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US President Donald Trump informed top US lawmakers on Friday that hostilities in Iran “have terminated” after coming under pressure from Congress over the legality of the war he launched with Israel on 28 February.
Congress had pressed the White House to seek authorisation for the war, which the Trump administration calls a “military operation”, as it headed into its third month.
“There has been no exchange of fire between United States Forces and Iran since 7 April, 2026. The hostilities that began on 28 February, 2026, have terminated,” Trump wrote in letters to House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate president pro tempore Chuck Grassley.
Trump’s remarks come amid continued heavy US presence in the region, including several aircraft carriers and naval strike groups, and an ongoing naval blockade of Iranian ports.
The message from Trump effectively skirts a 1 May legal deadline for gaining approval from members of Congress to continue the war with Iran. That deadline was already set to pass without action from Republican lawmakers, who are deferring to the president.
The letter brings into stark relief the bold but legally questionable assertion of presidential power at the heart of Trump’s war, which he began without congressional approval two months ago.
The US president also made it clear in the letter that the war may be far from over, echoing much of what he’s been saying to reporters for weeks.
“Despite the success of United States operations against the Iranian regime and continued efforts to secure a lasting peace, the threat posed by Iran to the United States and our Armed Forces remains significant,” the Republican president said.
The assertion comes after Trump indicated he was “not satisfied” with the latest Iranian truce proposal sent to Washington via Pakistani mediators, after in-person talks in Pakistan broke down, with the US president citing distance and travel time as primary reasons.
“They want to make a deal, I’m not satisfied with it, so we’ll see what happens,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday.
Asked about what he sees as the proposal’s shortcomings, Trump said, “They’re asking for things I can’t agree to.”
The president said negotiations have continued by phone after he called off his envoys’ trip to Pakistan last week. He expressed frustration with Iran’s leadership, which he described as fractured.
“It’s a very disjointed leadership,” he said. “They all want to make a deal, but they’re all messed up.”
Additional sources • AP, AFP