President Donald Trump announces a U.S. attack on Iran for Saturday, February 28, 2026, in a video released by the White House on social media. (Screenshot of White House video)
WASHINGTON – Democratic lawmakers on Saturday called on Congress to weigh in on President Donald Trump’s order to launch “major combat operations” in Iran, while Republicans largely gave cautious support to the attacks.
Trump said in a video posted on social media at 2:30 a.m. Eastern time that U.S. forces had attacked targets in the Islamic Republic. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attacks were carried out in cooperation with Israel.
Trump said: “Our goal is to defend the American people by eliminating immediate threats from the Iranian regime, a vicious group of very tough, terrible people. Its menacing activities directly endanger the United States, our troops, our bases abroad, and our allies around the world.”
US Senate leaders respond
As news of the attack spread later Saturday morning, numerous Democratic members of Congress pushed for a vote on Virginia Senator Tim Kaine’s War Powers Resolution.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he “begged” Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a briefing this week to provide a clear public rationale for any military operation in the Middle East.
The New York Democrat criticized the administration’s strategy, but also spoke harshly about the Iranian regime. He called for an “immediate confidential briefing of all senators” before voting on a resolution on the War Powers Act.
“The administration has failed to provide Congress and the American people with crucial details about the magnitude and immediacy of the threat,” Schumer said in a statement. “Confronting Iran’s malign regional activities, its nuclear ambitions and its harsh repression of the Iranian people requires American strength, resolve, regional coordination and strategic clarity. Unfortunately, President Trump’s turbulent cycles of playing tough and risking major conflict are not a viable strategy.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune praised Trump for his actions to stop Iran from expanding its nuclear program and supporting terrorist groups in the region.
The country poses “a clear and unacceptable threat to US soldiers, citizens in the region and many of our allies,” the South Dakota Republican wrote in a statement. “Despite the persistent efforts of the President and his administration, the Iranian regime has rejected diplomatic detours that would peacefully resolve these national security concerns.”
Thune added that government officials would update senators on the progress of the operation.
Nuclear weapons ambitions
Trump said in the early morning video that the US wants to prevent the Islamic Republic of Iran from ever obtaining nuclear weapons. “This regime will soon learn that no one should challenge the strength and power of the armed forces of the United States,” Trump said.
He acknowledged that “we may suffer losses. This often happens in war. But we do this not for the moment, but for the future.”
Trump also encouraged the Iranian people to rise up against their government. “In closing, I say tonight to the great, proud people of Iran that the hour of your freedom is near. Stay protected. Don’t leave your home. It’s very dangerous outside. Bombs are being dropped everywhere. When we’re done, take over your government. It will be yours,” Trump said. “It will probably be your only chance for generations.”
Trump spoke from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, where he then flew on Friday evening an appearance in Corpus Christi, Texas. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement on social media that Trump monitored the situation overnight with members of his national security team and spoke with Netanyahu by phone.
Leavitt said Rubio notified both Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress before the attacks, dubbed “Operation Epic Fury.”
Netanyahu in a statement On social media, he thanked Trump and repeated the US president’s comments about nuclear weapons.
“This murderous terrorist regime must not be allowed to arm itself with nuclear weapons that would allow it to threaten all of humanity,” Netanyahu said. “Our joint operation will create the conditions for the courageous Iranian people to take their destiny into their own hands.”
The Iranians say they were trying to prevent war
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi wrote a letter to the United Nations Secretary-General and the President of the UN Security Council early Saturday afternoon in which he “strongly condemned the coordinated and comprehensive armed aggression of the United States and the Israeli regime against the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iran,” according to a statement from the Foreign Ministry of the Islamic Republic of Iran on social media.
The Islamic Republic of Iran’s Foreign Ministry also said the attack came while the United States and Iran were in the midst of diplomatic talks and announced a response.
“Now the Iranian people are proud that they did everything necessary to prevent war,” the ministry said. “Now is the time to defend the homeland and confront the enemy’s military aggression. Just when we were ready to negotiate, we were more prepared than ever to defend. The Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will respond to the aggressors with authority.”
The Associated Press said The first attacks apparently targeted Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s compound in Tehran. The Reuters news service said the sky over Tehran was full of smoke.
The strikes were not expressly authorized by Congress. Trump also ordered airstrikes in Venezuela and the capture of the country’s president earlier this year.
Some members of Congress expressed skepticism about the operation, saying it should have been delegated to the legislature, which is supposed to have war-making powers under the Constitution.
The United States and its allies have long been discussing how to deal with Iran’s nuclear program. The country’s regime is strongly anti-American and the U.S. has imposed economic sanctions for nearly half a century, since a revolution installed a theocratic supreme leader.
Republicans agree with Trump
Republicans largely blamed the Iranian regime for the attacks and said its aggressive posture demanded action.
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina praised the move on social media early Saturday. “I join President Trump’s call for the Iranian military, IRGC and security forces to lay down their arms. I join his call for the Iranian people to take back their government,” Graham said.
“President Trump was right when he said he would be the first president in 47 years to stand with the Iranian people and give them the support they need.”
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, a Republican from Florida, said the attacks were “the inevitable response to 47 years of continuous and calculated aggression by the Iranian Ayatollah and all his generals against the United States, our allies and the Iranian people.”
“Under this regime, the United States and our allies face every day the imminent threat of attack from Iran and its terrorist weapons around the world,” Mast said. “They chanted ‘Death to America’ as they sought nuclear weapons and missile technology to attack our homeland. The days of America waiting to be attacked by Iran are over.”
Democrats warn against a long-term commitment
However, Democrats accused the administration of bypassing Congress. Many said Trump should focus more on domestic issues.
“While there is bipartisan support for stopping Iran’s development of nuclear weapons, there is no consensus for another endless war in the Middle East,” said Senate Democratic Leader Dick Durbin of Illinois.
“A war in Iran aimed at regime change could be another long-term military engagement with deadly consequences for thousands of American troops. President Trump’s rash and unpredictable behavior is in many ways a familiar concern, but an impulsive commander in chief is a deadly combination.”
House Democratic leader Katherine Clark of Massachusetts criticized Trump for violating his campaign promise of “no new wars” by launching the attack “in the dark and without even clear justification from Congress.”
“Families don’t want another war,” she said. “They want a reasonable cost of living. They want health care they can afford. They want an end to the terror of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in their neighborhoods. And they don’t want their sons and daughters put in harm’s way by a reckless president. The people of this country deserve better.”
Democratic Senator Andy Kim of New Jersey called for an immediate vote on a war powers resolution.
“The Americans do not want to go to war with Iran,” Kim said on social media.
“With the attacks, President Trump has made the same dangerous and stupid decision that President Bush made a generation ago. He has put Americans in danger without clearly demonstrating that there is an imminent threat to our national security. He has put the Iranian people in danger by inciting them to insurgency without a broad coalition of partners helping to protect them. And Trump has once again set in motion a vicious cycle of violence that has already escalated and could spiral out of control. This is unacceptable.”
Democratic Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts said diplomatic talks should continue. “Trump’s military attack on Iran is illegal and unconstitutional. It has not been authorized by Congress and poses dangers to all Americans. Trump’s illegal actions increase the risk of escalation into a larger regional war with serious risks to U.S. troops and civilians in the region,” Markey said in a statement.
