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Vote to stop Iran war fails in US Senate again as Democrats vow to keep trying

Ana Faguyon Capitol Hill
News imageGetty Images An exterior shot of the US Capitol with white and pink tulips in the foregroundGetty Images

A resolution aimed at limiting President Donald Trump's ability to wage war in Iran has failed in the US Senate for the fourth time.

If passed, the war-powers measure would have halted US military action in the conflict without congressional approval. Senators rejected it 52-47, largely along party lines in the chamber, which is run by the president's fellow Republicans.

Democrats said they planned to introduce similar measures every week, even if they did not pass, so each lawmaker's stance on the war can be recorded.

While most Republicans have blocked the resolutions, some said they could vote differently if the war continued beyond this month.

Trump has offered varying timelines on how long the war might last. He told Fox in an interview aired on Wednesday that the war was "close to over".

For now, nearly every Republican has remained in lockstep support for Trump as he has ordered a US military blockade of Iranian ports.

One Democrat, Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, also voted against the measure that would halt the war.

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Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri said he believes it would be in the best interests of the US to end the conflict quickly. He told the BBC he hoped talks succeed within the next few days.

"That would be ideal," Hawley said.

Senator Rand Paul was the lone Republican to vote with Democrats - for the fourth time - to stop the war.

Federal law requires congressional approval to continue military actions for more than 60 days. The US-Israel strikes began on 28 February.

"I think that after 60 days, there may be a few more Republicans [who] join me," Paul told the BBC.

The White House can extend the deadline 30 days, citing national security.

In the meantime, Democrats said they would keep proposing the resolution.

"If we're unsuccessful, at least we'll make clear to the American people who owns this war," Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia told the BBC.

The law setting the timelines for congressional approval, the War Powers Resolution in 1973, was passed by Congress to constrain the ability of then-President Richard Nixon to continue waging war in Vietnam.