US House votes for third time to end Iran war as conflict continues

The US House of Representatives voted late Tuesday, 220 to 204, to approve a war powers resolution that would limit President Donald Trump's authority to continue military action against Iran without Congress's consent. This marks the third such vote this summer, with slightly more Republicans joining unanimous Democratic support compared to earlier attempts.

None of the resolutions passed so far have reached the president's desk — and even if one did, Trump would almost certainly veto it, according to the Associated Press.

Democratic representative Seth Moulton, a former marine who served in the Iraq war and championed the resolution, recalled that Trump once claimed the conflict would last only a few weeks. He argued it is time for Congress to ask tough questions, as the Constitution requires, rather than defer to what he called a warmongering administration.

Republican Brian Mast of Florida, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, pushed back, asking which military resources Democrats would want withdrawn from a region where he said Iran remains a threat. Mast argued that Trump opposes prolonged wars and that this is precisely what he is doing — ending decades of hostilities stemming from Iran.

The vote is likely to be the House's last on the Iran war before the midterm elections, in which the overseas conflict is playing a significant role in campaigns.

Other developments

As part of a $2.8bn military aid package, the Trump administration plans to send Israel a type of one-ton bomb previously withheld by the Biden administration over concerns it was being used to kill civilians in Gaza. Separately, the US announced visa restrictions on some South African nationals amid claims of discriminatory policies against the Afrikaner minority.