and sets a deadline for withdrawing those forces if lawmakers do not authorize them. In the absence of express congressional approval, the law states that once the deadline expires, the president “shall terminate all use of the armed forces of the United States.”
Last month, the US Senate voted to end hostilities with Tehran in what was seen as a largely symbolic rebuke of the conflict. In a 50-48 vote, the Senate approved the war powers resolution after the House of Representatives approved the measure earlier in June. The vote reflected growing concern among lawmakers, including some of Trump’s Republican allies, about the unpopular conflict that began on February 28 when the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran.
