US House votes to rein in Trump war powers

• Backs resolution seeking to halt military action in Iran • Trump hits back at four 'bad' Republicans, calls vote

KUWAIT CITY/ DUBAI/BEIRUT:

The US House of Representatives has backed a resolution seeking to halt American military action in Iran—a symbolic move that deals a political blow to President Donald Trump as efforts to find a deal with Tehran stagnate.

Weeks of complicated talks marked by sharp rhetoric and flare-ups of violence have not managed to reach a deal to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which is essential to oil supplies.

Washington and Tehran have sent divergent message in recent days, with Iran saying Wednesday "no tangible progress" was made, while Trump again voiced optimism by telling reporters at the White House "it could happen... over the weekend."

But in the latest episode of violence, Kuwaiti officials said renewed hostilities on Wednesday included an Iranian drone strike on a passenger terminal at Kuwait international airport that killed one person and wounded 63.

In the wake of the flare-ups, four lawmakers from Trump's Republican party joined Democrats on Wednesday to vote 215-208 in favour of the public rebuke.

The resolution was largely symbolic, as the US president can veto the measure if it gains Senate approval.

"This is a loud and unambiguous message to Donald Trump on behalf of the American people: it's time to end his deeply unpopular and illegal war of choice in Iran," Democrats posted on X.

At a congressional hearing, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran's highly enriched uranium stockpiles were at the centre of discussions with Tehran.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah rejected a new ceasefire in Lebanon on Thursday and Israel said it would not withdraw troops from the country, undermining US President Donald Trump's efforts to halt fighting there to forge peace with Tehran.

Iran has made a ceasefire in Lebanon a condition for any peace deal with Washington, and has suggested in recent days that it could intervene directly if Israel keeps up attacks there.

However, Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem rejected a US-brokered agreement between Israel and the Lebanese government to halt the fighting. Hezbollah had not been party to the negotiations. There was no immediate response from Israel, Lebanon or the US.

Israel kept up strikes in southern Lebanon, and Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israeli forces would not be withdrawing from the area or halting operations in the country, which they invaded in March in parallel with the war in Iran.

The commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Quds Force - which established Hezbollah in 1982 - said Israel must at a minimum withdraw to positions it held before the war began.

Iranian oil exports have fallen to their lowest level in six years, according to shipping data, but global oil prices fell by about 3% on hopes that the Lebanon ceasefire could help Washington and Iran find a diplomatic off-ramp from their war.

There has been little evidence of diplomatic progress, though Trump has repeatedly declared since late March that a deal is close.

Trump is under pressure at home to bring down fuel prices ahead of November's congressional elections, and he faced a rare rebuke on Wednesday, when the House of Representatives voted to block him from continuing the war. The vote is largely symbolic, as Trump is unlikely to sign it into law.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said on Thursday that Iran's enemies had already been defeated on the battlefield and were now seeking to sow internal divisions.

Khamenei has not been seen in public since he succeeded his father, who was killed in an airstrike at the start of the war.