White House notifies Congress of 'cessation' of hostilities in conflict with Iran - AP

The White House sent a letter to Congress declaring a "cessation" of hostilities as part of the war with Iran, AP News reported. We are talking about the period from April 7, when Trump announced a truce for two weeks, after which the period was extended, CNBC specified.

A letter from President Donald Trump actually bypasses the legal deadline after which the White House needs the consent of members of Congress to proceed with a war with Iran, AP News explained. Under the 1973 law, the president can wage war without congressional approval for 60 days. That deadline comes on Friday, assuming the conflict has been ongoing since it began on Feb. 28, CNBC explained. Defense Department head Pete Hegseth told a Senate Armed Services Committee meeting on April 30 that he believes the counter "pauses or stops at a cease-fire," and Sen. Tim Kaine responded by expressing doubt about that, the network noted.

Congress still hasn't agreed on a war with Iran. The deadline set for the president would have passed on its own anyway, as Republicans, who have majorities in both houses of Congress, do not interfere with the head of state's decisions, AP News said. U.S. armed forces still maintain a presence in the Middle East.

At the same time, Trump made it clear in the letter that the war is probably far from over, AP News reported. "Despite the success of U.S. operations against the Iranian regime and ongoing efforts to forge a long-term peace, the threat Iran poses to the United States and our armed forces remains significant," the agency quoted the contents of the letter as saying.

Trump himself said Friday that he was not satisfied with Iran's new offer to end the war. "Iran wants to make a deal, but I'm not satisfied with that [...] They're asking for something I can't agree to," the US president told reporters at the White House, CNBC reported.

Oil quotations did not react to the message AP News: oil Brent at the time of publication of this text cheapened by about 1.7% and cost $108.5 per barrel, although earlier in the day fell below $107 per barrel. The cost of U.S. oil WTI was down 2.7% at $102.24 per barrel.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indices were up 0.4% and 1%, respectively, in the hour before the stock exchanges closed, while the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.19%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq updated records during trading and are moving to new highs at the close.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor