US President Donald Trump announced an extension of the ceasefire with Iran on Wednesday, but did not set a deadline for resuming talks, saying the US would continue its blockade of Tehran and wait for Iran's 'proposal' for further negotiations.
However, Trump faces another deadline at home in the US Congress. Under the War Powers Resolution, Trump must obtain congressional approval by May 1. The resolution requires the president to limit troop deployments in any ongoing conflict after 60 days unless Congress grants specific authorization.
To obtain approval, both the House of Representatives and the Senate must pass a joint resolution by simple majority. This has not happened yet. However, previous presidents have bypassed the law using other legal bases for military operations.
Maryam Jamshidi, associate professor of law at Colorado Law School, explained that to extend the 60-day window by 30 days, the president must certify in writing to Congress that continued use of armed force is due to 'unavoidable military necessity.' 'Beyond this 90-day window, the president is required to terminate the deployment of US armed forces if Congress has not declared war or otherwise authorized continuing military action,' she added.
It remains uncertain whether Congress will authorize continued military action against Iran due to deep divisions between Democrats and Republicans. On April 15, a fourth bipartisan bid in the Senate to curb Trump's war powers was defeated 52-47, largely along party lines.
Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said: 'We should not fail to note how extraordinary it is that our Senate Republican leadership has declined to do any oversight of a war that is costing billions of dollars every week.' Republican Senator John Curtis wrote: 'I support the president's actions taken in defense of American lives and interests. However, I will not support ongoing military action beyond a 60-day window without congressional approval.'
Military pressure continues in parallel. On April 15, US forces fired on and seized the Iranian-flagged container ship Touska in the northern Arabian Sea near the Strait of Hormuz. Trump said the ship ignored US orders to alter its course. Iran responded two days later by capturing two foreign commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and moving them to the Iranian coast.
Salar Mohendesi, a professor of history at Bowdoin College, said the war has been 'terrible' for Trump, with polls showing the US public opposed to it, but he is likely to continue it in some form. 'His entire brand is based on winning. He told the American public that he could extract a better deal from Iran, he promised that he would not get involved in a war,' Mohendesi said.
Experts question how Trump will continue the war and potentially circumvent Congress. The Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) from 2001 and 2002 provides another legal basis, granting the president power to use force for specific goals. Trump used the 2002 AUMF to order the assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in 2020.
Source: www.aljazeera.com