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US Congress to vote on resolution to limit Trump’s military action against Iran

The resolution reasserts Congress's long-established oversight responsibilities by mandating that if no further Congressional action is taken, the Administration's military hostilities with regard to Iran cease within 30 days

WASHINGTON, January 6. /TASS/. The US House of Representatives will vote this week on a resolution to limit President Donald Trump’s war powers on Iran amid increased tensions between the two countries, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a letter sent to Democratic members of Congress.

The resolution "reasserts Congress's long-established oversight responsibilities by mandating that if no further Congressional action is taken, the Administration's military hostilities with regard to Iran cease within 30 days," Pelosi wrote in her letter.

The letter comes as the United States is deploying additional troops to the Middle East following the US airstrike that killed Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani.

As Pelosi said, "the Trump Administration conducted a provocative and disproportionate military airstrike targeting high-level Iranian military officials. This action endangered our servicemembers, diplomats and others by risking a serious escalation of tensions with Iran."

On January 3, General Soleimani, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ elite Quds Force, was killed in an airstrike at Baghdad International Airport. According to the US Administration, the operation was defensive, as it was aimed at protecting US troops stationed in the Middle East. According to Washington, the attacks planned by the Iranian general could have led to the deaths of hundreds of Americans and Iraqis.

After the attack, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council vowed at an emergency session to exact "severe revenge" on those involved in the killing of Soleimani, blaming the US for the attack. In a telephone call with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif slammed the attack as an act of terrorism by the US.

Trump wrote in his Twitter on Sunday that the United States might deliver a strike against Iran in a disproportionate manner in response to any attacks on US citizens or facilities. He also stressed he did not consider it necessary to notify the US Congress in case of such actions against Tehran.