US Senate Blocks Bid to Limit Trump’s Military Powers as Fragile Ceasefire with Iran Holds

With a temporary truce now in place between Washington and Tehran, the US Senate has voted down a resolution that would have sharply restricted President Donald Trump’s authority to conduct military operations against Iran.

According to The New York Times, this was the fourth attempt by Democrats to bar the president from launching strikes on Iran without congressional approval. The measure was defeated largely along party lines, with Republicans forming the bulk of the opposition. Yet even among Trump’s own allies, unease is mounting over the prolonged conflict and the surge in fuel prices that is beginning to sour voter sentiment.

President Trump himself is said to be determined to bring the Middle East operation to a swift conclusion. The White House has made clear that the United States is not looking to extend the current ceasefire. At the same time, administration officials voiced cautious optimism about the prospects of a broader agreement with Tehran, with talks expected to take place, most likely, in Islamabad.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz continues. In response, Iranian military commanders warned that failure to lift it would prompt Tehran to shut down all maritime trade across the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Any threat to Iranian vessels, they added, would be treated as a “prelude” to the collapse of the truce. Despite the American cordon, several Iranian tankers have already succeeded in passing through the strait.