President Donald Trump formally notified Congress that the United States resumed military action against Iran in a letter dated July 10 that set off a new 60-day clock under the War Powers Resolution.
Trump wrote to Senate President Pro Tempore Chuck Grassley that strikes “commenced on July 7” against missile launch sites, air defenses, military maritime assets, support infrastructure, and command-and-control targets inside Iran. He described the strikes as “limited, measured, planned, and executed in a manner designed to minimize civilian casualties” and said no US ground forces were involved.
The renewed action followed Iranian attacks on neutral-flagged commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz on July 6 and 7, which Trump’s letter said violated a memorandum of understanding the two countries signed June 17 after an earlier ceasefire. Trump declared the ceasefire “over” on Truth Social the same day he sent the letter to Congress.
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Related: Iran’s Chief Negotiator Says the US Broke the Ceasefire First
Speaking on the Hugh Hewitt radio show Monday evening, Trump said the US would hit Iran hard again that night and the next day, adding that Tehran had failed to honor the memorandum of understanding, which he called a test. US Central Command announced shortly after that it had launched a third consecutive night of strikes against Iranian targets.
Trump also announced on Truth Social that he will deliver a primetime address to the nation Thursday at 9 p.m. Eastern, his first such address on the war since April 1. The White House has not disclosed what he plans to say.
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The renewed strikes reopen a fight over Trump’s legal authority to continue the conflict. The Senate passed a War Powers Resolution last month directing an end to US hostilities against Iran, the first such resolution to clear both chambers of Congress in the law’s history, though the measure was largely symbolic and did not compel troop withdrawal.
Related: War Powers, Explained: What the Senate Vote Actually Means for the Iran Conflict
Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff said he plans to introduce a new resolution this week to force another Senate vote, calling the renewed conflict “unconstitutional and unlawful” since Trump launched it without congressional authorization and absent an imminent attack on the United States.
