Reactions are pouring in after the United States and Israel announced a major military operation against Iran early Saturday, following weeks of threats from President Trump.
Mr. Trump announced the assault, dubbed "Operation Epic Fury," in a video on Truth Social. He called on Iran's military forces to lay down their weapons and on Iran's civilians to rise up and "take over your government." Mr. Trump told the Washington Post that he wanted to secure freedom and safety for the Iranian people.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said "Iran is facing the severe consequences of its evil actions," and confirmed that the Gang of 8, a group of eight congressional leaders who are legally required to be briefed on classified intelligence matters, had been briefed in detail "earlier this week that military action may become necessary to protect American troops and American citizens in Iran."
The Trump administration "made every effort to pursue peaceful and diplomatic solutions in response to the Iranian regime's sustained nuclear ambitions and development, terrorism, and the murder of Americans—and even their own people," Johnson said. "For decades, Iran has defiantly maintained its nuclear program while arming and funding Hamas, Hezbollah, and other internationally recognized terrorist organizations. Iran and its proxies have menaced America and American lives, undermined our core national interests, systematically destabilized the Middle East, and threatened the security of the entire West."
Sen. Roger Wicker, a Republican from Mississippi and the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, called the action a "pivotal and necessary operation to protect Americans and American interests" and said the "Iranian regime has never been weaker."
Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham said the operation had "been well-planned" and would be "violent, extensive and I believe, at the end of the day, successful."
"My mind is racing with the thought that the murderous ayatollah's regime in Iran will soon be no more. The biggest change in the Middle East in a thousand years is upon us," Graham, a Republican representing South Carolina, said on social media. He offered prayers for anyone participating in the operation, and said the effort will make "America more safe and eventually more prosperous."
Sen. Tom Cotton, a Republican from Arkansas and the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, shared a list of crimes committed by Iran and said the "butcher's bill has finally come due for the ayatollahs."
Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, a Democrat and vice chair of the Intelligence Committee, called the military operation "a deeply consequential decision that risks pulling the United States into another broad conflict in the Middle East."
He condemned the Iranian regime for supporting terrorism and undermining regional stability, but said, "acknowledging those realities does not relieve any president of the responsibility to act within the law, with a clear strategy, and with Congress."
"The American people have seen this playbook before – claims of urgency, misrepresented intelligence, and military action that pulls the United States into regime change and prolonged, costly nation-building. We owe it to our service members, and to every American family, to ensure that we are not repeating the mistakes of the past," Warner said. "The president owes the country clear answers: What is the objective? What is the strategy to prevent escalation? And how does this make Americans safer?"
Rep. Jim Himes, a ranking member of the Intelligence Committee, called the operation "a war of choice with no strategic endgame." Himes is a member of the Gang of Eight. He was notified ahead of the start of the operation, a person familiar with the matter told CBS News.
Himes said that he told Secretary of State Marco Rubio during that briefing that "military action in this region almost never ends well for the United States, and conflict with Iran can easily spiral and escalate in ways we cannot anticipate."
"It does not appear that Donald Trump has learned the lessons of history," Himes said.
Sen. Ruben Gallego, a Democrat from Arizona and Iraq War veteran, criticized the operation.
"I lost friends in Iraq to an illegal war," Gallego said on social media. "Young working-class kids should not pay the ultimate price for regime change and a war that hasn't been explained or justified to the American people. We can support the democracy movement and the Iranian people without sending our troops to die."
Rep. Thomas Massie, a frequent critic of Mr. Trump, appeared to describe the operation as "acts of war unauthorized by Congress" on social media. In June 2025,
Massie introduced a resolution directing the president to "terminate the use of U.S. Armed Forces from hostilities against Iran" without an act of Congress. Democrats were planning to compel a vote on a war powers resolution introduced by Massie and Rep. Ro Khanna.
Khanna said Saturday morning that Congress "must convene on Monday" to vote on the resolution "to stop this" and called on Congressional members to share their voting plans over the weekend. Himes said that Mr. Trump's "own statement acknowledges this is war."
"Donald Trump has launched a war on Iran. The Congress must reconvene on Monday to vote on Thomas Massie's and my war powers resolution to stop this war. Trump says his goal is to topple the Iranian regime," Khanna said in a video. "But the American people are tired of regime change, wars that cost us billions of dollars and risk our lives. We don't want to be at war with a country of 90 million people in the Middle East."
Sen. Tim Kaine also called on the Senate to "immediately return to session" and vote on a bipartisan war powers resolution "to block the use of U.S. forces in hostilities against Iran."
"Has President Trump learned nothing from decades of U.S. meddling in Iran and forever wars in the Middle East? Is he too mentally incapacitated to realize that we had a diplomatic agreement with Iran that was keeping its nuclear program in check, until he ripped it up during his first term?" he said. "For months, I have raised hell about the fact that the American people want lower prices, not more war—especially wars that aren't authorized by Congress, as required by the Constitution, and don't have a clear objective."
Rep. Nancy Mace threw her support behind the president's action, writing on social media: "President Trump understood what the weak could not bring themselves to say: that peace is not found in appeasement — it is won. The Iranian people have bled for their freedom. Their cries did not fall on deaf ears. Not on Trump's watch."
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