The Republican-led US Senate has rejected Democratsʼ latest attempt to stop the war in Iran. Lawmakers failed to support a resolution that would have required the US to withdraw troops until Congress authorizes further action.
The Associated Press writes about this.
This was the fourth attempt by Congress to limit Donald Trumpʼs actions in the Middle East — and they all failed.
Democrats insist that Trump started the war without congressional authorization and exceeded his authority. Republicans largely support the president, although some are already expressing concern about the conflictʼs protracted nature.
By law, Congress must declare war or authorize the use of force within 60 days of the start of the war, a deadline that expires at the end of this month. That deadline can be extended for another 30 days, but lawmakers have already made it clear they want the administration to come up with a plan to end the war soon.
War in the Middle East and negotiations between Iran and the US
On the morning of February 28, the US and Israel launched an attack on Iran. Iranʼs Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and almost the entire military leadership of the country — about 40 key high-ranking officials — were killed.
Iran, in response to the US and Israeli attacks, began shelling Arab countries and Israel. The war also halted tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, through which almost a fifth of the worldʼs oil exports passed. This led to a sharp increase in oil and gas prices.
On the night of April 8, Trump wrote that he had agreed to a two-week ceasefire with Iran. Later, Iran published a 10-point peace plan: under it, the parties would cease hostilities, the US would withdraw troops from the Middle East and would no longer attack Iranian bases, and ships would have limited access to the Strait of Hormuz for two weeks.
Iran would also be required to lift primary and secondary sanctions and compensate for losses. Iran would commit not to developing nuclear weapons, and the US would recognize Iranʼs right to enrich uranium.
But on the afternoon of April 8, the Prime Minister of Pakistan said that ceasefire violations had been recorded in several places in the conflict zone in the Middle East.
Reuters sources reported that Iran had struck the East-West oil pipeline in Saudi Arabia, which is currently the only channel for exporting crude oil from the country, and other facilities. Before that, Iran announced an American attack on the refinery on Laban Island and threatened to respond.
At the same time, Israel launched its largest attack on Lebanon since the start of the new war: in 10 minutes, the Israeli army attacked more than 100 sites of the pro-Iranian Hezbollah, killing more than 350 people. Israel claims that the ceasefire does not apply to Lebanon, while Pakistani mediators wrote that the cessation of hostilities also applies to Lebanon.
The talks took place on April 10-11 and lasted almost 21 hours. The US and Iran did not agree on a final end to the war.
After the US-Pakistani talks in Islamabad on April 10-11, the US President Donald Trump said that the main reason for their failure was Iranʼs refusal to dismantle its nuclear program. And the main US negotiator, Vice President J.D. Vance, called the positions of the parties completely opposite on the issue of guarantees that Iran will never be able to create nuclear weapons — "not just now, not just in two years, but in the long term".
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