President Donald Trump told top US lawmakers on Friday that hostilities in Iran had ended, after coming under pressure from Congress to seek authorization for the conflict as it headed into its third month.
"There has been no exchange of fire between United States Forces and Iran since April 7, 2026. The hostilities that began on February 28, 2026, have terminated," he wrote in letters to House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate president pro tempore Chuck Grassley.
Trump said US hostilities with Iran have "terminated" during an ongoing ceasefire, as he argued he did not need to meet a deadline for legislative approval of the war.
By law, a US president must receive Congress' approval within 60 days of notifying lawmakers of military action, or else cease hostilities.
But in a letter to congressional leaders, Trump said he does not have to comply with that war powers act as the ceasefire agreed with Iran last month had paused the clock on any such obligation.
The US and Iran have not yet reached a longer-term peace deal via talks, though Iranian media reported a new proposal from Tehran sent via Pakistan on Friday.
On the 60th day since he formally notified Congress of strikes against Iran, Trump wrote to congressional leaders on Friday: "There has been no exchange of fire between the United States Forces and Iran since April 7, 2026.
According to Iranian state news agency IRNA, a proposal from Tehran for negotiations with the US was sent to Pakistan intermediaries. The news agency did not publish the details. But Trump told reporters: "We just had a conversation with Iran. Let's see what happens. But, I would say that I am not happy."
He said a deal has been hard to reach in part because Iranian leadership was "very confused", after a number of its top military officials were killed in the war.
Trump said he was briefed with options by US Central Command on Thursday, ranging from "blast the hell out of them and finish them forever" to "make a deal".
Later on Friday, Trump said: "They're not coming through with the kind of deal that we have to have. And we're going to get this thing done properly. We're not going to leave early and then have the problem arise in three more years."
Meanwhile, the US Treasury has issued a notice warning that any individual or company that pays Iran a "toll" for passage through the Strait of Hormuz was at risk of violating US sanctions.
The key shipping channel is still effectively closed - causing economic impacts around the world.
In Congress, lawmakers have faced mounting questions about whether they intend to schedule a vote in each chamber to decide whether the war should receive formal authorisation.
The relevant US law, the 1973 War Powers Resolution, makes certain requirements of a president "within sixty calendar days" of their use of US armed forces in combat.
It requires a president to end the use of those forces unless Congress makes a formal declaration of war or allows the president an extension, up to 30 days in length, for the "prompt removal" of troops.
The law was passed in 1973 to limit the ability of then-President Richard Nixon to continue waging war in Vietnam.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth argued before a congressional hearing on Thursday that the clock had paused on the deadline to seek legislators' approval.
Democratic Senator Tim Kaine responded: "I do not believe the statute would support that."
Democratic-led attempts in both chambers of Congress to constrain Trump in the case of Iran have repeatedly failed.
Most Republicans have opposed the Democratic efforts, though some have indicated they might reconsider their positions after the 60-day mark.
Asked on Friday about seeking authorisation from Congress, Trump told reporters, "no other country has ever done it".
"Most people consider it totally unconstitutional," he said.
- Iran leader calls for economic battle -
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei urged his people to wage economic battle and "disappoint" its enemies, as the war with the United States and Israel and years of sanctions take a toll.
In a written statement, Khamenei went on to call for "prioritising the consumption of domestically manufactured goods", and said "the owners of damaged businesses should avoid, as much as possible, layoffs and separation of their workforce".
- Oil prices fall -
The price of oil slid after reports of Iran's latest talks proposal, but both West Texas Intermediate and the other main US benchmark, Brent, clawed back some ground and were trading comfortably above the symbolic $100 a barrel mark.
- New US sanctions -
The US Treasury Department slapped new sanctions on three Iranian foreign currency exchange firms to try to stem the flow of Tehran's "financial lifelines".
- US aircraft carrier leaves Gulf -
The USS Gerald R. Ford left the Middle East after taking part in operations against Iran, a US official said.
Two other aircraft carriers -- the USS Abraham Lincoln and USS George H.W. Bush -- are among 20 US ships still in the region.
- Refugee aid hit -
The UN refugee agency said the war had sent freight rates soaring for delivering aid to refugees in the Middle East and Africa.
Costs have shot up nearly 18 percent as shipments have had to be rerouted because of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and port congestion, UNHCR said, sparking delivery delays.
- Iran open to US talks -
Iran's judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said Tehran was open to talks with the United States but would not accept what he called policy "imposition" under threats.
"The Islamic Republic has never shied away from negotiations... but we certainly do not accept imposition," Ejei said in a video carried by the judiciary's Mizan Online website.