Authored by Timothy Frudd via The Epoch Times,
The House of Representatives voted on Sept. 15 to pass a war powers resolution that calls for President Donald Trump to end U.S. military action against Iran.
Following a floor debate on a war powers resolution aimed at directing Trump to remove U.S. forces from hostilities against Iran without congressional authorization, the House voted 220-204 to pass House Concurrent Resolution 93.
Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) initially introduced the resolution in April.
During Tuesday's floor debate, Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) said the war with Iran has been a "strategic failure," leaving the United States with depleted weapons stockpiles and a "tab of more than $100 billion that taxpayers will have to cover."
Meeks, who introduced a war powers resolution passed by the House in June, said on Tuesday that the resolution "made clear what the Constitution makes clear: Congress, not the president, has the power to decide when the United States goes to war."
In his remarks, Meeks asked if the war had produced any of its promised objectives.
"The Strait of Hormuz remains a source of enormous risk to global energy markets, and Iran's nuclear and missile capabilities, despite what the administration claims, clearly remain."
The House previously passed two war powers resolutions in an effort to limit Trump's authority to direct U.S. military actions against the Iranian regime.
However, the resolutions have only acted as a symbolic rebuke of the president's military campaign against Iran.
The War Powers Resolution of 1973, also known as the War Powers Act, is a federal law that aims to limit the authority of the president to authorize military actions without congressional approval.
The Trump administration has disputed the War Powers Act as unconstitutional and not binding.
The House voted 215-208 in favor of a war powers resolution directing Trump to end the war in Iran on June 3.
Reps. Tom Barrett (R-Mich.), Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), and Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) joined all voting Democrats in supporting the resolution.
The vote drew a rebuke from Trump, who criticized the Republicans for joining Democrats to pass the resolution.
"Yesterday, in a meaningless vote, the House voted, 4 bad Republicans and all of the Dumocrats, to limit my War Powers, right in the middle of my final negotiations to end the War with the Islamic Republic of Iran. Who would do such an unpatriotic thing," Trump wrote in a June 4 statement on Truth Social.
On June 23, the Senate voted 50-48 in favor of the concurrent resolution to limit Trump's ability to direct U.S. military action against Iran.
However, the resolution was reversed the following day after Trump confronted Republican senators.
The House also voted 214-208 on July 23 to pass a war powers resolution directing the president to remove U.S. military forces from hostilities with Iran.
The same four Republican representatives joined Democrats in supporting the measure.
Just hours after the House approved the second war powers resolution, the Senate voted 47-49 against a similar resolution.
The United States launched Operation Epic Fury against Iran on Feb. 28, conducting strikes on thousands of Iranian military targets.
Trump announced a ceasefire in early April before the United States and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding outlining a plan for peace on June 17.
Following the collapse of the memorandum of understanding, the United States resumed strikes on Iran in July, carrying out nearly two weeks of daily attacks.
As peace talks have stalled over the past couple of months, the Trump administration has also launched Operation Economic Outcast to increase pressure on Iran through sanctions.
On Monday, Trump suggested that his administration was open to possibly resuming negotiations with Iran.
"The failing Nation of Iran wants to make a deal, quickly and badly," Trump wrote in a statement on Truth Social.
"I will determine whether or not the U.S.A. will choose to engage - the concept of which we are open to."
Tyler Durden Wed, 09/16/2026 - 10:50Distillates have gone vertical again and physical markets remain incredibly tight, according to Goldman's Rich Privorotsky.
Saudi’s East-West pipeline disruption forced the suspension of Yanbu loadings and cancellation of some European cargoes, with European physical crude trading north of $130 in places yesterday.
Despite all that, there are reports of more visible signs of cargoes moving through the Strait.
"Iraq's seaborne crude oil exports from its southern Gulf terminals averaged 3.16 million barrels/day in the first 10 days of September, nearing the prewar levels of 3.335 million b/d recorded in February" - Platts.
But for now, the market is watching inventories...
API
Crude +7.1mm
Cushing -246k
Gasoline +1.5mm
Distillates +1.6mm
DOE
Crude -640k (-1.4mm exp)
Cushing -342k
Gasoline +794k
Distillates +1.58mm
US crude stocks drew down inventories for the 3rd week in a row (though only by a de minimus 640k) but drastically different from the 7.1mm build that API reported..
Cushing stocks fell again, putting tank bottoms in view...
The Trump admin drained the SPR once again, but the 403k draw was the smallest since the war began...
...as 'tank bottoms' loom for the reserve...
US crude production was steady at record highs...
Refiner crude runs fell in most US regions last week but remain at the highest seasonal level since 2018. Runs last week were less than 100,000 barrels a day below reaching the highest seasonal level ever, continued evidence of how hard the US fuel-making fleet is running.
WTI was trading around $103 ahead of the official data
To close, we go back to where we started with Goldman's Rich Privorotsky noting that while he admits to having no special insight in Energy, like everyone else, he's trying to focus on incentives.
"Economically, it is rational for all sides to try to find a pathway toward a deal, but I have very little certainty around timing/outcome...it does seems more is getting out of the strait then people appreciate."
With gas prices at record highs for this time of year, President Trump has lots of incentives...
Especially with the odds of a Democratic Sweep in November soaring...
China increasingly feels like an important potential catalyst.
Araghchi is in Beijing for talks with Wang Yi today, while Bessent meets He Lifeng this weekend ahead of the planned Trump-Xi summit on September 24. Iran is expected to feature in those discussions. China has meaningful economic leverage with Tehran and a direct channel into Washington... if Beijing wants to use both, that creates a credible bridge toward an off ramp.
Feels like the key potential diplomatic pathway to watch...
Tyler Durden Wed, 09/16/2026 - 10:40Intel’s unfinished Ohio manufacturing buildout could wind up getting an unexpected tenant: SK Hynix, according to Reuters.
The Korean memory giant is exploring several ways to establish chip production in the United States, including a possible arrangement involving Intel’s Ohio facilities. One concept would give SK Hynix access to unused factory capacity there. A more ambitious structure could bring Intel, SK Hynix and major cloud companies together in a new partnership aimed at increasing the supply of memory needed for AI infrastructure.
Reuters reports that nothing has been finalized, and exactly what SK Hynix might produce in Ohio remains an open question. The company makes everything from conventional DRAM and NAND storage to high-bandwidth memory, where it has become a critical supplier to the AI industry.
The timing makes sense for both companies. AI data-center construction has created enormous demand for memory, while SK Hynix is being pushed by customers and governments to increase production. Intel, meanwhile, has billions of dollars tied up in an Ohio expansion that has taken much longer than originally planned. The first factories there are now expected around 2030 and 2031.
Building memory chips in America would carry a higher price tag than doing so in Asia, where SK Hynix already benefits from an established semiconductor ecosystem. But economics are no longer the only consideration. Washington has been aggressively trying to move more semiconductor manufacturing onto American soil, including by threatening steep tariffs on overseas producers that fail to expand U.S. capacity.
That creates an awkward balancing act for SK Hynix.
South Korea also wants more semiconductor investment at home and treats some advanced chip technologies as strategically important.
Moving production of sophisticated memory such as HBM or DRAM overseas could therefore face additional scrutiny from Seoul.
SK Hynix says it is examining different options for expanding its manufacturing base but has made no final decision regarding Intel or U.S. memory production. Intel has declined to discuss the reported negotiations while reiterating that work on its Ohio site continues.
For Intel, even an exploratory deal offers an intriguing possibility: turning part of a delayed and enormously expensive manufacturing project into capacity for one of the biggest beneficiaries of the AI boom. Investors liked the idea.
Tyler Durden Wed, 09/16/2026 - 10:25