Washington: The US House of Representatives has passed a measure seeking to halt President Donald Trump from taking further military action in Iran, in a 215-208 vote that saw four Republicans join Democrats in a public show of disapproval of the war that began in February.

The vote adopts a war powers resolution requiring Trump to withdraw US forces or seek congressional approval for the conflict. While it is unclear how much legal force the measure would have - the White House has dismissed it as an unconstitutional attempt to restrict presidential power - its passage adds to pressure on the White House to end the war as petrol prices spike and public opposition grows.

This was the fourth attempt by the House to rein in Trump's war powers. The Senate advanced a similar resolution in May but has yet to hold a full floor vote. Republicans Thomas Massie, Brian Fitzpatrick, Tom Barrett, and Warren Davidson joined Democrats to pass Wednesday's resolution. "Congress alone declares war, that's something certainly we need to be protective of," Barrett said. Asked if he feared retribution from Trump, he replied: "I vote my conscience for what I think is right."

Representative Gregory Meeks, the leading Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs committee, called the vote "a significant bipartisan rebuke of President Trump's illegal and costly war in Iran." He said Trump had failed to achieve the war's stated aims while pushing up fuel prices and making a diplomatic solution to Iran's nuclear programme more difficult to achieve.

The US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28. Iran responded by attacking Israel and Gulf states and effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz. An initial ceasefire was agreed on April 8, but strikes have continued. Ahead of the vote, Trump said negotiations to end the war are going "very well" and could be finalised as soon as this weekend.

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