The US Senate on Thursday narrowly rejected a resolution demanding President Donald Trump end the war in Iran or seek congressional authorisation, as Democrats sought to put Republicans on the defensive over the unpopular conflict before November's midterm elections.
With polls showing Mr Trump's Republicans struggling to keep their slim congressional majorities on November 3, more of them have been edging away from the war, which has pushed up food and fuel prices.
However, Thursday's Senate vote was 50-49 against the resolution, largely along party lines. Four Republicans – senators Susan Collins of Maine, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska – voted in favour.
Mr Tillis, who is leaving the Senate in January, was the only Republican to vote in favour of a war powers resolution for the first time. Republicans in competitive re-election races, including Jon Husted of Ohio, Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Roger Marshall of Kansas, Pete Ricketts of Nebraska and Darline Graham of South Carolina, stuck with Mr Trump.
One Democrat, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, voted against the resolution, which passed the House of Representatives in July.
The vote was largely symbolic. The Trump administration has not changed policy in response to previous war powers votes. Thursday's vote took place two days after Mr Trump threatened that he could "annihilate the Islamic Republic" in a UN speech.
Democrats see the votes as a way to put Republicans on the record on a conflict that has become increasingly unpopular with voters. Only 34 per cent of respondents in a Reuters/Ipsos poll this week said they approved of the strikes on Iran.
The Senate has considered Iran war powers resolutions 14 times – voting in favour only twice – since US and Israeli forces began bombing Iran on February 28. The House has held six votes, with three in favour of ending the conflict.
Only one has passed both the House and Senate, and the White House ignored the result.
The US Constitution says that only Congress, not the President, can declare war, and Democrats have argued that Mr Trump may have pulled the country into a long conflict by failing to spell out a clear strategy.
Republicans say Mr Trump's actions are within his rights as Commander-in-Chief.
