The United States House of Representatives has approved a resolution calling for an end to American military involvement in Iran, delivering a symbolic political setback to President Donald Trump as diplomatic efforts with Tehran remain deadlocked.
Negotiations aimed at ending the conflict and restoring access through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for global oil shipments, have struggled to produce meaningful results despite weeks of tense discussions, escalating rhetoric and repeated outbreaks of violence.
Both Washington and Tehran have offered contrasting assessments of the talks. While Iran stated on Wednesday that “no tangible progress” had been achieved, Trump maintained an optimistic outlook, telling reporters at the White House that “it could happen… over the weekend.”
The fragile diplomatic process was further complicated by renewed violence. Kuwaiti authorities reported that an Iranian drone struck a passenger terminal at Kuwait International Airport on Wednesday, killing one person and injuring 63 others.
Following the latest escalation, four Republican lawmakers joined Democrats in supporting the resolution, which passed the House by a narrow 215-208 vote. Although the measure represents a public rebuke of the administration’s policy, it remains largely symbolic because the president retains the authority to veto it if it secures Senate approval.
Democrats reacted to the vote with a statement on X, declaring: “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.”
Speaking before Congress, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio identified Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium as a central issue in ongoing discussions. The United States has maintained that any lasting agreement would require Tehran to surrender its near-weapons-grade uranium, limit its nuclear programme and reopen the Strait of Hormuz to maritime traffic.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said communication channels with Washington remain active but cautioned that an Israeli strike on Beirut during operations against Iran-backed Hezbollah could reignite the conflict on a much larger scale.
“Communications with the Americans have not been cut off, and messages have been exchanged regarding the need to stop aggression against Beirut, but no tangible progress has been made in the negotiation process,” the Tasnim news agency quoted Araghchi as telling Lebanon’s Al Mayadeen TV.
“Any attack on Beirut will have grave consequences and will lead to a full-scale resumption of the war,” he said. “Our armed forces are ready to strike Israel if it attacks Beirut.”
Kuwait’s military condemned the airport strike, describing it as an act of “criminal Iranian aggression.” India’s foreign ministry later confirmed that the person killed in the attack was an Indian citizen.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards denied responsibility for the strike, insisting it resulted from a malfunction involving U.S. defence systems. According to the force, it was “an error in the American Patriot systems, which landed on the terminal after failing to intercept Iranian missiles.”
The Guards also accused American forces of provoking retaliation by striking a tanker and a communications facility on Qeshm Island.
The latest violence poses one of the most significant challenges so far to the ceasefire agreed on April 8, which halted more than a month of fighting triggered by U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran. Although the truce has generally held, occasional exchanges of fire have continued.
Trump appeared to minimise the significance of the renewed clashes, remarking that “in that part of the world ceasefire is when you’re shooting in a more moderate manner.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, adopted a more forceful tone, accusing Tehran of escalating tensions.
“Iran surely knows what the (U.S.) president has said, that if necessary, there’ll be a full-scale return to military action,” Netanyahu said in an interview with U.S. channel CNBC.
In response to the airport attack, Kuwaiti authorities temporarily suspended air traffic and redirected incoming flights before later resuming Kuwait Airways operations. The airport, which has been targeted multiple times during the conflict, had only fully reopened on Monday.
Residents living near the airport described a tense night. Hassan Sheikh, a 40-year-old Pakistani expatriate in Kuwait, said repeated explosions could be heard for hours.
“For the first time, my children felt how serious the situation was.”
