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Republicans in the Senate are expected to reject a resolution backed by the Democrats that would prevent Donald Trump from continuing the Iran war, with the majority leader, John Thune, arguing the president was “acting in the best interest of the nation”.
The vote on Wednesday will come after Israel and the US intensified their attacks on Iran, launching waves of strikes targeting command and control facilities, strategic state offices and missile launch sites as Trump said he had rejected what he claimed was an attempt by Tehran to restart negotiations.
Israel on Wednesday continued to bombard Lebanon, while Iran continued to launch retaliatory strikes at US and Israeli targets. A funeral ceremony will be held in Tehran for the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Wednesday, state media reported.
Trump attempted to quell a growing anti-Israel backlash in Congress and among his own Maga supporters on Tuesday by denying suggestions he had been pushed into attacking Iran because Israel had already decided to do so. Democrats have condemned Trump for ordering an air campaign against Iran without first seeking permission from Congress. The administration’s rationale for going to war continues to shift, argues the Guardian’s Andrew Roth.
The president has also said “there will likely be more” US service members killed before the war ends, as the US Department of Defense on Tuesday identified four of the six American soldiers killed on Sunday during a drone strike on a US base in Kuwait.
According to the Iranian Red Crescent, at least 787 people have been killed in Iran since Saturday, while Israeli strikes on Lebanon have displaced at least 30,000 people, the UN estimates.
What would the war powers resolution do? It would force an end to US participation in the conflict and require Trump to go to Congress before re-entering the war. The Democrats would need five Republicans to vote with them for it to pass, as they are outnumbered in the Senate.
What impact is the war having on global markets? They tumbled further on Wednesday despite US assurances, including Trump’s offer to have the US navy escort oil tankers through the strait of Hormuz, which Iran has in effect closed.
How could the conflict backfire? Experts have warned it risks driving the regime towards building a secret bomb, with one scholar saying: “A vengeful Iran that survives this strike is likely to reach the same conclusion that North Korea reached: that it’s a dangerous world out there with the United States and it’s better to go nuclear.”
Follow the latest in this rapidly developing conflict on our liveblog.
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