Members loyal to US President Donald Trump have opposed a bill introduced by opposition Democrats to the upper house of the US Congress to prevent Trump from using military force to launch further attacks on Iran. The upper house of the US Congress made this decision just hours after Trump said he was considering bombing Iran again.
Israel initiated attacks on Iran on June 13, claiming to halt Iran’s nuclear program. In those attacks, Israel targeted important areas of Iran. This was the biggest attack on Iran since the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s. In that attack, senior commanders of the Iranian military, nuclear scientists, and many civilians were martyred. In response to that attack, Iran launched a special military operation called Operation True Promise 3 against Israel and inflicted severe damage on the Jewish state. In the exchanges of attacks between the two sides, 610 Iranians were martyred and more than 5,000 were injured. Additionally, 28 Israelis were killed, 3,238 were injured, and buildings and military bases suffered significant damage.
While Israel was attacking Iran, on June 22, the United States also entered the war and bombed Iran’s main nuclear facilities. They attacked nuclear facilities in Isfahan, Fordow, and Natanz. In retaliation, Iran attacked the largest US military base in Qatar. After that, Israel and Iran agreed to stop exchanging attacks.
In a vote in the upper house of Congress on whether to decide that military force cannot be used against Iran again without congressional authorization, 47 members voted in favor of the proposal. However, 53 members voted against it. In voting, members generally considered party ideology. All Democrats except one member voted in favor of the bill. All members of Trump’s Republican Party except one voted against the bill.
Congressman Tim Kaine, who introduced this bill, has been working for many years to change the power to start a war from the hands of the president to the powers of Congress. Kaine said the latest efforts are empowered by the Constitution, which gives only Congress the power to declare war. He noted that if they want to attack Iran, it should be done through Congress, with the permission of that body, as stated in the Constitution. In his speech before the vote, Kaine also said that whether or not the president wants to go to war against Iran, he must submit it to Congress as stated in the Constitution.
Members of the US Congress have been calling for more information about the sudden attacks by the US against Iran on June 22. They are also calling for clarification on what happened to the uranium that Iran claims to have enriched as a result of the US attack. In the past 24 hours, Trump has heavily criticized Iran’s spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and abandoned his intention to lift sanctions against Iran. He said that if Iran enriches uranium to a worrying level again, bombing Iran is possible.
Under US law, war-related resolutions in the Senate have special privileges. Such resolutions must be promptly studied and voted on without delay. Kaine’s resolution was introduced earlier this month. However, for these resolutions to become law, they must be accepted and passed by both the upper and lower houses of Congress. Mike Johnson, the Speaker of the lower house of Congress and a close associate of Trump, said earlier this week that this is not the most appropriate time for such an effort.
During Trump’s first term, in 2020, Kaine also introduced a similar resolution to remove the president’s ability to wage war against Iran. That time, the resolution narrowly passed both the upper and lower houses of Congress. However, it did not receive enough votes to override the president’s veto power.
