Trump vetos resolution on curbing military action against Iran
US President Donald Trump vetoed a resolution on Wednesday meant to curb his ability to take military action against Iran without congressional approval.
The legislation passed the House of Representatives in March and the Senate in February in response to Trump ordering the killing of top Iranian General Qasem Soleimani in Iraq.
While the majority of Republicans opposed the effort, multiple Republicans voted in favour of the legislation, issuing a rare bipartisan rebuke of Trump’s actions.
In a statement Trump called the resolution “very insulting” and accused Democrats of pushing the legislation as a political tool in the November presidential elections.
“Four months ago, I took decisive action to eliminate Qasem Soleimani while he was in Iraq,” Trump said, calling the actions “fully authorized by law.”
“We live in a hostile world of evolving threats, and the Constitution recognizes that the President must be able to anticipate our adversaries’ next moves and take swift and decisive action in response,” Trump added. “That’s what I did!”
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The killing of Soleimani and the subsequent Iranian retaliation – firing rockets at a base housing US soldiers in Iraq – sparked an international crisis, and concerns that the conflict could escalate into an all-out war.
After Iran’s retaliation did not cause any severe injuries to US personnel Trump declared victory and declined to retaliate against Tehran. (dpa)
