Join WhatsApp Channel
Indian American lawmakers strongly criticized the United States military strike on Tehran on February 28, 2026, arguing that only Congress has the constitutional authority to declare war.
The coordinated combat operations by the United States and Israel targeting Tehran were followed by retaliatory strikes from Iran on Israel and on U.S. bases in Qatar, UAE, and Bahrain, escalating tensions across the region.
In an address delivered from Florida, President Donald Trump announced, “The United States military began major combat operations in Iran. Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime, a vicious group of very hard, terrible people.”
Outlining the rationale for the military action, the President said Iran’s activities “directly endanger” U.S. troops and bases overseas as well as American allies around the world. He described the Iranian regime as having “chanted death” to America for 47 years and waging what he called a sustained campaign of violence against the United States and its partners.
The President referenced several historical incidents, including the 1979 takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, where American diplomats were held hostage for 444 days, and the 1983 Marine barracks bombing in Beirut that killed 241 U.S. service members. He also cited Iran’s alleged involvement in attacks on American forces in Iraq and other incidents in the Middle East.
“Iranian forces killed and maimed hundreds of American service members in Iraq,” he said, adding that Iran’s proxies have continued to launch attacks against U.S. forces, naval vessels, and commercial shipping in recent years.
“It’s been mass terror. And we’re not going to put up with it any longer. From Lebanon to Yemen and Syria to Iraq, the regime has armed, trained and funded terrorist militias that have soaked the earth with blood and guts,” he added.
The President further asserted that Iran’s “proxy Hamas” carried out the October 7 attacks on Israel, which he said resulted in the deaths of more than 1,000 people, including 46 Americans.
“Iran is the world’s number one state sponsor of terror and just recently killed tens of thousands of its own citizens on the street as they protested,” he said. “It has always been the policy of the United States, in particular my administration, that this terrorist regime can never have a nuclear weapon. I’ll say it again. They can never have a nuclear weapon.”
Referring to Operation Midnight Hammer last June, the President stated, “We obliterated the regime’s nuclear program at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. After that attack, we warned them never to resume their malicious pursuit of nuclear weapons. And we sought repeatedly to make a deal. We tried. They wanted to do it, they didn’t want to do it again. They wanted to do it, they didn’t want to do it, they didn’t know what was happening. They just wanted to practice evil.”
He said Iran rejected opportunities to renounce its nuclear ambitions and continued efforts to rebuild its nuclear program and develop long-range missiles capable of threatening U.S. allies and potentially the American homeland.
For these reasons, he said, the United States launched what he described as a large-scale operation to prevent Iran from threatening U.S. national security interests.
“We are going to destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground. It will be totally, again, obliterated,” he said. “We are going to annihilate their navy. We are going to ensure that the region’s terrorist proxies can no longer destabilize the region or the world and attack our forces and no longer use their IEDs, or roadside bombs, as they are sometimes called, to so gravely wound and kill thousands and thousands of people, including many Americans.”
The President reiterated that Iran would not be permitted to obtain a nuclear weapon and said the United States had taken steps to minimize risks to U.S. personnel in the region. He acknowledged the possibility of casualties.
“My administration has taken every possible step to minimize the risk to US personnel in the region. Even so, and I do not make this statement likely, the Iranian regime seeks to kill,” he said. “The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost and we may have casualties. That often happens in war. But we’re doing this not for now, we’re doing this for the future. And it is a noble mission.”
He also addressed members of Iran’s armed forces and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, warning them to lay down their weapons or “face certain death.” Speaking to the Iranian people, he said, “Finally, to the great, proud people of Iran, I say tonight that the hour of your freedom is at hand. Stay sheltered. Don’t leave your home.”
He urged Iranians to seize what he described as an opportunity for change, stating, “This is the moment for action. Do not let it pass.”
Reactions from Indian American Lawmakers
Indian American members of Congress raised constitutional and strategic concerns in response to the military action.
Rep. Suhas Subramanyam said, “When we put American servicemembers’ lives at risk, we must ensure the cause is worthy and the objective is clear.” He added, “We must ask whether it truly makes our country safer and whether all diplomatic options have been exhausted. It is not clear to me that a protracted war with Iran fits that criteria. Last year, we were told that Iran’s nuclear capability was obliterated and it would take years to rebuild.”
Subramanyam noted that the situation is now being framed as Iran posing an “existential threat” to the United States that requires war.
“I support our troops and their families, and I support the Iranian people’s efforts to fight their oppressive government for a free, fair, and secular future,” he said, adding that the American people are “tired” of prolonged conflicts and “regime change” efforts with unintended consequences.
He also criticized the lack of prior authorization from Congress, stating that the “authority” to declare war resides with Congress. He emphasized that the President should seek proper Congressional authorization as events continue to unfold and said, “My thoughts and prayers are with American troops and their families, the Iranian people, and people in the region, at this time.”
Rep. Pramila Jayapal similarly expressed concern, stating that Congress’s Constitutional war powers had once again been sidelined as Trump wages another “illegal war.”
“American servicemembers are now at risk due to this dangerous escalation from Trump and I’m incredibly concerned by reporting that Iranian children have already been killed,” she said.
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, a senior member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the House Oversight Committee, said the President’s actions exceeded his constitutional authority.
“It’s clear — the American people do not want war,” he said. “The President’s reckless decision to strike Iran puts our service members in harm’s way, jeopardizes regional stability, and risks drawing the United States into yet another forever conflict. By calling this action a war, the President has made clear that he has once again overstepped his authority. The power to go to war is reserved for Congress and Congress alone. As such, I will be voting in support of the War Powers Resolution to rein in this unaccountable President.”
Rep. Ro Khanna also criticized the strike, stating, “Trump has launched an illegal regime change war in Iran with American lives at risk. Congress must convene on Monday to vote on Rep Thomas Massie and my WPR to stop this. Every member of Congress should go on record this weekend on how they will vote.”
