US Senate Passes Resolution to Withdraw Forces from Iran Hostilities

The US Senate has, for the first time, passed a resolution directing President Donald Trump to withdraw American forces from hostilities involving Iran.

The Senate voted 50-48 on Tuesday, with four Republicans joining Democrats in support of the measure. The resolution passed the House by a vote of 215-208 earlier this month.

According to AP, the resolution is largely symbolic but reflects growing opposition to the president’s Iran policy.

The vote marked the tenth attempt by Democrats to compel Trump to end US involvement in hostilities in the Middle East. Previous efforts, including one last week, failed to win sufficient support.

“Congress never authorized this failed war, and the president certainly has no authority to continue it indefinitely without our consent, as the Constitution requires,” Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said after the resolution passed.

A White House official dismissed the vote, telling CNN that the resolution “has no significance” because it “has no force of law” and is not subject to presidential approval.

The resolution was passed as US and Iranian negotiators continued discussions on implementing the memorandum of understanding signed by the two sides on June 17. Some of Trump’s most vocal supporters, including hawkish Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, have expressed concern that the agreement could grant significant concessions to Iran.

“If you don’t have a diplomatic path through the MOU, then you have to go to war, or some other form of coercion,” Graham told CBS last week.

The conflict began on February 28, when the US and Israel launched a bombing campaign in Iran. The Islamic Republic responded by firing missiles and drones at Arab states in the region that host American military bases. Iran also closed the Strait of Hormuz to most shipping, driving up oil prices.

Despite the relentless strikes, US intelligence assessments cited by media outlets indicate that Iran has retained around 70% of its prewar missile stockpile. Trump has continued to threaten renewed military action in recent days, although members of his administration have described the ongoing talks as constructive.

The war has remained widely unpopular, with only 24% of Americans saying it was worth the cost, and just 23% believing the US is in a stronger position now than it was before the fighting, according to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll.