WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump agreed Tuesday evening to a two-week ceasefire with Iran, at least delaying his threat of a catastrophic attack on the country’s civilian population as he said the countries were near a long-term peace agreement.

The ceasefire was negotiated with Pakistani leaders as intermediaries, Trump said in a post to his social media site, Truth Social. The deal was conditional on Iran agreeing to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping lane for the global supply of oil, Trump wrote.

“Based on conversations with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, of Pakistan, and wherein they requested that I hold off the destructive force being sent tonight to Iran, and subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz, I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks,” he wrote. 

Trump added that he had received “a 10-point proposal from Iran” that would form the basis of a long-term agreement. 

“Almost all of the various points of past contention have been agreed to between the United States and Iran, but a two week period will allow the Agreement to be finalized and consummated,” he said.

A day of global outrage

Earlier Tuesday, Trump had escalated his rhetoric against Iran, even as some Republicans in Congress began to back away from his declarations, threatening that “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.”

“I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will,” he wrote. 

He ended the 85-word message with “God Bless the Great People of Iran!”

The threat drew intense opposition throughout the day, including from Pope Leo XIV.

Trump posted the early-morning message roughly 12 hours before his self-imposed deadline for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz or otherwise face U.S. strikes on the country’s bridges and power plants, he wrote Sunday in an expletive-laden Truth Social post. 

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y, denounced Trump as “an extremely sick person.” 

“Each Republican who refuses to join us in voting against this wanton war of choice owns every consequence of whatever the hell this is,” he wrote on X Tuesday morning.

Some Democrats in Congress said it’s time to invoke the 25th Amendment to the Constitution and remove Trump from office.

Threats followed rescue operations

Trump’s flurry of fresh threats followed Iran’s downing of two U.S. military aircraft. U.S. forces and intelligence officers launched a major operation to rescue one of the plane’s weapons system officers, which proved successful Sunday, according to the president and U.S. officials. Two pilots had already been rescued.

As of Tuesday, the United States struck Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil export terminal, according to The Associated Press, and Israeli forces struck eight bridges, according to a post on X by Israel’s military. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday forces had also struck railways. “Yesterday, we destroyed transport planes and dozens of helicopters. Today, we attacked the train tracks and bridges used by the Revolutionary Guards,” he wrote on social media.

Speaking in Hungary, Vice President JD Vance said he hopes Iran chooses “the right response” by Trump’s evening deadline. 

“We’ve got tools in our toolkit that we so far haven’t decided to use. The president of the United States can decide to use them, and he will decide to use them if the Iranians don’t change their course of conduct,” Vance said.

Sharif n a statement prior to Trump’s post announcing the ceasefir urged all parties to continue negotiations, and for Trump to abandon his Tuesday night deadline.

“To allow diplomacy to run its course, I earnestly request President Trump to extend the deadline for two weeks. Pakistan, in all sincerity, requests the Iranian brothers to open Strait of Hormuz for a corresponding period of two weeks as a goodwill gesture,” Sharif wrote on social media.

Trump repeated the threat to bomb Iran’s civilian infrastructure Monday during a lengthy White House press conference. Targeting civilian infrastructure violates international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Conventions that were updated following World War II.

U.S. cybersecurity officials alerted critical infrastructure operators to “urgently review” cybersecurity protocols and take measures to disconnect certain components from the internet after indications that Iranian hackers have begun exploiting water and energy systems. 

The advisory Tuesday from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency, and a host of other federal agencies including the FBI and Department of Energy, did not provide details on locations.

Sens. Ron Johnson, John Curtis express objections

Republicans on Capitol Hill, with the exception of Kentucky’s Sen. Rand Paul and Rep. Thomas Massie, have blocked efforts to rein in Trump’s war on Iran, but three more GOP voices against the conflict emerged in recent days. 

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., told conservative commentator John Solomon Monday that he is against Trump’s threats to bomb civilian targets in Iran.

“I hope and pray that President Trump is just using this as bluster,” he said on the “John Solomon Reports” podcast, produced by Just the News. “… We are not at war with the Iranian people. We are trying to liberate them.”

Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, declared opposition Friday to funding the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran. 

