The Republican-led US Senate has rejected a Democratic initiative to block President Donald Trump from using further military force against Iran, Reuters reports.
This came hours after the president said he would consider more bombings.
The Senate voted 53 to 47 on a war powers resolution that would require congressional approval for more military action against Iran. The vote was along party lines, except for Pennsylvania Democrat John Fetterman who voted against along with Republicans, and Kentucky Republican Rand Paul voted "for" along with Democrats.
Senator Tim Kaine, the resolution's lead sponsor, has been trying for years to strip Congress of its war-making powers from both Republican and Democratic presidents.
Kane said his latest effort emphasizes that the U.S. Constitution gives Congress, not the president, the sole authority to declare war and requires that any hostilities with Iran be expressly authorized by a declaration of war or a special authorization for the use of military force.
"If you believe the president should come to Congress, whether you are for or against war in Iran, you will support Senate Joint Resolution 59, you will support the Constitution, which has stood the test of time," Kaine insisted in a speech before the vote.
Lawmakers are demanding more information about the weekend U.S. strikes on Iran and what happened to Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium. uranium.
Yesterday, Trump sharply criticized Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, abandoned plans to lift sanctions on Iran and said he would consider bombing Iran again if Tehran enriched uranium to alarming levels.
His words were Khamenei's first statements since a 12-day conflict with Israel that ended when the United States began bombing Iranian nuclear sites.