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Video caption, Moment the US House of Representatives voted to pass a resolution limiting President Donald Trump’s ability to engage in further military action against Iran
The US House of Representatives has passed a resolution aiming to prevent President Donald Trump from further military action against Iran. Previous attempts to pass similar legislation did not gain sufficient backing.
The vote passed by 215 to 208. This followed four Republicans joining Democrats in a public display of disapproval over the war which President Trump initiated in February this year.
The vote was the fourth attempt by the House of Representatives to limit Mr Trump’s war powers without Congressional approval.
In May, a similar resolution was introduced in the US Senate – following seven previous unsuccessful attempts, but it has yet to be fully approved.
The House resolution still needs approval from the Republican-controlled US Senate (but does not require Mr Trump’s signature).
But even if this vote is successful, it is unlikely to completely halt military action against Iran.
However, it is highly symbolic.
Why it matters
Wednesday’s vote was another sign of a split in Mr Trump’s Republican party, coming just days after a conservative “revolt” in Congress forced his administration to abandon plans to set up a $1.8bn (£1.4bn) “war chest” for political allies.
To pass the resolution passed on Wednesday by the House of Representatives, Republicans Thomas Massie, Brian Fitzpatrick, Tom Barrett and Warren Davidson joined Democrats, and the Democrat Jared Golden of Maine, who had previously voted against similar measures, expressed his support this time.
“Only Congress declares war, and that is something that we absolutely must protect,” said Mr Barrett, a Republican from Michigan. When asked if he was concerned about retribution from Mr Trump for his vote, Mr Barrett replied: “I vote my conscience on what I think is right and I’m willing to accept responsibility.”
Gregory Meeks, the ranking Democrat on the House foreign affairs committee, called the vote “a significant bipartisan condemnation of President Trump’s illegal and costly war in Iran and the first step towards bringing it to a final end”.
Mr Meeks said Mr Trump had failed to achieve the stated aims of the war, which had led to an increase in fuel prices in the US and further complicated diplomatic efforts to resolve Iran’s nuclear programme.
“This passing today signals a significant turning point: more and more Republicans are listening to their constituents who do not want another endless war in the Middle East,” said Mr Meeks, who co-sponsored the resolution.
The US and Israel struck Iran on 28 February. Iran responded by attacking Israel and US allies in the Persian Gulf, effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane for global trade.
In April, the US announced a blockade of vessels heading to or from the coast of Iran.
The US and Iran reached an initial ceasefire agreement on 8 April. Despite this agreement, the US has struck Iran in recent days, and Tehran has responded with strikes on Kuwait, a US ally.
Ahead of the vote, President Trump reiterated that talks to end the war were going “very well” and could be concluded this weekend.
“We hit them pretty hard the other night, and actually last night,” Mr Trump told reporters at the White House on Wednesday, referring to strikes on Iran. “Some people may say they were provoked a little bit, because we took strong action for another reason, so they reciprocated.”
The President added that most members of his administration were hoping to conclude the conflict soon with an agreement, “without killing everybody.”
“They’re theoretically pretty close to signing a document, actually we’ve gotten along very well with them,” President Trump said.