“I stand by the President’s actions taken in defense of our national security interests in the Middle East. But we must be clear-eyed about history and the Constitution. While I support maintaining our readiness and replenishing stockpiles, I cannot support funding for further military operations without a formal declaration of war from Congress,” he wrote on X.

On Tuesday afternoon, Rep. Nathaniel Moore, R-Texas, joined the opposition, posting on X that “what sets America apart is not only our strength, but how we use it.”

“I do not support the destruction of a ‘whole civilization.’ That is not who we are, and it is not consistent with the principles that have long guided America,” Moore wrote in a statement on X.

The U.S. and Israel began a joint bombing campaign on Iran on Feb. 28, killing  Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and numerous other senior officials of the Islamic state. 

In response, Iran has targeted global oil trade by effectively choking off the Strait of Hormuz, a major maritime passage for one-fifth of the world’s petroleum and liquid natural gas. 

The conflict has killed thousands of civilians across the Middle East and injured thousands more. Thirteen U.S. service members have died, and 372 have been injured since the start of fighting, according to the Pentagon’s Defense Casualty Analysis System.

25th Amendment

Trump’s rash threat to wipe out Iran’s “whole civilization” sparked numerous calls to remove the president from office.

Former U.S. House GOP lawmaker and Trump loyalist, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, swiftly denounced Trump’s latest threat.

“25TH AMENDMENT!!! Not a single bomb has dropped on America. We cannot kill an entire civilization. This is evil and madness,” she posted on X.

Nearly two dozen Democratic lawmakers, including several progressive members, also turned to social media to appeal for the 25th Amendment, which authorizes the vice president and a majority of Cabinet members or Congress to deem the president unfit for office. The amendment has never been invoked.

Rep. Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz., accused Trump of threatening “massive war crimes” and also implicated Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.

“In the last 48 hours alone, the rhetoric has crossed every line. Pete Hegseth is complicit. I’ve called for the 25th Amendment and am introducing Articles of Impeachment against Hegseth,” said Ansari, an Iranian-American.

Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., said “removal is the top priority.”

In a video message posted on X, Markey urged the House to “immediately” come back into session and pass articles of impeachment against Trump, and for the Senate to remove him from office.

“He is completely unstable and dangerous,” Markey said.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., countered the calls, saying, “The president is facing serious mental decline; I’m with you on that.”

“But unfortunately, invoking the 25th is not realistic right now, given his oddball cabinet of sycophants and eccentrics, and Republican ‘spines of foam.’ We’re going to have to buckle down and win this the old-fashioned way.”

Rep. Marcy Kaptur, whose seat in red northwest Ohio is under threat, stopped short of mentioning the 25th Amendment, but urged GOP congressional leadership to act as Trump is “recklessly threatening to commit atrocities and war crimes.”

“This is unhinged saber rattling that follows consistent threats over the past week to violate international law. The President is using the might of the United States military to wage war without constitutionally mandated approval from Congress. Until Congress reasserts itself as a co-equal branch of government, he will remain unchecked and the security of our nation will continue to be at risk,” she said in a statement.

Illegal orders

Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., reminded American service members in a statement Tuesday that attacking civilians en masse “puts them in very real legal jeopardy,” as the action is not only in violation of the Geneva Conventions, but also the Pentagon’s Law of War Manual.

Slotkin, a former CIA analyst, and five other congressional Democrats who served in the military or national security roles, published a video in November stating that members of the armed services are not obligated to follow illegal orders. The video came during the height of the administration’s strikes on small alleged drug-running boats in the Caribbean.

“It’s moments like these that are why we made the video to service members last year. And I hope and believe our troops — especially those in command — will have the moral clarity to push back if they are given clearly illegal orders,” Slotkin said in a statement Tuesday.

Rep. Jason Crow, a Colorado Democrat who appeared in the video with Slotkin, said House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., must bring the House back into session and vote to end the war.

“Members of our Armed Forces must remember their oaths to the Constitution. As I have said before, if servicemembers are asked to carry out illegal orders, they have a solemn duty to follow the law,” said Crow, a former paratrooper and Army Ranger.

