The United States Senate on Thursday adopted a text intended to limit the ability of Donald Trump to start a war with Iran, eight elected members of the Republican majority having decided to support this proposal with the Democrats.
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This text was adopted by 55 votes to 45. It would oblige the President of the United States to withdraw the American forces engaged in a conflict with Iran if the Congress does not adopt a declaration of war or specific authorization for the use of military force. Donald Trump has announced that he will veto this text and it is unlikely that two-thirds of senators, the necessary threshold, will vote to overcome a presidential veto.
Republican opponents of the text, including Donald Trump, believe its adoption will send the wrong signal to Iran. Supporters dispute this interpretation and argue that Congress must have a say in any decision to deploy military. Democrats and some Republican politicians complain that they are not properly informed about the presidential strategy on Iran.
Donald Trump thus ordered in early January the targeted assassination, by a drone strike in Iraq, of the influential Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, without informing Congress beforehand. The majority Democratic House of Representatives adopted a resolution along the same lines as that of the Senate last month but the two texts diverge on certain points and the representatives will have to vote again before the draft is sent for promulgation to the White House.
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