Donald Trump

On 15 September, The House passed its third Iran war-powers resolution of 2026 by 220 votes to 204, with seven Republicans joining the majority. The wider margin did not create a binding restraint on Donald Trump because the Senate passed no matching text.

Trump's position therefore remains defined by an institutional gap. On 23 July, The House passed an earlier withdrawal demand, while the Senate rejected the binding measure by 47 votes to 49. Each vote records congressional resistance to his Iran policy, but none has compelled a withdrawal of US forces or aircraft.

On 2 August, Trump cancelled a planned strike on Iran after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman warned that Gulf states would bear retaliation. Qatar and the United Arab Emirates supported the appeal, making the decision a rare case where named foreign leaders were credited with stopping a planned US action.

The reversal showed the limits on Trump's discretion even when he retained command authority. On 3 August, US Central Command reported its first boardings linked to the Hormuz blockade, while Trump said the strait would reopen soon and threatened Iran with further strikes if it did not. His public threats and military posture did not settle the decision to strike.

By 21 July, Trump had kept one stated limit on the Iran campaign: no deployment of US ground troops. That position held while Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth put the campaign's cost at $37.5bn, without separating obligated, appropriated or incremental spending.

The constraint matters because Trump has otherwise retained room to alter the air and maritime campaign. On 24 July, Central Command announced no new military action after nearly two weeks of nightly strikes, while Trump said he was considering a larger operation. Ruling out ground troops narrows his military options without ending his control over escalation.