By Alexandra Sharp
Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at a critical deadline to end the Iran war, an antisemitic terrorist attack in Britain, and the long-awaited European Union-Mercosur free-trade deal.
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U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an executive order signing in the Oval Office in Washington on April 30.Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Friday marked the 60-day deadline for U.S. President Donald Trump to end the fighting in Iran. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are pushing for Trump to seek formal approval from Congress to declare war. However, Trump signaled on Friday that he will not seek a congressional vote, arguing instead that the 60-day clock is “totally unconstitutional.”
Under the 1973 War Powers Resolution, the U.S. president has 60 days from when Congress first received formal notice of the conflict to terminate offensive operations or have Congress either declare war or authorize the continued use of military force. The White House can extend this period for another 30 days but only to safely withdraw troops—not to continue an offensive campaign.
Yet the Trump administration has argued that the U.S.-Iran cease-fire, which went into effect on April 7 and was extended indefinitely last week, has paused the clock. “We are in a cease-fire now, which our understanding means the 60-day clock pauses or stops in a cease-fire,” U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told lawmakers during testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday.
However, the War Powers law provides no mechanism for pausing the 60-day time limit when a truce is in place. “That deadline is not a suggestion; it is a requirement,” Republican Sen. Susan Collins said on Thursday, arguing that “further military action against Iran must have a clear mission, achievable goals, and a defined strategy for bringing the conflict to a close.”
Richard Goldberg, a former National Security Council official in Trump’s first term who is now at the hawkish Washington think tank the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, suggested that the White House could try to circumvent the War Powers deadline by declaring a new mission that would serve as a sequel to Operation Epic Fury. That new mission, Goldberg told The Associated Press, “would inherently be a mission of self-defense focused on reopening the [Strait of Hormuz] while reserving the right to offensive action in support of restoring freedom of navigation.” Throughout the U.S.-Iran cease-fire, Tehran has maintained its chokehold on the strategic waterway, and the U.S. Navy has continued its blockade of Iranian ports.
Peace negotiations have reached a stalemate, as both sides are unwilling to end their maritime operations. Iran has reportedly sent a fresh peace proposal to Pakistani mediators to try to push past this deadlock, but Trump told reporters on Friday that he remains unhappy. “Iran wants to make a deal, but I’m not satisfied with it,” he said. Trump did not specify what demands remain in contention.
“There are options: Do we want to go and just blast the hell out of them and finish them forever, or do we want to try and make a deal?” Trump added. Although the U.S. president said that his preference is not to restart the bombing campaign, Trump confirmed on Friday that he has received a U.S. Central Command briefing that proposed resuming strikes to push negotiations forward.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people celebrated May Day on Friday with mass protests demanding higher wages amid rising energy prices caused by the Iran war. “Working people refuse to pay the price for Donald Trump’s war in the Middle East,” said the European Trade Union Confederation, which represents 93 trade union organizations in 41 European countries. “Today’s rallies show working people will not stand by and see their jobs and living standards destroyed.”
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