US President Donald Trump on Tuesday claimed that Iran was eager to strike a deal with Washington and said the conflict would end “very quickly”, even as the US Senate moved to restrict his powers to launch military action against Tehran.
Speaking during a press conference, Trump also predicted a sharp fall in global oil prices, saying the market was flooded with supply and that prices would soon “come plummeting down”.
The remarks came amid growing political pressure in Washington over the possibility of a wider conflict in West Asia. Earlier in the day, the US Senate passed a resolution seeking to limit Trump’s war powers related to Iran, signalling rare bipartisan concern over possible military escalation.
“There’s so much oil out there, they’re going to come plummeting down. We’re going to end that war very quickly. They want to make a deal so badly,” Trump said.
According to CBS News, senators approved a motion to discharge the resolution from committee in a 50-47 vote. Four Republican lawmakers joined most Democrats in backing the measure, marking the eighth such attempt by Senate Democrats to move the resolution forward.
The resolution, introduced by Democratic Senator Tim Kaine, directs the President to remove US armed forces from hostilities involving Iran unless authorised through a declaration of war or a specific military authorisation approved by Congress.
Republican senators Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Rand Paul and Bill Cassidy voted alongside Democrats, according to CBS News.
Senate Democrats call for end to ‘unconstitutional war’
Reacting to the development, Democratic Senator Adam Schiff said lawmakers were attempting to reassert Congress’ constitutional authority over war decisions.
“Today, Senate Democrats once again forced a vote to demand an end to this unconstitutional war,” Schiff wrote on X.
Senator Bernie Sanders also welcomed the move, saying Americans were tired of spending “billions on endless wars”.
“The American people do not want to spend billions on endless wars. They want to address the enormous crises facing our country. We must end this unconstitutional war,” Sanders said in a post on X.
The Senate development comes days after Trump revealed that a planned US military attack on Iran had been put on hold following requests from Gulf leaders, including Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Trump says Gulf leaders urged delay in Iran attack
In a lengthy Truth Social post on Monday, Trump said Gulf leaders had urged him to delay military action because “serious negotiations” with Tehran were underway.
According to Trump, the United States had planned military action against Iran on Tuesday, but the operation was paused in the hope that a diplomatic agreement could still be reached.
“This Deal will include, importantly, NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS FOR IRAN!” Trump wrote.
At the same time, the US President warned that Washington remained prepared for military action if talks collapsed.
“I have instructed Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, the Chairman of The Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Daniel Caine, and The United States Military, that we will NOT be doing the scheduled attack of Iran tomorrow, but have further instructed them to be prepared to go forward with a full, large scale assault of Iran, on a moment’s notice, in the event that an acceptable Deal is not reached,” Trump said.