U.S. government watchdogs announced Wednesday they’ve begun a legally-mandated review of the Iran war, as Trump administration officials continue to maintain hostilities with Iran have concluded.
The Inspectors General for the Departments of Defense, State and U.S. Agency for International Development “commenced legally mandated, whole-of-government oversight coordination for Operation Epic Fury,” their offices announced in a press release. Such an inquiry is required by the Inspector General Act for any “military operation that exceeds 60 days as an overseas contingency operation.”
Officials with the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency tapped Pentagon Inspector General Platte B. Moring III to lead the effort on May 12, their offices noted, though the review wasn’t announced publicly until nearly a month later, on June 3. No explanation was provided for the delay.
“This Lead Inspector General designation not only follows the framework required in the IG Act, it also reflects the extensive experience of the DoW OIG with comprehensive oversight of overseas contingency operations,” Moring said in a statement. “We are collaborating closely with our colleagues to promote accountability and responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars.”
RELATED NEWS | House approves war powers resolution, seeking end of US hostilities against Iran
Under the War Powers Act, a separate law, the U.S. president cannot keep U.S. troops in active hostilities beyond 60 days without congressional approval. With the Iran war’s start of Feb. 28, the 60-day threshold would have been April 30.
But Trump administration officials have argued that, legally, hostilities concluded on April 7, after the U.S. and Iran agreed to a temporary ceasefire.
“For War Powers Resolution purposes, the hostilities that began on Saturday, February 28 have terminated,” an administration official told Scripps News at the time. President Trump later notified Congressional leaders of that determination in a formal letter on May 1 obtained by Scripps News.
Nonetheless, the U.S. military blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has remained in effect, and both the U.S. military and Iranian forces have traded fire repeatedly since the alleged ceasefire took effect.
RELATED NEWS | Iran fires missiles and US strikes Iran facility after reports of faltering peace talks
As recently as this week, the U.S. Central Command disabled an oil tanker headed for an Iranian port and carried out what it described as defensive strikes on military targets near the Strait of Hormuz. Iran, for its part, shot off drones at targets in Bahrain and Kuwait, though such attacks were intercepted or failed with no harm to American troops, U.S. officials said.
Appearing on Capitol Hill Tuesday for his first public testimony since the war began, Secretary of State Marco Rubio continued to insist the conflict had ended.
“The war is over,” he said, as Democratic lawmakers insisted the opposite was true.
“We're no longer conducting sustained strikes inside of Iran to degrade their military, because Epic Fury is over," Rubio reiterated in a Wednesday hearing.
Asked about the announcement of the IG review, a White House official told Scripps News, “For War Powers Resolution purposes, the hostilities that began on Saturday, February 28 have terminated.” The official declined to elaborate on the IG’s apparent conclusion that the conflict has stretched beyond 60 days.
The Pentagon and the Departments of State and Justice did not immediately respond to inquiries about the announcement or how it impacted the administration’s legal arguments about the war.
