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Welcome to The Logoff: President Donald Trump told Congress the Iran war is over. Is it?
What happened? Friday marks a legal deadline for Trump, after which he should be required to wind down US military operations around Iran. But according to Trump, he already has: The president wrote in a letter to Congress on Friday that the Iran war was “terminated” thanks to the US-Iran ceasefire, which remains in effect with no firm deadline.
“There has been no exchange of fire between the United States Forces and Iran since April 7, 2026,” Trump wrote in the letter. “The hostilities that began on February 28, 2026, have been terminated.”
Is it true? Not really, from all evidence available. While the US and Iran haven’t been engaged in the kind of full-scale hostilities that marked the early weeks of the conflict, a US naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is still in place. (Last month, the US even fired on an Iranian-flagged ship allegedly attempting to violate the blockade — in Trump’s words, “blowing a hole in the engineroom.”)
US forces also remain in place near Iran, and there’s the ever-present possibility that the conflict could resume at full force — something Trump has continued to threaten as a deal to end the conflict permanently eludes him.
What’s the context? Trump’s letter is a fairly transparent attempt to skate around the War Powers Resolution, which requires the US to end its involvement in military conflicts within 60 days of notifying Congress of their start, unless Congress votes to authorize the conflict. (It hasn’t. There’s also the possibility of a 30-day extension on that 60-day deadline, which the Trump administration has likewise not yet pursued.)
He’s not the first president to do this, however: As Stephen Rademaker, a former assistant secretary of state, points out in the Washington Post, there’s a pattern of presidents from both parties evading the War Powers Resolution in various circumstances.
Hi readers, happy May Day! Here are two mysteries to keep you entertained over the weekend, from my colleagues at Vox’s Unexplainable podcast. I’ll keep them mysterious here — if you want to learn more, the podcast is a great listen. Have a good weekend, and we’ll see you back here on Monday!
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