Donald Trump faced a widening bipartisan challenge over his authority to conduct military operations against Iran after House Republicans abruptly canceled a vote aimed at blocking a war powers resolution that would require congressional approval for continued hostilities.
The decision by GOP leadership underscored growing unease inside Congress over the administration's handling of what Trump has called Operation Epic Fury, even as the White House insists active hostilities have effectively ended under a ceasefire framework.
According to lawmakers familiar with the internal discussions, Republican leaders backed away from the House vote after concluding they lacked the numbers to defeat the resolution.
Gregory Meeks, the Democratic congressman sponsoring the measure, accused Republicans of retreating once it became clear the legislation had enough bipartisan support to survive.
"It had the votes without question and they knew it, and as a result they're playing a political game," Meeks said.
Steve Scalise rejected that characterization, saying the vote was delayed primarily because several lawmakers were absent and leadership wanted full participation before moving forward.
The House standoff followed an increasingly volatile debate in the Senate, where lawmakers approved a similar war powers resolution for the first time after several Republicans broke ranks with the administration.
The Senate measure passed 50-47 after Bill Cassidy reversed his earlier position following his defeat in the Republican primary. Cassidy joined fellow Republicans Rand Paul, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski in supporting the resolution.
John Fetterman was the lone Democrat to vote against it.
"While I support the administration's efforts to dismantle Iran's nuclear program, the White House and Pentagon have left Congress in the dark on Operation Epic Fury," Cassidy wrote in a social media post following the vote.
"Until the administration provides clarity, no congressional authorization or extension can be justified," he added.
The administration has argued that congressional authorization may no longer be necessary because fighting has technically ceased following the ceasefire arrangement negotiated after recent strikes.
That position, however, has done little to calm lawmakers demanding more transparency over the scale of military operations, intelligence assessments and long-term objectives involving Iran's nuclear infrastructure.
The dispute also arrives as diplomatic negotiations surrounding Iran's nuclear program remain highly unstable.
According to Reuters, a source familiar with internal Iranian discussions said Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei issued a directive insisting Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium must remain inside the country during any future agreement.
"The Supreme Leader's directive, and the consensus within the establishment, is that the stockpile of enriched uranium should not leave the country," the source told Reuters.
The source added that Iranian leaders fear removing the material would leave the country "more vulnerable to future attacks."
At the same time, Israeli officials reportedly told Reuters that Trump privately assured Israel any final agreement with Tehran would require the removal of Iran's enriched uranium stockpile before receiving American approval.