Pope Leo XIV, during a press gaggle outside his summer residence near Rome, appealed to Americans to contact Congress and express opposition to the Iran war.

“I would invite the citizens of all countries involved to contact the authorities, political leaders, congressmen, to ask them, tell them to work for peace and to reject war always,” he said.

The offices of Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and Johnson did not respond for comment on Trump’s latest statements.

A general social media account for the Senate Republican Conference posted mid-day Tuesday: “Iran would be wise to take President Trump at his word. They can choose the easy way or the hard way.”

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday declined to rule out bombing certain types of civilian infrastructure in Iran, including schools and hospitals, and said that any agreement to end the war must include free navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.

“We have to have a deal that’s acceptable to me,” he said during a 90-minute press conference. “And part of that deal is going to be, we want free traffic of oil and everything else.”

Trump said he hopes he doesn’t need to bomb non-military targets, like power plants and bridges, but that even if he did, he doesn’t believe it would constitute a war crime. International law, including the Geneva Conventions ban on destroying “objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population,” generally considers the targeting of civilian infrastructure a war crime.

Trump also reiterated a Tuesday evening deadline for Iranian leaders to make a deal to end the war.

“We’re giving them until tomorrow, eight o’clock Eastern time,” he said. “And after that, they’re going to have no bridges. They’re going to have no power plants. Stone ages, yeah. Stone ages.”

Negotiations to end the war that Trump and the Israeli government began in late February, have been slow going, in part, due to the destruction of Iran’s communications infrastructure.  

“We’re communicating like they used to communicate 2,000 years ago with children bringing a note back and forth,” Trump said. “They have no communication.”

Trump contended during the press conference that many Iranians have welcomed their country being bombed and that they get upset when the destruction halts. 

“They would be willing to suffer that in order to have freedom,” he said. “We’ve had numerous intercepts. ‘Please keep bombing.’ Bombs that are dropping near their homes. ‘Please keep bombing. Do it.’ And these are people that are living where the bombs are exploding. And when we leave and we’re not hitting those areas, they’re saying, ‘Please come back. Come back. Come back.'” 

Trump said that after the war ends, his administration “may even get involved with helping them rebuild their nation.”

“Right now, if we left today, it would take them 20 years to rebuild their country, and it would never be as good as it was,” he said. “And the only way they’re going to be able to rebuild their country is to utilize the genius of the United States of America.”

Prosecuting leak

Trump said a search had begun for whichever official or officials released information last week about a U.S. aircraft being shot down over Iran, leading to rescue operations for two servicemen. 

“So whoever that was, we think we’ll be able to find it out, because we’re going to go to the media company that released it, and we’re going to say, ‘National security, give it up or go to jail,’ he said. “And we know who, and you know who we’re talking about.” 

Numerous news organizations published the information on Friday and it wasn’t immediately clear which one Trump planned to pursue. 

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Monday he expects war with Iran will continue however long it takes to achieve his objectives, which include eliminating the country’s missile program, preventing its leaders from building a nuclear weapon and ensuring it cannot fund terrorism.

“Right from the beginning, we projected four to five weeks,” he said at a Medal of Honor ceremony in the East Room of the White House. “But we have capability to go far longer than that. We’ll do it. Whatever.”

His remarks followed an early morning briefing by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who emphasized to those in attendance the U.S. war on Iran will continue unabated on Trump’s terms, with more troops on the way and more casualties expected.

Speaking in public for the first time since the United States and Israel launched a massive attack early Saturday, Hegseth would not specify a timeline or exit strategy for the mission.

“We will finish this on America first conditions of President Trump’s choosing, nobody else’s, as it should be,” Hegseth said.

By 4 p.m. Eastern, U.S. Central Command had updated the death toll of American service members to six, though little detail was provided. Their names, ranks and hometowns have not been disclosed.

Trump mentioned the U.S. military troops who had been killed as a reason to continue with his war.

“Today, we grieve for the … heroic American service members who have been killed in action, and send our love and support to their families,” he said. “In their memory, we continue this mission with ferocious, unyielding resolve to crush the threat this terrorist regime poses to the American people, and a threat, indeed it is.”

Trump said the objectives of the conflict with Iran “are clear.”

Military forces, he said, will destroy the country’s missile capabilities and its navy, prevent it from building a nuclear weapon and block its leaders from sponsoring terrorism.  

Trump did not say whether he would seek approval from Congress, which holds the power to declare war under the Constitution. And he did not take questions from reporters as he left the Medal of Honor ceremony about whether he would send U.S. ground troops into Iran.

Hegseth at his briefing commented on the three U.S. service members whose deaths were announced Sunday. The secretary said that “a squirter” — apparently referring to an offensive missile or drone — was not intercepted by air defense systems.

“And in that particular case, (it) happened to hit a tactical operation center that was fortified, but these are powerful weapons,” Hegseth told reporters.

The Associated Press reported Sunday the troops were U.S. Army soldiers deployed to Kuwait.

Congress heads toward war powers votes

Votes are expected this week in both the U.S. Senate and House on war powers resolutions attempting to check Trump’s power to engage in armed conflict.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said during an afternoon floor speech that lawmakers need to “pick a side” this week, urging them to reject what he described as “a war of choice, not necessity.”  

“Donald Trump has just launched America into a full-scale conflict against one of our most fervent adversaries without a plan, without an end game and without authorization from Congress, or even a debate in full view of the American people,” he said. 

Instead of engaging in “military escapades,” Schumer said, Trump should focus on implementing policies that would bring down the cost of living and focus on ensuring Americans have good-paying jobs. 

“They don’t want a war that leads to lost American lives and that costs billions and billions of taxpayer dollars,” he said. 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., was much more supportive of Trump’s military endeavors, saying the “administration relentlessly pursued a diplomatic solution to the threat posed by Iran,” but that country’s leaders “refused diplomatic off-ramps.” 

“Iran has relentlessly pursued the development of its own nuclear program despite repeated violations identified by the international atomic watchdog, the (International Atomic Energy Agency),” Thune said. “Iran is also aggressively growing the range and inventory of its ballistic missiles and launchers, an inventory that is already the largest in the region. Combine that with a navy that aims to threaten a key shipping channel and it is clear that Iran poses a serious risk to America’s national security interests as well as those of our allies and partners.”

Thune and Schumer both said their prayers were with the families, loved ones and fellow service members of the U.S. troops killed so far in the war. 

House war powers vote

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said following a closed-door briefing that he believes the vote on the House floor later this week will fail, allowing Trump to keep pursuing war in Iran. 

“I am certainly hopeful and I believe we do have the votes to put it down,” he said. “That’s going to be a good thing for our country and our security and civility.”

Johnson said he doesn’t believe that Trump needed to seek congressional authorization to begin the war, arguing that “the president was acting well within his authority” since he believes U.S. military actions were “defensive in nature and design and necessity.”

Johnson said that since Israel was going to strike Iran and that intelligence sources believed Iran would have retaliated by striking both Israel and the United States, Trump acted appropriately when he began the war without lawmakers’ sign off. 

There is a chance that if the war drags on the Trump administration will ask Congress to provide additional funding for military operations, but Johnson said “it will be some time before we can put a final number on it.”

Virginia Democratic Sen. Mark Warner, ranking member on the Intelligence Committee, said after the same briefing that there was “no imminent threat to the United States of America by the Iranians.

“There was a threat to Israel. If we equate a threat to Israel as the equivalent of an imminent threat to the United States then we are in uncharted territory.”

Rubio: ‘Hardest hits are yet to come’

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Capitol Hill Monday afternoon that the administration has “complied with the law 100%” in briefing congressional leadership ahead of Saturday’s attack, and notifying all of Congress within 48 hours afterward.

“If they want to take a war powers vote, they can do that. They’ve done that. They’ve done that a bunch of times,” Rubio said. He added: “There’s no law that requires the president to have done anything with regards to this.”

The secretary told reporters “there absolutely was an imminent threat” that Iran would attack U.S. troops in the region upon Israel striking Tehran.

“We were not going to sit there and absorb a blow before we responded, because the Department of War assessed that if we did that … we would suffer more casualties and more deaths,” Rubio said. 

“We went proactively in a defensive way to prevent them from inflicting higher damage. Had we not done so, there would have been hearings on Capitol Hill about how we knew that this was going to happen and we didn’t act preemptively to prevent more casualties,” he said as he continued on his way to a classified briefing with the congressional leadership and heads of intelligence committees.

When pressed by a journalist on whether the U.S. was forced to act because of Israel, Rubio said, “no matter what, ultimately, this operation needed to happen.”

Rubio said the U.S. focus is narrowly on destroying Iran’s current conventional weapons capabilities, which he repeatedly claimed are a “shield where they can hide behind” as they continue to build up a nuclear weapons program.

“I’m not going to give away the details of our tactical efforts, but the hardest hits are yet to come from the US military. The next phase will be even more punishing on Iran than it is right now,” Rubio said.

Caine says more troops on the way

Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, at the briefing with Hegseth, said more U.S. troops and airpower were expected to arrive in the region Monday.

“This is not a single overnight operation. The military objectives that (U.S. Central Command) and the Joint Force have been tasked with will take some time to achieve, and in some cases will be difficult and gritty work. We expect to take additional losses, and as always, we will work to minimize U.S. losses,” Caine said.

Hegseth said the mission, dubbed by the administration as Operation Epic Fury, is “laser focused” on eliminating Iran’s nuclear ambitions by destroying its offensive missile stockpile and production facilities, as well as its naval and security infrastructure.

“We’re hitting them surgically, overwhelmingly, and unapologetically with every passing day. Our capabilities get stronger and Iran’s get weaker. We set the terms of this war from start to finish,” Hegseth said.

The secretary sidestepped a question on how much of Iran’s infrastructure has been destroyed since Saturday. Caine said assessing what remains of Iran’s long-range strike capabilities “will take some time.”

Trump reiterated that a bombing campaign he initiated earlier this year “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program, though he said the country’s leaders, many of whom are now dead, “ignored those warnings and refused to cease their pursuit of nuclear weapons.”

“In addition, the regime’s conventional ballistic missile program was growing rapidly and dramatically, and this posed a very clear, colossal threat to America and our forces stationed overseas,” he said. “The regime already had missiles capable of hitting Europe and our bases, both local and overseas, and would soon have had missiles capable of reaching our beautiful America.”

Iranians began rebuilding the facilities bombed by the U.S. and Israel in June, but  authorities had blocked international inspectors from assessing the areas, according to a PBS report citing an anonymous U.S. official.

Iran retaliation

The conflict rapidly spread Sunday and into Monday across the Middle East, as Iran launched retaliatory missiles and drones following the targeted fatal strike by Israeli defense forces and U.S. intelligence of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

On Monday, Iran attacked key energy infrastructure, interrupting oil and gas production in Qatar and Saudi Arabia, two of the world’s largest suppliers, according to international media outlets. 

Gulf nations, usually safe havens and luxury getaways in the volatile region, ground to a halt as strikes and debris from intercepted missiles damaged the United Arab Emirates’ Dubai International Airport, one of the world’s busiest, and nearby iconic tourist destinations, according to Reuters. 

The U.S. State Department issued directives for Americans in the region, including a shelter-in-place order Sunday for all U.S. embassy staff in Qatar as airspace remained closed.

Jets go down over Kuwait, deaths in Iran and Israel

No deaths were reported after three U.S. F-15 fighter jets crashed over Kuwait Monday in an apparent friendly fire incident, according to U.S. Central Command. Video of an apparent U.S. fighter jet falling from the sky circulated on social media Monday.

The fighting spread to Lebanon after Iranian-backed Hezbollah fighters fired rockets into Israel. Israel returned fire, including in Lebanon’s capital, Beirut. Several media outlets reported casualties, citing Lebanon’s health officials.

Nine people were killed Sunday in central Israel after a missile hit a synagogue bomb shelter, The Associated Press reported.

The death toll across Iran hit at least 555 since the conflict began, according to Iranian Red Crescent Society figures cited by Al Jazeera. Iranian officials attributed more than 150 deaths to a strike Saturday on a school in southern Iran, according to numerous international reports.

