Trump Notifies Congress That Iran Hostilities Have Ended

President Donald Trump notified House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Senate President pro tempore Chuck Grassley (R-IA) on May 1, 2026, that hostilities with Iran have terminated, exactly 60 days after the conflict began on February 28, 2026. The letter addresses the War Powers Resolution deadline, under which presidents must seek congressional approval to continue military operations beyond 60 days or withdraw forces within 30 days.

A senior administration official stated that authorization to extend the war past the deadline is unnecessary because the hostilities have ended.

U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports and vessels. U.S.

President Trump said the offer contains terms he cannot agree to. "At this moment, I’m not satisfied with what they’re offering," Trump told reporters. Lawmakers remain deadlocked over approving continued action or withdrawal, with Congress entering recess without resolution.

U.S. Brad Cooper, briefed President Trump on May 1, 2026, on potential military options against Iran. U.S.

The B-1B is slated to remain in service until 2037. The war has driven global oil prices to $126 per barrel for Brent crude futures on April 30, 2026, the highest since 2022 and up more than 13% in 24 hours. Prices have not exceeded $120 since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, when Brent peaked at $139.

U.S. dollar on April 29, 2026, amid disruptions to oil exports and domestic production from the blockade and strikes. U.S.

$25 billion in its first two months, primarily in munitions, operations and maintenance, and equipment replacement. The Pentagon's initial estimate after the first week was $11 billion. Outside analyses differ: the Center for American Progress estimated $25 billion more than a month ago, while an April 8, 2026, American Enterprise Institute study placed costs between $25 billion and $35 billion.

The administration plans a $98 billion supplemental funding request. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) challenged Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's claim that the supplemental includes only $25 million specifically for the Iran mission.

The United Arab Emirates announced its departure from the OPEC cartel, reshaping Gulf energy dynamics amid the conflict's shocks to Tehran's oil-based economy. U.S. military losing its edge, noting that while President Trump seeks a negotiated truce, Iran's leaders do not and hold the stronger negotiating position.

In a separate development, Environmental Protection Agency deputy administrator David Fotouhi issued a six-page internal memo this week criticizing assessments from the agency's Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) program, created in 1985 to evaluate chemical toxicity.

IRIS has produced more than 500 assessments quantifying safe exposure levels before health effects, including cancer. The memo directs EPA offices using IRIS data to review them, advises external entities to do the same, and cautions against relying on them for future regulations.

The EPA will add disclaimer language to the IRIS website stating that toxicity findings are not necessarily for regulatory use. The memo tasks EPA regulatory offices with conducting their own toxicity assessments, effectively ending the IRIS program. Over the past year, the EPA reassigned most of the dozens of scientists from IRIS to other agency parts.

The administration refused to publish an IRIS report on the forever chemical PFNA completed in April 2025. IRIS updated its ethylene oxide assessment in 2016, deeming it a more potent carcinogen, which prompted the Biden administration to issue protective regulations. The Trump EPA paused those efforts.

Before his appointment by President Trump, Fotouhi worked as a lawyer at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher representing companies accused of toxic pollution, including Medline. The EPA press office stated that Fotouhi complied with all government ethics obligations and that the directive will not risk public health or permit ignoring regulations.

Revisions to permits or standards require public participation processes, the office added.

"Science is at the heart of the Agency’s work, and this memo reaffirms that point clearly and unequivocally," the press office wrote. Congressional Republicans introduced industry-backed legislation in 2025 to bar EPA use of IRIS assessments in rules, regulations, enforcement, and permits, though the bills did not advance to a vote.

More than a decade ago, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine criticized IRIS reviews for organization, length, and clarity; a later report found significant progress in fixes.

The EPA had kept IRIS separate from regulatory offices to shield its science from industry influence. U.S. 5 trillion in personal debt as of the latest Federal Reserve Bank of New York data, with more than three-quarters of adults holding some form, including mortgages and student loans.