The United States Senate has voted on a resolution aimed at restricting President Donald Trump’s power to wage war with Iran, failing for the fourth time in a row. Yet lawmakers pledged to introduce the measure weekly.
The vote was the first since the US and Iran agreed on two temporary ceasefires last week, with subsequent peace talks held in Islamabad, Pakistan. A day before the ceasefire, Donald Trump threatened to take out all civilian infrastructure in Iran, in response to which Iran urged people to remain on the streets and protect the infrastructure.
His threat on April 7 that “a whole civilisation will die tonight”, just hours before an agreement had been reached, stoked further calls for Congress to constrain Trump on the war. As happened in the past, the resolution, which went to a vote, failed mostly along party lines, with 47 in favour and 52 against, with one Republican senator, Rand Paul, voting in favour while one Democrat, John Fetterman, voted against.
Supporting lawmakers said that Donald Trump overstepped his constitutional authority in launching war alongside Israel against Iran in February.
The US Constitution reserves the decision to go to war for Congress, with presidents only able to unilaterally launch operations in instances of immediate self-defence.
Defending the decision, the Trump administration has repeatedly said that Iran’s Islamic regime posed a threat to the United States since its transition in 1979.
Speaking before Wednesday’s vote, US Senator Chris Murphy called the conflict a “bungled, mismanaged war” that has failed to achieve several of the administration’s stated goals.
“We should not fail to note how extraordinary it is that our Senate Republican leadership has declined to do any oversight of a war that is costing billions of dollars every week, that has already led to the loss of over a dozen American lives, that has erupted a regional war throughout the Middle East, and that is literally melting down economies all over the world,” Murphy said.
On Wednesday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said that no ships entering or exiting Iranian ports had successfully crossed the US blockade in the Strait of Hormuz over the last 48 hours. It said that nine vessels had complied with US military commands to turn around.
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