Strait of Hormuz Sailors Rescued: UN Begins Evacuating 11,000 Stranded Crew Members

Two big things happened on the same day — June 23, 2026 — and they're both part of the same messy, ongoing story: the U.S.-Israel war on Iran that started back in late February.

The Senate Pumped the Brakes on Trump's Iran War

For the first time in history, a war powers resolution passed both chambers of Congress. The U.S. Senate voted 50–48 to tell President Trump he either needs to stop military operations against Iran or get Congress to officially authorize them before going any further.

Here's the thing though — it's mostly symbolic. Trump can veto it, and overriding that veto would require a two-thirds majority in both houses, which almost certainly isn't there. Still, the fact that it passed at all is a genuinely big deal.

Four Republicans broke with their party to make it happen: Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, and Rand Paul of Kentucky. Nearly every Senate Democrat voted yes too — except one. Two Republicans, Mitch McConnell and Dave McCormick, sat it out entirely.

The resolution says the president must remove U.S. forces from hostilities with Iran unless Congress has explicitly declared war or authorized force. There's a narrow carve-out: a limited military presence can stay to prevent an "imminent attack" on the U.S. or its allies.

Critics of the resolution — mostly Republicans — argued it undermines Trump at a critical moment, since he's currently in Switzerland-based peace negotiations with Iran. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has even declared, "The war is over" — though not everyone in Congress believes that, and Israel has continued strikes in Lebanon in apparent violation of existing ceasefire terms.

Meanwhile: 11,000 Sailors Are Finally Getting Out

Separately — and just as significant — the United Nations' International Maritime Organization (IMO) announced it has begun evacuating over 11,000 sailors who have been stranded in the Strait of Hormuz since the war started.

The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow waterway between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula. Before the war, roughly 20% of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas passed through it every single day. When Iran effectively shut it down starting in late February, hundreds of cargo ships and tankers got stuck — their crews trapped in an active war zone with no way out.

At the peak, around 20,000 seafarers were stranded. Now, following a U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding (basically a preliminary peace deal), the IMO is moving them out in a phased operation coordinated with Iran, Oman, the U.S., and the shipping industry. Fourteen sailors lost their lives during the conflict. The operation will use two temporary routes through the strait, with each ship receiving individual instructions.

Shipping traffic is recovering — but slowly. Before the war, about 100 ships made the crossing daily. On Monday, around 36-39 did. That's progress, but it's not back to normal. And Iran's chief negotiator has made clear the strait "will never return" to pre-war conditions — a statement that's already colliding with Rubio's insistence that no country can charge tolls on an international waterway.

Why Does This Matter to You?

If you've noticed higher energy prices, goods taking longer to arrive, or higher prices at the pump or grocery store over the past four months — the Hormuz closure is a big reason why. The strait is one of the world's single most important chokepoints for energy. Every day it stays even partially closed, the ripple effects hit global supply chains.

The Senate vote, meanwhile, is a signal that not even all of Trump's own party is fully on board with how this war has been handled — even if that signal doesn't yet have the force of law behind it. These two stories together paint a picture of a conflict winding down, cautiously and unevenly, with a lot still unsettled.