Trump says Iran conflict is ‘terminated’ as he hits congressional deadline

President Donald Trump claimed in a letter to Congress on Friday that hostilities with Iran have “terminated” as he reached a legal deadline that requires military operations to halt unless lawmakers authorise force.

Trump’s claim came as the United States continues to enforce a naval blockade of Iran and as he declined to rule out additional strikes on the country.

The War Powers Resolution of 1973 requires presidents to remove US forces from any conflict that Congress has not authorised within 60 days of the White House notifying Congress of hostilities – a deadline that Trump hit on Friday (local time).

Trump wrote in his letter to lawmakers on Friday that the conflict has been effectively over since the United States and Iran agreed last month to a ceasefire.

“There has been no exchange of fire between United States Forces and Iran since April 7, 2026,” Trump wrote in the letter, obtained by the Washington Post. “The hostilities that began on February 28, 2026, have terminated.”

The President’s argument echoed what Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Thursday in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee. Trump also suggested on Friday that he believes the requirement to withdraw US forces within 60 days is unconstitutional.

“Most people consider it totally unconstitutional,” Trump told reporters. “Also, we had a ceasefire, so that gives you additional time.”

Democrats immediately pushed back. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-New York) described Trump’s argument in a post on X as “bulls***”.

“President Trump declaring the war with Iran ‘terminated’ doesn’t reflect the reality that tens of thousands of US service members in the region are still in harm’s way, that the Administration continually threatens to escalate hostilities or that the Strait of Hormuz remains closed and prices are skyrocketing at home,” Senator Jeanne Shaheen (New Hampshire), the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement.

“President Trump entered this war without a strategy and without legal authorisation and today’s announcement doesn’t change either fact.”

Trump is not the first President to argue that he is not bound by the 60-day deadline. President Barack Obama bombed Libya for more than 60 days without seeking authorisation from Congress, and President Bill Clinton did the same in Kosovo. (Clinton’s administration argued that Congress implicitly authorised the strikes by passing legislation to fund them within 60 days.)

The War Powers Resolution gives presidents an additional 30 days to remove US forces if they certify that it is an “unavoidable military necessity”, but the administration does not appear to have sought such an extension.

Some Senate Republicans have said in recent weeks that they view the 60-day mark as an important deadline.

Senator John Curtis (R-Utah) said he would not support more funding for military operations against Iran unless Congress declared war. Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) said Congress would need to authorise the war if it exceeded 60 days.

Collins joined Democrats and Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) in voting on Thursday to advance a war powers resolution directing Trump to withdraw US forces. The Senate rejected the resolution – the sixth on which Democrats have forced a vote – on a 47-50 vote.

“The Constitution gives Congress an essential role in decisions of war and peace, and the War Powers Act establishes a clear 60-day deadline for Congress to either authorise or end US involvement in foreign hostilities,” Collins said in a statement on her vote. “That deadline is not a suggestion; it is a requirement.”

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