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Top Senate Democrats on Wednesday accused US President Donald Trump of risking war with Iran without legal authority, hours after Trump said the Islamic Republic’s downfall was possible and suggested he might bomb key nuclear sites.
“I want total and complete victory,” Trump said in Washington, dismissing any notion of a ceasefire and suggesting Iran had asked for talks. “They should have negotiated sooner.”
The president said Iranian officials had even proposed a visit to the White House, a remark later denied by Iran’s UN mission in New York.
The statements came as ABC News reported that Trump was increasingly open to a military strike on Iran’s underground Fordow nuclear site, citing a source familiar with current intelligence.
Democratic senators call for legal authority
Five senior Senate Democrats issued a joint statement criticizing what they called the administration’s “lack of preparation, strategy, and clearly defined objectives” on Iran.
“The United States cannot sleepwalk into a third war in as many decades,” the senators wrote, warning Trump against bypassing congressional approval.
“By law, the president must consult Congress and seek authorization if he is considering taking the country to war," they said.
“He owes Congress and the American people a strategy for US engagement in the region.”
The signatories included Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Chris Coons, Mark Warner, Jack Reed, and Patty Murray.
Iran vows response if provoked
Iran’s UN ambassador in Geneva warned that any trace of US involvement in Israeli attacks would trigger retaliation.
Mojtaba Ranjbar, a Iranian cleric, said, “If the United States targets the Supreme Leader, Iran will strike Washington and New York.”
Trump described Iran as “totally defenseless,” intensifying speculation over imminent military action.
With threats traded and authorizations absent, the risk of open conflict is rising as Washington and Tehran continue to exchange warnings without resolution.
The Israeli military said on Thursday that 40 fighter jets carried out overnight airstrikes on dozens of military targets across Iran, using more than 100 munitions in a wide-ranging campaign aimed at damaging Iran’s nuclear weapons program.
Among the sites struck was a non-operational nuclear reactor near Arak, where a core structure used in plutonium production was targeted. The IDF said the component was essential for weapons-grade plutonium and that the strike was intended to prevent it from being repurposed for nuclear arms development.
Fighter jets also hit facilities near Natanz used for nuclear weapons research and development, according to the IDF. Additional strikes targeted missile production plants, air defense system factories, radar sites, and missile storage facilities.
Health Minister Uriel Buso said Thursday that the missile strike on Soroka Medical Center was a “war crime” by Iran, deliberately targeting civilians and medical staff.
“The missile attack on Soroka is an act of terror and a red line crossed,” Buso said. “This was a war crime by the Iranian regime, deliberately aimed at innocent civilians and medical teams.” He added that prior planning by the health ministry prevented what could have been a major disaster.
The Iranian missile that struck Soroka hospital hit an old surgical building that had been evacuated one day earlier due to safety concerns, Israeli officials said Thursday.
Patients and staff were moved to a safer location on Wednesday, anticipating a possible strike. Magen David Adom director Eli Bin said the health ministry had also ordered further evacuation of the affected floor the night before the attack, helping save lives.
Iran's main targets in Thursday morning’s missile attack were the Israeli military’s command and intelligence headquarters, as well as an intelligence camp located near Soroka hospital in southern Israel, Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported.
