Whelp, guess the whole no new wars thing President Trump campaigned on is out the window. Technically we aren’t at war but here’s what went down in the Middle East after American bombers made a trip over Iranian airspace.
In yet another polarizing move that sent shockwaves through both political circles and international headlines, former President Donald Trump took matters into his own hands and gave the green light for U.S. forces to join Israel in an explosive military campaign against Iran. The operation targeted three of Iran’s most high-profile nuclear enrichment facilities and was carried out without approval from Congress.
Tweets and speeches …
“We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan,” Trump posted on Truth Social Saturday. “All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home. Congratulations to our great American Warriors. There is not another military in the World that could have done this. NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE! Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
In case you missed it, later that evening, Trump addressed the nation live from the White House, joined by Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
“Our objective was the destruction of Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat,” he stated. “Tonight, I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success. Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated.”
As you can expect, the former president praised the American forces and called for peace, he made it clear that Iran still had vulnerable assets in sight if the situation escalates further. “If peace does not come quickly, we will go after those other targets with precision, speed and skill.”
From Tehran, the initial U.S. strikes triggered a swift response, who launched a wave of drone and missile attacks toward Israel. While the Israeli military claims to have intercepted many of the projectiles, others landed, resulting in casualties. The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed dozens of deaths and hundreds wounded.
While Iran continues to defend its nuclear efforts as peaceful, Netanyahu and Trump have long asserted otherwise. U.S. intelligence, however, has publicly disagreed. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard testified earlier this year that Iran had paused its nuclear weapons program back in 2003. Still, Trump dismissed that during a press conference earlier this month. “I don’t care what she said. I think they [the Iranians] were very close to having it.”
Now for the reaction from Trump critics and allies, alike …
Trump’s unilateral action has sparked serious political backlash in Washington. Critics across the aisle are raising concerns about the legality of the operation. Under Article I of the Constitution, only Congress has the power to declare war. Many lawmakers argue Trump bypassed that process completely.
Republican Congressman Thomas Massie from Kentucky has been one of the most vocal critics within his own party. “I’m here to represent the base of the MAGA party that got Trump elected,” Massie told CNN. “Most of us were tired of the wars in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, and we were promised that we wouldn’t be engaging in another one, yet here we see this happening.”
The unilateral move has also exposed a rift inside the MAGA movement itself. Some of Trump’s core supporters had pleaded with him not to escalate military tensions, urging him to stick to the America First stance that helped fuel his rise to the presidency. Others, however, supported the decision, seeing it as a necessary step to keep Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
About those democrats …
Democratic leaders were quick to denounce the strikes. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries stated Trump “misled the country about his intentions, failed to seek congressional authorisation for the use of military force and risks American entanglement in a potentially disastrous war.”
Here’s the thing, tensions continue to rise in the region. Political blowback is building at home. Now all eyes are now on what comes next. Whether this was a one-time strike or the opening move in a much larger conflict remains to be seen. Either way, the stakes have never been higher.