US House votes to end Trump’s Iran war: Does it matter?

The United States House of Representatives has voted in favour of measures to halt President Donald Trump’s war on Iran as the conflict drags into a fourth month and both sides remain at loggerheads in peace negotiations.

The vote on Wednesday marks the first successful effort by lawmakers to force the US to end a conflict that has had mounting catastrophic effects, from thousands of civilian deaths to global trade disruptions.

It also comes as opposition to the conflict has grown significantly within camps of Trump’s Republican Party due to the effects on Americans themselves and Trump’s failure to swiftly secure a concrete, lasting deal with Iran.

But for now, the vote will remain largely symbolic because of Trump’s own presidential veto power on legislation and because of Republican dominance in the House and Senate – even though it marks a significant reprimand by lawmakers.

Here’s what happened, why it matters and why it doesn’t mean that Trump can’t – or won’t – launch new attacks on Iran:

On Wednesday, lawmakers in the House, led by Democrats, voted to invoke the War Powers Act, which allows Congress to force an end to hostilities if the president does not get its authorisation after entering an armed conflict abroad.

Since the start of the war, Democrats have argued that Congress, not the president, holds the right to declare war. They’ve repeatedly tried to force a stop to the US-Israel war on Iran based on that argument.

However, the Trump administration has countered that the military operations in Iran do not require congressional approval.