US Congress Moves to Prevent Trump from Going to War with Iran

Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi has set a vote for Thursday aimed at preventing President Donald Trump from taking further military action against Iran. “Congress hereby directs the president to terminate the use of United States armed forces to engage in hostilities in or against Iran or any part of its government or military,” Pelosi said in a statement. Her contention is that any further US military engagement with Tehran would require formal authorization from the Democrat-led House. A partisan debate is raging over whether Thursday’s resolution – which is expected to pass easily – will be legally binding unless also approved by the Republican-led Senate, a highly unlikely prospect. The move comes amid fierce criticism by Democrats of last week’s targeted assassination of Iranian Quds Force chief Qasem Soleimani in Iraq, which Pelosi called “provocative and disproportionate.” In response to the assassination, Tehran launched a barrage of ballistic missiles early on Wednesday toward two Iraqi military bases that house US soldiers. In an address to the nation later in the day, President Trump confirmed that the attack caused no American casualties and used rhetoric indicating that he would not respond militarily because the Islamic Republic appeared to be “standing down.” However, he said that new economic sanctions would be imposed on Iran until its leaders “change [their] behavior.”