Congress Wins Iran War Leverage; Trump Keeps the Guns

Democrats won both chambers of Congress in the Nov. 3 midterm elections, but President Donald Trump defended the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran and said he would do it again. The election changed who controls the legislature. It hasn’t ended the war or removed the president’s authority to order military operations.

Trump acknowledged that the conflict helped cost Republicans votes, saying gasoline prices rose “a little bit short term.” Then he defended the decision: “If I had it to do again, I’d have to do it again. Because long term, it’s the only answer. You can’t let Iran have a nuclear weapon.” Vice President JD Vance wrote on X, “The reason we lost is the war.” Trump said he agreed with him.

The war began with U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, 2026. The campaign damaged Iran’s military capabilities but didn’t resolve the question of its nuclear program. Iran fired missiles and drones at Gulf targets and shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, where crude shipments later recovered to about 80% of prewar levels with help from U.S. Navy-assisted tanker convoys. Oil prices remained about 40% above prewar levels.

The ballot and the war machine

Congress can restrict funding, investigate the administration, block legislation and nominees, and press Trump to seek authorization or end the conflict. The new Congress is due to convene in January. Until then, the president retains broad authority over military operations. Under the War Powers Resolution of 1973, a president must remove combat troops from hostilities if Congress hasn’t authorized the war after 60 days.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said, “This war must end. It must end,” and pointed to Congress’s “power of the purse.” He also promised, “We are going to end the war.” But ordinary legislation needs 60 Senate votes, and overriding a presidential veto requires two-thirds support in both chambers. Trump has asserted his veto power and threatened to use it. The institutional checks are written down; the executive branch’s accumulated war-making powers remain in place.

The reported Senate counts differed: one report put Democrats and two independent allies at 56 seats against 44 Republicans; another reported 54 Democratic Senate seats and 237 House seats. Democrats plan to use their first 100 hours in January to advance bills, including one that would require Trump to end the war or seek congressional authorization. A resolution introduced by Republican congressman Thomas Massie in September to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over hostilities without authorization failed. An earlier March resolution seeking to withdraw U.S. forces from unauthorized hostilities in Iran also failed.

Blockade, sanctions, and civilians

The United States imposed an effective blockade on Iranian oil exports, squeezing a vital source of Iranian revenue. The Treasury Department said sanctions under “Operation Economic Outcast” aim to cut off Iran’s ability to sell oil to fund the war. It said earlier measures were driving the rial to new lows and domestic inflation to around 90%. The latest sanctions targeted people and companies based in India and Turkiye that the department said had ties to Iran.

Military pressure isn’t confined to Washington and Tehran. In Lebanon, the Health Ministry said an Israeli strike on a motorcycle in Qabrikha killed one person and wounded another. The Israeli military said it had “struck two suspects who were observing IDF soldiers.” In Yemen, Houthi health authorities said an airstrike killed at least seven people, including two children, and wounded six other children. The Houthi-run health ministry blamed Saudi Arabia; Saudi Arabia didn’t immediately comment. The Associated Press said it couldn’t independently verify Houthi claims that the group had targeted locations in Saudi Arabia.

The military deployments and threats continue alongside diplomacy. Two aircraft carrier strike groups were already in or near the region, with a third heading toward the Gulf, according to U.S. media reports. Qatar had mediated indirect talks between Washington and Tehran. Iran’s officials wanted talks to begin with reopening Hormuz, releasing Iranian funds held overseas and easing sanctions, with nuclear ambitions addressed later. Gulf governments want the war to end but object to any settlement that allows Iranian tolls or political conditions on shipping, or leaves them exposed to military threats.

A vote against war, with no off switch

Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf wrote on X, “Americans said NO TO WAR, and we endorse this message.” Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei dismissed the idea that the U.S. election would change policy and warned against “even the slightest inclination towards submission.” Iran’s leaders presented the result as evidence that voters opposed the war; Trump’s administration maintained that the campaign was necessary to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

Trita Parsi said Democrats could stop the war through control of funding, adding that if they failed to try, they could be seen as complicit in an illegal war. Other analysts warned that the new Congress might not constrain Trump. Alan Eyre said, “If anything, Trump is now freed up for another round of strikes.” The election delivered Democrats investigative and funding powers, but the president still commands the machinery of military operations. The next test is whether Congress uses those powers before that machinery moves again.