The US House has voted for a third time to end the war in Iran, passing a war powers resolution that would prevent Donald Trump from continuing military action without congressional approval.
The measure passed by 220 votes to 204 late on Tuesday, with all Democrats joined by seven Republicans. Three of those Republicans supported the resolution for the first time.
Iowa Republican Zach Nunn said the latest developments meant sustained military operations now required authorisation from Congress.
“With the negotiating window closed, sustained combat operations now require congressional authorization,” Mr Nunn said. “I will not support another open-ended war.”
However, none of the resolutions passed by the House has reached the president’s desk. Mr Trump would almost certainly veto the measure if it did.
Brian Mast, the Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, questioned which military resources Democrats would seek to withdraw from the region, arguing that Iran remained a threat to the United States.
Mr Mast said Mr Trump opposed “forever wars” and was bringing decades of hostilities with Iran to an end. “They are a continuous ongoing threat to the United States,” he said. “Enough is enough.”
Iran war becomes midterm election issue
The vote is expected to be the House’s final decision on the conflict before lawmakers return home at the end of the week to campaign for the midterm elections.
The war, launched by Mr Trump on February 28, has continued for almost seven months, with deadly missile strikes exchanged intermittently across the region. Democrats are seeking to take control of Congress from Republicans, and the conflict has become a significant issue in the campaigns.
A Congressional Budget Office report released on Tuesday said the six-month war had cost $38 billion and was adding a further $3 billion a month. It said the conflict was expected to increase inflation by 0.5 percentage points during the first three months of 2027, while also putting pressure on US munitions stockpiles.
The conflict has created difficulties for the Republican Party, which controls both chambers of Congress. Most Americans said the war had not been worth fighting in an AP-NORC poll conducted in July.
Previous attempts to limit military action
The House approved similar war powers resolutions in June and July. The Senate also passed one on its tenth attempt, but Republican senators reversed their position the following day after Mr Trump criticised them during a private lunch.
Congress has the constitutional power to declare war, while the president, as commander-in-chief, can undertake some military action. The War Powers Act, introduced after the Vietnam conflict, sought to impose limits by requiring congressional approval for sustained operations after 60 or 90 days.
