Washington D.C.<\/strong> \u2013 In a controversial declaration, U.S. President Donald Trump informed Congress on Friday that he does not require legislative authorization for ongoing military operations against Iran. Trump cited a supposed \u2018ceasefire\u2019 as justification, despite the undeclared conflict having reached the critical 60-day threshold this week, a period that typically mandates congressional approval under the 1973 War Powers Resolution.<\/p>\n Trump asserted in letters to Congress that a two-week ceasefire, ordered on April 7, 2026, and subsequently extended, has effectively terminated hostilities. He claimed, \u201cThere has been no exchange of fire between the United States Forces and Iran since April 7, 2026. The hostilities that began on February 28, 2026, have terminated.\u201d However, this narrative starkly contrasts with the reality on the ground and the views of numerous legal experts and lawmakers.<\/p>\n Despite Trump\u2019s claims of peace, he paradoxically acknowledged the \u201csignificant\u201d threat posed by Iran, promising to keep congressional leaders updated on further developments. This contradictory stance has fueled accusations that the administration is attempting to bypass constitutional checks and balances.<\/p>\n The 1973 War Powers Resolution explicitly requires presidential authorization from Congress after 60 days of military conflict. Critics argue that the Trump administration\u2019s notification to Congress on March 2, marking the start of the 60-day clock, clearly places current operations under this mandate. Yet, Trump conspicuously omitted any mention of the law\u2019s provision for a 30-day extension for troop withdrawal, further highlighting his intent to avoid formal authorization.<\/p>\n The core of the controversy lies in the continued aggressive actions by the U.S. military. While a temporary ceasefire was indeed announced on April 8 to facilitate negotiations and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, these talks have yielded no results. Crucially, the U.S. has maintained a formidable naval blockade of Iranian ports, deploying over 100 fighter and surveillance aircraft, two carrier strike groups, and more than a dozen ships to enforce it. In a blatant act of aggression, a U.S. Navy destroyer even fired upon an Iranian-flagged cargo ship attempting to navigate the blockade.<\/p>\n Legal scholars have unequivocally rejected Trump\u2019s interpretation. Michael Glennon, a professor of constitutional and international law at Tufts University, described Trump\u2019s argument as \u201ca stretch,\u201d stating, \u201cThe hostilities are continuing as a consequence of the administration\u2019s enforcement of the blockade. That\u2019s not a ceasefire. It\u2019s not a suspension of hostilities.\u201d Glennon emphasized that a genuine ceasefire would mean the war has ended, which it clearly has not.<\/p>\n Stephen Pomper, chief of policy at the International Crisis Group, echoed these sentiments, calling the naval blockade \u201ca hostile act\u2026 an act of war\u201d that puts U.S. troops at risk. He questioned, \u201cSo, if this isn\u2019t a situation that\u2019s covered by the definition of hostilities, what is?\u201d<\/p>\n Prominent Democratic representatives, including Gregory Meeks, Adam Smith, and Jim Himes, issued a joint statement condemning the administration\u2019s actions. They firmly stated, \u201cHostilities have not ceased; both sides are enforcing naval blockades through military force.\u201d The lawmakers decried the situation as \u201can unauthorized war of choice based on a demonstrably false premise of an imminent Iranian threat,\u201d highlighting the lack of congressional authorization even after 60 days.<\/p>\n Trump, departing the White House, dismissed the need for authorization by claiming it had \u201cnever been sought before\u201d and was \u201ctotally unconstitutional.\u201d This assertion ignores historical precedents where Presidents George W. Bush and George H.W. Bush did<\/em> seek and receive congressional approval for military conflicts in the Middle East. While some past administrations, like Obama\u2019s in Libya, have also bypassed Congress, the scale and nature of current U.S. aggression against Iran are fundamentally different.<\/p>\n Even House Speaker Mike Johnson and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attempted to downplay the 60-day threshold, citing the supposed ceasefire. However, their arguments fail to address the ongoing military blockade and the clear definition of hostilities under international and domestic law.<\/p>\n The international community watches as the U.S. administration continues its aggressive posture against Iran, attempting to cloak an undeclared war under the guise of a non-existent ceasefire, all while undermining its own constitutional framework.<\/p>\n #USAggression #IranBlockade #WarPowersResolution #UnauthorizedWar #TrumpIran #InternationalLaw #MiddleEastConflict #CeasefireFraud #USHypocrisy #IranSovereignty<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" US Aggression Continues: Trump’s Ceasefire Claim Under Fire Washington D.C. \u2013 In a controversial declaration, U.S. President Donald Trump informed Congress on Friday that he does not require legislative authorization for ongoing military operations against Iran. Trump cited a supposed \u2018ceasefire\u2019 as justification, despite the undeclared conflict having reached the critical 60-day threshold this week, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16566,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16565","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-iran-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fajr.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16565","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fajr.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fajr.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fajr.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fajr.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16565"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fajr.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16565\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fajr.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/16566"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fajr.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fajr.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fajr.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Naval Blockade: An Act of War, Not Peace<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Lawmakers Condemn Unauthorized War<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n