Three ships were attacked in the Strait of Hormuz on July 6 and 7. By July 10, President Donald Trump had put in writing to Congress that U.S. strikes on Iran had resumed, and the letter has reopened an argument about whether the War Powers clock starts over.
The two-page letter, addressed to Sen. Chuck Grassley, the Senate’s president pro tempore, says military action began July 7. That is more than the 48 hours the War Powers Resolution allows for reporting, and the public copy does not say when Congress received it. Trump called the strikes defensive. “United States ground forces are not involved in these strikes,” he wrote. “These strikes are limited, measured, planned, and executed in a manner designed to minimize civilian casualties.”
He said the targets were missile launch sites, air defenses, maritime assets, military support infrastructure, and command-and-control capabilities. CENTCOM says U.S. forces have hit more than 300 targets inside Iran, among them sites in Bandar Abbas, Chabahar and Bushehr.
The clock
The letter does not say a new 60-day period has begun. Trump notified Congress of the original campaign on March 2, two days after Operation Epic Fury started. On May 1 he wrote that the hostilities begun February 28 had “terminated,” which the administration used to argue the original clock had stopped. Sen. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat, and other critics say operations continued through the ceasefire and the clock never paused.
Schiff filed a new resolution Monday. “Any assertion by the Trump administration that he gets 60 more days to act without Congress has no foundation in law,” he said. Senate rules give it privileged status, so he could force a floor vote as early as next week.
Congress has already pushed back once. The House passed a bipartisan concurrent resolution directing Trump to pull U.S. forces from hostilities with Iran, 215-208 on June 3. The Senate followed 50-48 on June 23. A concurrent resolution does not go to the president for a signature and did not become law. The administration calls such measures unconstitutional legislative vetoes.
Hormuz
Trump said the ship attacks broke a June 17 memorandum of understanding that asked Iran to use its best efforts to arrange safe commercial passage between the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman. Iran’s Foreign Ministry says Washington broke the memorandum first, by reviving sanctions on Iranian oil, interfering with Iranian operations in the strait and failing to stop Israeli attacks on Hezbollah. Parliament Speaker Mohamed Ghalibaf said “Hormuz will only open with Iranian arrangements, not American threats.”
Vice President JD Vance replied that “that artery has got to remain open.” About 20 percent of the world’s oil and gas normally passes through it.
CENTCOM restarted its blockade of Iranian ports at 4 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday. The first blockade ran from April 13 to June 18, and in that time U.S. forces redirected more than 140 vessels and disabled nine that did not comply. A U.S. official told CBS News that Tuesday’s limited strikes were the fourth consecutive night of attacks. Trump has dropped a plan for a 20 percent fee on cargo through the strait, saying Gulf leaders had offered trade and investment agreements instead.
Sources
- Trump Formally Notifies Congress of Resumed Military Action Against Iran, Restarting 60-Day War Powers Clock
- Trump Tells Congress Iran Hostilities Resumed, Reigniting Fight Over War Powers Clock
