Airstrikes Ordered Without Congressional Authorization Risk Broader Regional War

The research bundle from Tavily confirms that on June 26, 2026, U.S. Central Command conducted airstrikes against Iranian missile and drone storage facilities and coastal radar positions, as a direct response to Iran's one-way drone attack on the commercial ship M/V Ever Lovely in the Strait of Hormuz a day earlier. Multiple sources—including CENTCOM's own press release—report these events, but none in the bundle show that the administration sought prior congressional authorization or relied on any existing Authorization for Use of Military Force. This omission means the strikes bypass the War Powers Resolution's reporting requirements and the constitutional check on war-making power, which is a fundamental accountability mechanism designed to prevent the kind of costly, open-ended conflicts the Costs of War project has documented for years.

The bundle also confirms that the United States and Iran signed a 14-point Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding on June 17, 2026, mediated by Pakistan, with a physical signing in Geneva, Switzerland, on June 19. The agreement established a ceasefire and a 60-day window for final negotiations, including reopening the Strait of Hormuz. However, the bundle does not indicate that this window closed or that a specific event triggered renewed hostilities beyond the June 25 attack. Each round of unilateral strikes without Congress risks further erosion of civilian control over the military—a core tenet of the restraint doctrine—and leaves the U.S. in a posture that is both costlier and more dangerous than diplomacy backed by credible oversight.