Buildup of troops over past month

The administration began amassing thousands of troops, aircraft and naval ships over the past 30 days in the region, including relocating its largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald Ford, from its position in the southern hemisphere where U.S. troops apprehended Venezuela’s leader on Jan. 3.

The “rapid buildup,” Caine said, included service members from Wisconsin’s Army National Guard, which was operating in Kuwait and Iraq, and Air National Guard units from various states, including Vermont and Virginia.

Caine would not answer questions about the total number of U.S. troops involved.

Trump gave the final order for the attack on Friday, just before 4 p.m. Eastern, and joint strikes with Israel’s forces commenced overnight Saturday, at 9:45 a.m. Tehran time.

“The president directed, and I quote, ‘Operation Epic Fury is approved. No aborts, good luck,’” according to Caine.

Operations centers in Tampa, Florida and at the Pentagon directed strikes on more than 1,000 targets in the first 24 hours, Caine said.

WASHINGTON — Democratic lawmakers called Saturday for Congress to weigh in on President Donald Trump’s order launching “major combat operations” in Iran, while Republicans largely provided cautious support of the attacks.

Trump said in a video posted to social media at 2:30 a.m. Eastern that U.S. forces struck targets in the Islamic republic. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attacks were conducted in conjunction with Israel. 

Trump said, “Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime, a vicious group of very hard, terrible people. Its menacing activities directly endanger the United States, our troops, our bases overseas, and our allies throughout the world.”

Late Saturday afternoon, Trump said on his Truth Social platform that Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had been killed in the strike. 

“This is not only Justice for the people of Iran, but for all Great Americans, and those people from many Countries throughout the World, that have been killed or mutilated by Khamenei and his gang of bloodthirsty THUGS,” said Trump. “The heavy and pinpoint bombing, however, will continue, uninterrupted throughout the week or, as long as necessary to achieve our objective of PEACE THROUGHOUT THE MIDDLE EAST AND, INDEED, THE WORLD!”

U.S. Senate leaders react

On Saturday morning, as word of the attack spread, numerous Democratic members of Congress were urging a vote on Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine’s War Powers Resolution.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he had “implored” Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a briefing this week to make a straightforward public case for any military operation in the Middle East.

The New York Democrat criticized the administration’s strategy, though he also had tough words about the Iranian regime. He called for an “immediate all-senators classified briefing” ahead of a vote on a War Powers Act resolution.

“The administration has not provided Congress and the American people with critical details about the scope and immediacy of the threat,” Schumer said in a statement. “Confronting Iran’s malign regional activities, nuclear ambitions, and harsh oppression of the Iranian people demands American strength, resolve, regional coordination, and strategic clarity. Unfortunately, President Trump’s fitful cycles of lashing out and risking wider conflict are not a viable strategy.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune praised Trump for taking action to deter Iran from expanding its nuclear program and supporting terrorist groups in the region.

The country poses “a clear and unacceptable threat to U.S. servicemembers, citizens in the region, and many of our allies,” the South Dakota Republican wrote in a statement. “Despite the dogged efforts of the president and his administration, the Iranian regime has refused the diplomatic off-ramps that would peacefully resolve these national security concerns.”

Thune added that administration officials would brief senators as the operation continued.

Nuclear weapon ambitions

Trump said in the early-morning video that the U.S. aims to prevent the Islamic Republic of Iran from ever obtaining nuclear weapons. “This regime will soon learn no one should challenge the strength and might of the United States armed forces,” said Trump. 

He acknowledged that “we may have casualties. That often happens in war. But we’re doing this not for now, we’re doing it for the future.”

Trump also encouraged the Iranian people to rise up against their government. “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. It’s very dangerous outside. Bombs will be dropping everywhere. When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take,” Trump said. “It will be probably your only chance for generations.”

Trump spoke from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, where he flew Friday night following an appearance in Corpus Christi, Texas. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement on social media Trump monitored the situation overnight with members of his national security team, and he spoke with Netanyahu by phone.

Prior to the attacks, dubbed “Operation Epic Fury,” Leavitt said Rubio notified both Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress.

Netanyahu in a statement on social media thanked Trump and echoed the U.S. president’s comments about nuclear arms.

