As the Israel-Iran war escalates, members of Congress weighed Thursday whether to back a resolution mandating a vote on whether to approve or deny U.S. military action in the conflict — which at least one Inland Empire representative believes warrants a vote, while another doesn’t.
“As Trump muses about starting another war in the Middle East, I am committed to supporting a War Powers Resolution vote in Congress,” Rep. Mark Takano, D-Riverside, told City News Service. “I do not believe any president should be able to launch such a war — especially not with Iran — without Congress.”
Takano signaled his position following introduction Tuesday of a War Powers Resolution jointly introduced by Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Kentucky, and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-California. The resolution, which would require votes in both the House of Representatives and Senate, emphasizes that “Congress has the sole power to declare war under Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution,” and it directs the president to “terminate the use of United States Armed Forces from hostilities against Iran” without congressional authorization.
Massie said he wants to “prevent the U.S. from entering the war between Israel and Iran” because it’s not America’s fight.
Missile, drone and aircraft strikes were initiated by the Israeli Defense Forces against Iran on June 12, and the latter’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps responded. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attempted to justify “Operation Rising Lion” by declaring the need to eliminate Iran’s nuclear development goals.
“I look forward to the president’s decision and how Congress can support our shared goal of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon,” Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Norco, told CNS, without acknowledging the proposed War Powers Resolution. “The United States will stand with Israel. Any attacks on the U.S. military or our interests in the region must be met with a swift response.”
Others asked to comment were Reps. Darrell Issa, R-Temecula, Young Kim, R-West Corona, Raul Ruiz, D-Indio, and Norma Torres, D-Eastvale. None responded.
Trump told reporters during a White House briefing Wednesday that “the next week is going to be very big, maybe less than a week,” suggesting he had already decided on a strategy of engagement in the war. He posted to social media earlier this week, stating “unconditional surrender.” According to published reports, two U.S. carrier strike groups were steaming toward the Arabian Sea.
An Echelon Insights poll, published by Newsweek, showed just 8% of respondents favored the U.S. joining Israel in attacks on Iran. The nation’s leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has warned America to steer clear, saying publicly that involvement would “result in irreparable damage.”
While the Netanyahu administration claims the sole intent of aggression has been to counter Iran’s nuclear development capabilities, Iran argues that the Jewish State, which has nuclear weapons, is bent on hegemony in the region.
As of Thursday, nearly 650 Iranians had been killed in the conflict, while two dozen Israelis had perished, according to published reports.
University of Tehran English Professor Seyed Marandi, now a spokesman for the Iranian government, said earlier this week that Israel has been emboldened by its freedom to “carry out extermination in Gaza … something which we oppose.”
The Iranian missile strikes on Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities have not stopped the current IDF blockade of food and medicine into Gaza, where the Palestinian Ministry of Health estimates 55,637 have been killed — one-third of them children — and another 129,880 injured since the Hamas incursion that led to Israeli hostages being taken in October 2023.
A United Nations Human Rights Council report released in March said the Israeli military was “intentionally directing attacks against civilians.” Amnesty International stated in December that the IDF’s “deliberately indiscriminate attacks” on Palestinians were acts of “genocide.”
According to the Watson Institute for International & Public Affairs, along with Reporters Without Borders, 232 journalists have been slain in Gaza.
One of the IDF’s early targets in Tehran was the Iran State Broadcasting Center, where two died.
“Israel has taken the necessary steps to ensure their safety and survival,” Calvert said. “The extensive air strikes against Iran were targeted, intended to take out senior military leadership and nuclear enrichment and military facilities.”
According to trackaipac.com, which documents contributions received by congressional representatives from pro-Israel lobbying groups, led by the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee, Calvert has received $883,040 in his 32 years in Congress. In Kim’s four years, she’s received $478,226. Ruiz has received just under $200,000 in 12 years. The other reps with districts that include Riverside County have each received less than $100,000.
The IDF is using American-made aircraft and armaments in combat operations against Iran. There’s no consensus on the repercussions if the U.S. enters the war directly on Israel’s side, though Marandi and other Iranian officials warn that the nation, joined by Yemen, will show no restraint if threatened. One of the possibilities is closure of the Strait of Hormuz, controlled by Iran and through which almost one-third of international oil exports flow.
“No one campaigned on another war in the Middle East,” Massie said after introducing his resolution.