War with Iran hits 60-day deadline: what now?
Operation Epic Fury officially hit its 60-day mark on Friday, pressuring President Trump to seek a resolution to the conflict or seek congressional authorization to continue war
by Summer Lane | May 1, 2026
Friday marked a key deadline in the war with Iran, and it may pressure President Trump to either escalate the conflict or draw back.
According to the 1973 War Powers Act, the power of a U.S. president to initiate or escalate military actions abroad requires a series of checks and balances, mandating that the president notify Congress within 48 hours of military action. It also bars the U.S. Armed Forces from remaining engaged in conflict for over 60 days without congressional authorization.
Friday, May 1st, marked the 60-day deadline for President Trump as it relates to Operation Epic Fury (he notified Congress of the conflict on March 2, as required by law). Upon the 60-day deadline, the president must either terminate the operation or seek a Congressional declaration of war to continue hostilities.
However, there is some debate about whether the 60-day deadline will be honored by the Trump administration. For example, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth noted this week during testimony on Capitol Hill that he believed that, during the stretches of ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran, the countdown clock may be “paused.”
“We are in a ceasefire right now, which I understand means the 60-day clock pauses, or stops in a ceasefire,” he stated.
According to The New York Times, the 60-day mark is by no means the end of combat. President Trump may utilize a singular 30-day extension on troop deployment if he feels that he needs more time to negotiate with Iran while simultaneously maintaining U.S. forces in the Middle East.
Outside of this temporary extension, he would still be required to seek congressional approval to continue to wage war with Iran. This congressional approval could also be granted, per the resolution, independent of the president’s request.
The ceasefire between Iran and the United States seems to have held together – tenuously, to be sure – but the conflict remains ever-present. The U.S. Navy is currently blockading the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran has failed to come to the table with an agreement that President Trump seems willing to accept.
“The blockade has been a hundred percent foolproof…” the president said on Thursday in the Oval Office. “…Now, they have to cry uncle. That’s all they have to do, just say, ‘We give up. We give up.’ But their economy is really in trouble. It’s a dead economy.”
On Friday, before departing to Florida, the president also spoke briefly to reporters just outside the White House, telling them that Iran “wants to make a deal because they have no military left, essentially, and they want to make a deal but I’m not satisfied with it.”
He was also asked why he hadn’t sought congressional approval for the war. “Because it’s never been sought before,” the president responded. “There’s been numerous, many, many times…but we’re always in touch with Congress, but nobody’s ever sought it before, nobody’s ever asked for it before, it’s never been used before. Why should we be different?”
Photo: Adobe Stock
