US House votes to curb Trump's Iran war powers but Senate backs president; airstrikes continue

The House vote, the latest rebuke of Trump from Congress, was 214-208 in favor of the war powers resolution as four Republicans joined Democrats in voting for it.

But the Senate voted 49 to 47 to block its own war powers measure within hours of the House vote.

The House resolution, introduced by Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Washington Democrat, directed Trump "to remove the use of United States Armed Forces from hostilities" against Iran unless Congress authorizes it.

However, it was largely symbolic. Lawmakers have passed similar resolutions repeatedly since the U.S. and Israel began striking Iran on Feb. 28, but they have not led to a cessation of the war.

The four House Republicans who voted in favor were Tom Barrett of Michigan, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Warren Davidson of Ohio and Thomas Massie of Kentucky.

In the Senate procedural vote, Republican Susan Collins of Maine voted with Democrats in favor of the resolution and Democrat John Fetterman of Pennsylvania voted with Republicans against it. Four Republican senators did not vote.

Republicans hold slim majorities in the House and Senate.

The votes reflected growing frustration among lawmakers, including some Republicans as well as Democrats, about a conflict that Trump pitched as a quick, focused effort that would trigger Iran's capitulation but instead has become a morass for the United States.

Also on Thursday, Trump promised "major military punishment" for Iran and its Houthi allies, after the Yemeni fighters struck two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, extending the Middle East war to a second major shipping chokepoint.

Fears that disruption could widen further to block another sea route sent global oil prices surging in one of the steepest rises of the war. Brent crude rose more than 6%, breaking through $100 a barrel for the first time since May.

Two weeks since the effective collapse of an interim truce meant to end the war, the U.S. military launched airstrikes on Iran overnight into Thursday, prompting Iran to fire at neighboring Arab countries that host U.S. bases.

The U.S. military fired another round of missiles at Iran late Thursday and early Friday in the 13th consecutive night of attacks.

Iranian state media said on both nights that missiles struck Qeshm Island on the Strait of Hormuz, the virtually closed waterway that has become the focal point in a war well into its fifth month that already killed thousands and raised fears of a global economic downturn.

After the Houthis said they struck the two tankers, Trump said he would hold Iran accountable for further attacks by the fighters.

The Houthis, who control northern and western Yemen, said this week they were imposing a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, which has diverted millions of barrels of oil per day by pipeline to the Red Sea to get around Iran's blockade of Gulf oil through the Strait of Hormuz.

"If they do this again, the U.S. will hold Iran responsible, in that the Houthis are a Surrogate and/or Proxy of Iran, and major military punishment will be inflicted upon Iran and, of course, the Houthis, themselves," Trump wrote on social media.

He told news outlet Axios he was considering relaunching major combat operations in Iran and was close to a decision. "They haven't received enough pain yet," Axios quoted Trump as saying.

Sources in Iran and Yemen told Reuters that Tehran had flown Revolutionary Guard commanders, military advisers and missile- and drone-related equipment into Yemen days before the Houthis announced their blockade. The Houthis dismissed the report.

The Houthis said their forces carried out missile and drone strikes on Saudi oil tankers, the Encelia and the Layla.

A maritime security source said the Encelia had transmitted a distress call reporting it had been struck by a missile near the Saudi port of Jizan in the Red Sea just north of Yemen late on Wednesday. Saudi state news agency SPA said the strike had caused a fire at the bow.

Reuters could not immediately confirm the attack on the Layla, or other battlefield accounts, but Trump mentioned two attacks on Saudi tankers.

The insurance cost ​of shipping goods through the southern Red Sea doubled for some companies Thursday, after the reported attacks, sources said.

Houthi attacks could close the strait known as the Bab el-Mandeb or "Gate of Tears" which controls access from the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean, the second most important route for energy shipments after the Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Gulf.

In the days since they announced their blockade in the Red Sea, several tankers have changed course to avoid the Bab el-Mandeb, heading north instead through the Suez Canal, potentially using a much longer and more expensive route to reach Asian customers by sailing around Africa.

Iran said it attacked U.S. missile systems, weapons and fuel storage sites in Jordan, as well as U.S. military posts in Kuwait.

Jordan's army said it engaged four Iranian missiles and six drones in the past 24 hours, intercepting all but one missile, which fell in an uninhabited area.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they struck a U.S. electronic warfare unit at Kuwait’s Al-Adiri base, causing unspecified casualties, in response to an overnight strike on Iran's Shalamcheh border crossing with Iraq.

Neither the U.S. nor Kuwait reported casualties at the base.

Iranian military spokesperson Brigadier General Mohammad Akraminia said Iran would keep retaliating as long as the U.S. continued to attack its infrastructure and coastal areas, Iranian state TV reported.