Trump's USA Iran War

Time limit in law could put pressure on Trump to end war in as little as a week

A law from the 1970s could force US President Donald Trump to end the war in Iran as early as May 1 if he does not receive congressional approval to continue, writes the New York Times. The law gives a president the right to start a war in certain circumstances without asking Congress, but only for 60 days.

Republicans have so far blocked a series of attempts by Democrats to end the war. But several Republicans have already announced that they will not vote to give Trump the green light to continue the war beyond the 60-day deadline.

However, the law gives the president the opportunity to continue the operation for another 30 days on his own initiative if necessary to safely withdraw troops.

Congress could also vote to give the military operation the go-ahead to continue without any further time limit, which a group of Republicans is working for. 

Trump: No deadline for when the war will end

There is no timetable for when the war in Iran will end. Donald Trump says this in an interview with Fox News, The Telegraph reports. Trump also says that it is not true that he wants the war to be over before the US midterm elections in November.

- People say I want to end it because of the midterm elections, that is not true, says Trump.

The White House also rejects media reports that Trump intends to let the ongoing ceasefire run for three to five days to allow the various factions in Iran to gather behind a common counter-offer to the US, writes Bloomberg. According to spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt, Trump has not set any such timetable.