The United States launched a surprise attack on three Iranian nuclear sites on Saturday in what many categorize as an unconstitutional act of war. After the attack, President Donald Trump called for peace.
During “Operation Midnight Hammer,” 125 aircraft dropped 14 bunker-busting bombs on the Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan sites, considered the heart of Iran’s nuclear program. The attack came just two days after the White House announced that the president said he would take the next two weeks to decide whether to strike Iran or not. The operation was intended to catch Iran off guard.
After the strike, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said:
This mission was not has not been about regime change. The president authorized a precision operation to neutralize the threats to our national interests posed by the Iranian nuclear program and the collective self-defense of our troops and our ally Israel…. President Trump has said for over 20 years, quite frankly, [that] Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. And ultimately he decided this is the moment, given their stonewalling, when direct military action had to be taken to prevent that from happening.
Vice President J.D. Vance suggested on ABC’s This Week that Iran likely still has its enriched uranium stockpile, but the country no longer has the capacity to turn it into nuclear weapons.
Iranian officials said the damage to the Fordow facility was not very extensive, according to reports. They claim it was “limited to the entrance tunnel and that important equipment had been moved out before the bombings.”
After the attack, Trump hailed the operation’s success and congratulated the warriors who executed the mission with precision.
But not everyone was glad to hear about what happened. Among them was Kentucky’s Republican representative, Thomas Massie, who replied to Trump’s tweet with four words: “This is not Constitutional.”
Massie introduced on Tuesday the War Powers Resolution, a bill designed to stop the president from doing exactly what he did Saturday. Massie said of the bill:
The Constitution does not permit the executive branch to unilaterally commit an act of war against a sovereign nation that hasn’t attacked the United States. Congress has the sole power to declare war against Iran. The ongoing war between Israel and Iran is not our war. Even if it were, Congress must decide such matters according to our Constitution.
Another Republican lawmaker from Kentucky, Senator Rand Paul, also opposed Trump’s actions.
In an op-ed published by The Hill just hours before the strike, titled “If he wages war unilaterally, Trump will only be the latest of many presidents to do so,” George Washington University law Professor Jonathan Turley noted that Massie and Paul are aligned with the Founders:
It takes courage to oppose such actions by a president of your own party or against an unpopular foe. Notably, among my clients 14 years ago was Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), the father of Sen Rand Paul (R-Ky.) who also believes that a president should secure approval of Congress before any such attack occurs. The other group that would demand such approval was the Framers themselves. They saw foreign entanglements and military interventions as the markings of despots and tyrants.
Turley also made the following observation:
Despite the clear text of the Constitution, courts have repeatedly allowed this circumvention of Article I. Congress has only declared 11 wars while allowing more than 125 military operations, including Vietnam, Korea and Afghanistan. Congress has not declared war in the 80 years since World War II. … Both Congress and the courts have effectively amended the Constitution to remove the requirement of war declarations.
Another legal mind, Judge Andrew Napolitano, made a similar case Thursday:
All power in the federal government comes from the Constitution and from no other source. Congress is restrained by the Constitution and by treaties to which the U.S. is a party. Congress cannot legally declare war on Russia, Gaza or Iran since there are no militarily grounded reasons for doing so. Russia poses no threat to American national security, persons or property; nor do Gaza or Iran. Moreover, the U.S. has no treaty with Ukraine or Israel that triggers an American military obligation.
Under the Constitution, only Congress can declare war on a nation or group.
And in a rare moment of constitutional alignment — yet a consistent pattern of opposing anything Trump does — most Democrats agreed with Massie and Paul. Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said:
No president should be allowed to unilaterally march this nation into something as consequential as war with erratic threats and no strategy. We must enforce the War Powers Act, and I’m urging [Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.)] to put it on the Senate floor immediately. I am voting for it and implore all Senators on both sides of the aisle to vote for it.
The president’s loyal supporters in Congress say he did nothing wrong. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who spent two decades practicing constitutional law, said:
The President fully respects the Article I power of Congress, and tonight’s necessary, limited, and targeted strike follows the history and tradition of similar military actions under presidents of both parties.
And, of course, there’s the Republican senator from South Carolina, the man who’s never met an act of war he didn’t like. Lindsey Graham thanked the Almighty for Trump’s decision to drop bombs, saying on social media:
There is only one Commander in Chief, and thank God it’s President Trump. The success of Operation Midnight Hammer relied heavily on the element of surprise. To all those claiming he acted outside his authority, you are dead wrong.
And no one is happier than Israel, which has been working over Trump all year. Right after the attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Trump’s “bold decision” to target Iran “with the awesome and righteous might of the United States.” Moreover, he said:
In tonight’s actions against Iran’s nuclear facilities, America has been truly unsurpassed. It has done what no other country on earth could do. History will record that President Trump acted to deny the world’s most dangerous regime the world’s most dangerous weapons.
Outside of Western Europe, the international community responded with disapproval.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a statement:
The United States, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, has committed a grave violation of the UN Charter, international law and the (Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty) by attacking Iran’s peaceful nuclear installations. The events this morning are outrageous and will have everlasting consequences. Each and every member of the UN must be alarmed over this extremely dangerous, lawless and criminal behavior. In accordance with the UN Charter and its provisions allowing a legitimate response in self-defense, Iran reserves all options to defend its sovereignty, interest, and people.
Iran’s ally to the north and a country Trump has been trying to thaw relations with, Russia, condemned the attacks. Russia’s foreign ministry said in a statement Sunday:
Russia resolutely condemns the United States’ strikes on several nuclear facilities in the Islamic Republic of Iran…. This reckless decision to launch missile and aerial strikes on the territory of a sovereign state, regardless of the justifications offered, constitutes a blatant violation of international law, the UN Charter, and relevant resolutions by the UN Security Council…. We call for an immediate end to aggression and for stepping up efforts to bring the situation back onto a peaceful, diplomatic track.
And China, considered America’s most formidable antagonist, was also unhappy. According to a foreign ministry spokesperson:
China strongly condemns the US attacks on Iran and bombing of nuclear facilities under the safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency…. The actions of the US seriously violate the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter and international law, and have exacerbated tensions in the Middle East…. China calls on the parties to the conflict, Israel in particular, to reach a ceasefire as soon as possible, ensure the safety of civilians, and start dialogue and negotiation…. China stands ready to work with the international community to pool efforts together and uphold justice, and work for restoring peace and stability in the Middle East.
These war actions will have reverberating effects, both at home and abroad, especially in regard to relations with other nations. At this point, few other than the noninterventionists hope they are wrong about what those effects will be.
U.S. military assets in the Middle East were put on high alert before the attack, and remain so — especially now.