President Donald Trump on Friday told Congress the Iran war has ended.
“There has been no exchange of fire between United States Forces and Iran since April 7, 2026. The hostilities that began on February 28, 2026, have terminated,” Trump said in a letter.
“There has been no exchange of fire between the United States Forces and Iran since April 7, 2026,” the president wrote in nearly identical letters to House Speaker Mike Johnson and GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley, the president pro tempore of the Senate. “The hostilities that began on February 28, 2026, have terminated.”
It’s unclear whether lawmakers will accept Trump’s claim that the war is over if the U.S. maintains a naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz.
CBS News:
At issue is the 1973 War Powers Resolution, a post-Vietnam statute intended to restrain presidential authority and ensure that prolonged military engagements receive congressional approval. But as the war with Iran enters a critical phase, the law’s limits—and its ambiguities—are being tested in real time.
The conflict began on Feb. 28, when U.S. forces, alongside Israel, launched large-scale strikes on Iranian targets, igniting a broader regional confrontation. In the weeks since, Iran has retaliated, global energy markets have been disrupted, and the Republican-controlled Congress has been reluctant to assert its constitutional role.
Under the War Powers Resolution, the president may initiate military action without prior authorization but must notify Congress within 48 hours and terminate hostilities within 60 days unless lawmakers approve an extension. That 60-day clock, triggered by the president’s March 2 notification to lawmakers, reached its deadline on Friday — a moment that has sharpened tensions in Washington.