US lawmakers move towards vote on limiting Trump’s Iran strike authority

Members of the US Congress could vote as soon as next week on legislation aimed at blocking President Donald Trump from launching military strikes against Iran without explicit congressional approval.

Reporting on Friday, Reuters said both Democrats and a small number of Republicans had repeatedly attempted to pass war powers resolutions that would bar the president from initiating military action against foreign governments without lawmakers’ consent. Those efforts have failed, with Trump’s Republican allies arguing that Congress should not restrict the president’s authority in the area.

Democratic Senator Tim Kaine and Republican Senator Rand Paul filed a Senate resolution late last month to block hostilities against Iran unless explicitly authorized by a congressional declaration of war.

“If some of my colleagues support war, then they should have the guts to vote for the war, and to be held accountable by their constituents, rather than hiding under their desks,” Kaine said in a statement on Friday, as US military assets moved towards Iran.

An aide to Kaine said there was no timetable yet for when the Senate might take up the resolution, but in the House of Representatives, Republican Thomas Massie and Democrat Ro Khanna said they planned to force a vote on a similar measure next week.

“Trump officials say there's a 90% chance of strikes on Iran. He can't without Congress,” Khanna said in a post on X.

The congressional push comes as the United States has been amassing military assets near Iran. US officials said on February 12 that the Department of War was sending an additional aircraft carrier, along with thousands of troops, warplanes, and guided-missile destroyers, to the region.

Trump said most recently, referring to the USS Gerald R. Ford, “In case we don't make a deal, we'll need it.”

The military buildup has unfolded alongside indirect nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington in Geneva. Oman, the intermediary, has said the latest round of indirect talks concluded with tangible progress, paving the way for further discussions.

On Thursday, Iran’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani said Tehran would not initiate war, but would respond firmly to any aggression.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has repeatedly stated at the highest level that it neither seeks tension nor war, and will not initiate any war,” he wrote in a letter to the UN chief and the Security Council president. “However, in the event that it is subjected to military aggression, Iran will respond decisively and proportionately in the exercise of its inherent right of self-defense under Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations.”

The envoy added that in case of military aggression, all regional bases, facilities, and assets belonging to the “hostile force” would constitute “legitimate targets” for Iran’s retaliatory operations, warning that the United States would bear responsibility for any “unpredictable and uncontrolled” consequences.

Earlier this week, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei addressed repeated US military threats, saying that the weapons capable of sinking American carriers were “more dangerous” than the warships themselves.

“The American president repeatedly says that their military is the strongest in the world. The strongest military in the world, however, can sometimes be struck so hard that it cannot even get back on its feet,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.

“They keep saying, ‘We have sent an aircraft carrier toward Iran.’ Fine—an aircraft carrier is certainly a dangerous piece of equipment. But more dangerous than the carrier is the weapon capable of sending it to the bottom of the sea,” the Leader added.

Referring to Washington’s long-standing opposition to the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Khamenei said, “For 47 years, America has failed to destroy the Islamic Republic,” and added, “I say this: You will not be able to do so in the future either.”

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