Iran War Hits Washington as Congress Nears Withdrawal Vote

The war's 97th day opened with the heaviest Gulf exchange in weeks. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed responsibility for new attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait that killed one person and injured 63, and the US military struck an Iranian ground-control station in the Strait of Hormuz and targets on Qeshm Island after the missile fire. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said through spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric that he was "alarmed" by the overnight exchange and "deeply troubled by the reports of civilian casualties," backing the Pakistan-led mediation. President Donald Trump, in an interview aired Wednesday, said Iran has agreed not to have a nuclear weapon and that Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is personally involved in the negotiations.

Markets priced the renewed risk without panic: Brent crude rose 1.1% to $97.07 a barrel, and the S&P 500 pulled back 0.3% from record highs.

On Capitol Hill, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that the administration attacked Iran knowing retaliation would follow — including the possibility of a closed Strait of Hormuz — but concluded that Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon was the worse outcome. He refused to say whether he had warned Trump the war could drive up costs. The testimony landed as the House prepared to vote, possibly within the day, on a concurrent resolution ordering withdrawal from the war — a measure that needs no presidential signature, after Republicans pulled a similar resolution in late May when it appeared to have the votes and three earlier war-powers attempts failed, the last in a tie. A legally binding joint resolution is advancing separately in the Senate toward a likely veto. Analysts caution the symbolism cuts two ways: it signals waning support for the war, and it may persuade Tehran it can simply wait the administration out.

The human ledger of the air war acquired a singular entry: a US Air Force pilot was shot down twice in the same conflict — first when Kuwaiti air defenses mistakenly downed his F-15E, one of three lost to friendly fire in the war's early days, and again on April 3 over Iran by a surface-to-air missile. He survived both ejections with serious injuries; his back-seater evaded capture for nearly two days before recovery. Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine praised the crew, and retired Lt. Gen. David Deptula said no American aviator has been through anything comparable since Vietnam.

Trade policy supplied the day's other institutional fight. The US Trade Representative proposed tariffs of 10% and 12.5% on imports from 60 trading partners — including the UK, EU, Canada, China, India and Japan — for failing to prohibit goods made with forced labor, using the Section 301 route to rebuild the tariff wall the Supreme Court demolished when it struck down the IEEPA tariffs. Hearings are set for July 7, and one model puts potential revenue at up to $169 billion a year, roughly matching what IEEPA brought in; the EU and UK rejected the premise, defending their own forced-labor regimes.

In corporate America, Google completed an $85 billion equity raise, the largest in its history, to fund AI infrastructure. And California counted votes from Tuesday's top-two primary: Republican Steve Hilton led with 28%, Democrat Xavier Becerra followed at 25% and Tom Steyer trailed at 20%, positioning Hilton and Becerra for the November runoff; Katie Porter conceded, Matt Mahan drew 5%, and Karen Bass advanced to the November runoff for Los Angeles mayor.