Vermont’s congressional delegation unilaterally condemned President Donald Trump’s decision to attack Iran Saturday, warning that the strikes could throw the U.S. into a reckless war.
“President Trump, along with his right-wing extremist Israeli ally Benjamin Netanyahu, has begun an illegal, premeditated and unconstitutional war,” U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said in a statement.
The U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Saturday after weeks of escalating tensions and rhetoric.
President Donald Trump and news reports said the strikes would target Iranian military assets, government leaders and the country’s nuclear program, and explosions were seen across the country including in the capital city of Tehran, The New York Times reported.
In response, Iran used missiles and drones to target Israel and American military bases in the Middle East, according to the Times.
Trump released an eight-minute video explaining the attack, which he described as “massive,” telling the Iranian people that the “hour of your freedom is at hand,” and they should prepare to “take over” the government after the U.S. military campaign ends.
Vermont’s delegates in Washington argued in separate statements Saturday that such a military escalation required authorization from Congress. They called on the House and Senate to reconvene in order to vote on a war powers resolution that would limit the military’s ability to continue its attacks on Iran.
“It’s true that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei leads a brutal and oppressive regime, and I support the Iranian people bravely protesting to bring change,” U.S. Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., said in a statement. “But this attack is not a plan for peace. It has put our troops in harm’s way, thrown the entire region into conflict, and violates our Constitution.”
U.S. Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., questioned Trump’s motivation for the war, wondering if the destruction of Iran’s nuclear capabilities or regime change were the ultimate goals.
“Donald Trump said he was running for president to end wars, not start them. We have seen how regime change wars — Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya — are easy to start but hard and costly to end. And when they do end there is more, not less, regional instability,” Welch said in a statement.
The latest attacks are a substantial escalation of ongoing conflict between the U.S. and Iran.
In June, the U.S. struck multiple nuclear sites in Iran, and Trump said the U.S. had obliterated the country’s nuclear program.
Earlier this month, flight watchers and defense industry publications reported that Vermont National Guard F-35 fighter jets were en route to the Middle East as part of a large buildup of U.S. military infrastructure in the region.
