Democratic efforts in the Senate to prevent President Donald Trump from further escalating with Iran have fallen short.

The Senate vote was 53 to 47 against a war powers resolution that would have required congressional approval for more hostilities against Iran. All the senators had voted, but the vote was being held open.

Senate rejects Democratic bid to restrain Trump on Iran as Republicans stand behind strikes on nuclear sites.

Trump’s return to office sparked a tit-for-tat trade war between Washington and Ottawa after he announced sweeping 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods. Those levies were later amended with carve-outs for goods covered by the USMCA trade deal, but new sectoral tariffs on steel and aluminium have hit Canada hard.