Join the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, in urging Congress to reject President Donald Trump’s claim that the Iran war has “terminated.” This misleading assertion misreads the War Powers Resolution and relies on semantic “wordplay” to evade constitutional limits on war-making authority.
TAKE ACTION NOW: Click here to tell Congress to enforce the War Powers Resolution and end the unauthorized U.S. war on Iran.
The call comes afterPresident Trump informed Congress on Friday that hostilities with Iran had “terminated” following an April ceasefire, arguing that the 60-day deadline under the War Powers Resolution no longer applies, even as U.S. forces remain deployed in the region, continue to enforce a naval blockade, and stand ready to resume military operations.
Last week, CAIR and CAIR Action released a comprehensive report to Congress calling for the impeachment of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, citing his role in dismantling legal safeguards, facilitating an unauthorized war on Iran, and contributing to foreseeable harm to civilians.
In a statement, CAIR Director of Government Affairs Department Robert S. McCaw said:
“CAIR and the majority of Americans are calling on Congress to do its job: enforce the War Powers Resolution, end this unauthorized Iran war, terminate the U.S. military blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, and reassert its constitutional authority over decisions of war and peace. The Trump administration’s claim that the Iran war has ‘terminated’ is not just wordplay, it is a deliberate misreading of the War Powers Resolution.
“From the outset, the administration attempted to sidestep the law by labeling its unprovoked, joint U.S.-Israel attack on Iran a ‘military operation’ rather than a war. That argument failed then, and this one fails now. The War Powers Resolution does not turn on whether bombs are falling on a given day, it turns on whether U.S. forces remain engaged in hostilities or situations where hostilities are imminent.
“A pause in bombing does not end a war. Maintaining a naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, keeping tens of thousands of troops deployed, and holding forces ready to resume strikes is the continuation of a conflict under another name, and the 60-day clock does not reset simply because the president declares it so.
“Congress must also ensure that U.S. policy is not enabling Israel’s broader regional escalation, including illegal territorial expansion in Lebanon that has redrawn borders and displaced over a million civilians, Muslims and Christians, as well as continued land seizures across the occupied West Bank. Congress must ensure U.S. policy does not fuel further Israeli war crimes, military escalation, and displacement.”
Accepting the administration’s legal theory would effectively allow any president to unilaterally declare a war “over” on paper – while continuing military operations in practice – undermines both the War Powers Resolution and Congress’s constitutional authority over decisions of war and peace.
CAIR will continue to call on Congress to immediately enforce the War Powers Resolution, end unauthorized hostilities, terminate the U.S. blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, and ensure that U.S. military power is not used to fuel further regional instability and displacement.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com