“This murderous terrorist regime must not be allowed to arm itself with nuclear weapons that would enable it to threaten all of humanity,” Netanyahu said. “Our joint operation will create the conditions for the brave Iranian people to take their fate into their own hands.”

Iranians say they tried to prevent war

Iran Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi early Saturday afternoon wrote a letter to the secretary-general of the United Nations and the president of the U.N. Security Council that “strongly condemned the coordinated and extensive armed aggression by the United States and the Israeli regime against Iran’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” according to a statement on social media by the Foreign Ministry of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The Foreign Ministry of the Islamic Republic of Iran also said that the attack came while the United States and Iran were in the midst of diplomatic talks, and vowed a response.

“Now the Iranian people are proud that they did everything necessary to prevent war,” the ministry said. “Now is the time to defend the homeland and confront the enemy’s military aggression. Just as we were ready for negotiations, we have been more prepared than ever for defense. The armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will respond to the aggressors with authority.”

The Associated Press said the first strikes appeared to target the compound of Khamenei in Tehran. The Reuters news service said the skies above Tehran were filled with smoke.

The strikes were not specifically authorized by Congress. Trump also ordered airstrikes in Venezuela and the capture of the country’s president earlier this year.

Some members of Congress expressed skepticism about that operation, saying it should have been brought to the legislative branch that is supposed to have war-making powers under the Constitution.

The United States and its allies have long debated how to approach Iran’s nuclear program. The country’s regime is strongly anti-American and the U.S. has imposed economic sanctions for the nearly half-century since a revolution installed a theocratic supreme leader.

Republicans echo Trump

Republicans largely laid responsibility for the attacks on the Iranian regime, saying its aggressive posture invited action.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina praised the move on social media early Saturday. “I echo President Trump’s call to the Iranian military, IRGC and security forces to lay down their arms. I echo his call to the Iranian people to take back their government,” said Graham.

“President Trump was right when he said he’s the first president in 47 years to stand with the people of Iran and give them the backing they need.”

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, a Florida Republican, said the strikes were “the inescapable response to 47 years of continuous and calculated aggression by the Ayatollah of Iran and all his generals against the United States, our allies, and the Iranian people.”

“Every day under this regime, the United States and our allies have been under imminent threat of attack by Iran and its terrorist arms across the globe,” Mast said. “They chanted ‘Death to America’ while seeking nuclear weapons and the missile technology to strike our homeland. The days of America waiting to be attacked by Iran are over.”

Democrats warn of long-term commitment 

Democrats, though, called out the administration for going around Congress. Many said Trump should be more focused on domestic issues.

“Though there is bipartisan support for stopping the development of nuclear weapons in Iran, there is no consensus for another interminable war in the Middle East,” Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois said. 

“A war in Iran with the goal of regime change could be another long-term military commitment with deadly consequences for thousands of American troops. The rash and unpredictable conduct of President Trump is a well-established worry in many ways but an impulsive commander in chief is a deadly combination.”

House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts blasted Trump for violating a campaign pledge of “no new wars” by launching the attack “under cloak of night, without congressional approval of even a clear rationale.”

“Families do not want another war,” she said. “They want a reasonable cost of living. They want health care they can afford. They want an end to (Immigration and Customs Enforcement)’s terror in their neighborhoods. And they do not want their sons and daughters placed in harm’s way by a reckless President. The people of this country deserve better.”

Democratic Sen. Andy Kim of New Jersey called for an immediate vote on a war powers resolution.

“Americans don’t want to go to war with Iran,” Kim said on social media.

“By launching strikes, President Trump has made the same dangerous and foolish decision President Bush did a generation ago. He put Americans in harm’s way without clearly showing there’s an imminent threat to our national security. He put the Iranian people in harm’s way by calling on them to rise up without a broad coalition of partners to assist in their protection. And Trump once again started a cycle of violence that has already escalated and could spiral out of control. This is unacceptable.”

Democratic Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts said diplomatic talks should be continued. “Trump’s military attack on Iran is illegal and unconstitutional. It was not approved by Congress and holds dangers for all Americans. Trump’s illegal actions raise the threat of escalation into a wider regional war with grave risks for U.S. troops and civilians in the region,” Markey said in a statement.