U.S. House of Representatives Republicans blocked a Democratic effort to end U.S. attacks on Iran, as Donald Trump`s party continued to prevent efforts to rein in the Republican president`s war powers, writes Reuters.

Representative Chris Smith, a New Jersey Republican, presided over an abbreviated "pro forma" House session, ending it before a group of Democrats could seek to pass by unanimous consent the resolution, which would have called for an end to the U.S. military operation.

While Thursday`s action was largely symbolic, top Democrats in the House and Senate have vowed to force war powers votes again when they return from recess next week. Congressional Democrats have tried and repeatedly failed in recent months to pass war powers resolutions to force Trump to obtain lawmakers` authorization before launching military operations, in both Venezuela and Iran.

Trump`s threat early this week that "a whole civilization will die" intensified concern among Democrats, dozens of whom called for Trump`s removal from office. The 1949 Geneva Conventions on humanitarian conduct in war prohibit attacks on sites considered essential for civilians.

"Threatening genocide is not a negotiating tactic", Representative Sara Jacobs, a California Democrat, told a news conference outside the Capitol after the pro forma session, held because Congress is out of Washington for the two-week Easter recess.

Trump announced that he had agreed to a ceasefire in the U.S.-Israel war on Iran on Tuesday, less than two hours before his deadline for Tehran to reopen the blockaded Strait of Hormuz or face devastating attacks on its civilian infrastructure. The White House says Trump`s actions are legal and within his rights as commander-in-chief to protect the U.S. by ordering limited military operations. Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful. The Trump administration has sought to portray the war as a decisive ⁠victory, although the top U.S. general said U.S. troops stood ready to resume fighting".