The end of the “Epic Fury” operation? The US army is considering renaming a possible resumption of the war in Iran, in case the ceasefire ends, to “Operation Iron Hammer”, according to two US officials cited by NBC News.
“The Epic Fury operation is over, we have moved past that stage”, said Secretary of State Marco Rubio on May 5th from the White House. “We are now in a purely defensive situation,” he added. “Which means we will not strike first. But if they attack us, we will respond.”
Thus, any new military operation against Iran would be conducted “under a new name and according to a new procedure”, a White House official told NBC News. “From the administration’s perspective, this would mean restarting negotiations with Congress,” NBC News reported.
The ceasefire “on life support”
By renaming the operation, the administration hopes to reset the 60-day limit after which Congressional authorization is required.
According to the Constitution, only Congress has the power to “declare” war. A law passed in 1973 allows the President to initiate limited military intervention to respond to an emergency situation created by an attack against the United States.
The same text requires that if the President deploys US troops for more than 60 days, he must obtain authorization from the legislative branch, different from a declaration of war.
After more than a month of truce, diplomatic efforts between Washington and Tehran are stagnating, with no conclusive results in consolidating the ceasefire. Donald Trump declared on Monday that the ceasefire is “on life support”.
During a phone call with a Fox News journalist, the American President also mentioned on Monday that he was considering relaunching his operation to protect ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz, blocked by Iran since the end of Israeli-American offensive in late February.
According to NBC News, citing a US official, Donald Trump is considering “different options to reopen the strait and break the deadlock”, but has not “ordered the resumption of large-scale US military operations”. On the other hand, the President of the Iranian Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, stated that Iran was ready to “respond and give a lesson” in case of aggression.
