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Progressive Democrats Condemn US Airstrikes on Iran’s Nuclear Facilities
US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) speaks during a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on March 21, 2024. Photo: Craig Hudson/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
Progressive members of the US Congress are denouncing President Donald Trump’s decision to order military strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities over the weekend, calling the move reckless, illegal, and a dangerous provocation that could drag the United States into a broader conflict in the Middle East.
On Saturday night, Trump authorized Operation Midnight Hammer, a large-scale US strike on three key Iranian nuclear facilities: Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan. The Pentagon later revealed that seven B‑2 Spirit stealth bombers flew from Whiteman Air Force base, escorted by fighter jets and refueling tankers, and supported by a submarine-launched salvo of Tomahawk missiles targeting Isfahan. The B‑2s pummeled Fordo and Natanz with 14 massive bunker-buster bombs.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), one of the most outspoken progressive voices in Congress, denounced the strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
“The president’s disastrous decision to bomb Iran without authorization is a grave violation of the Constitution and Congressional War Powers. He has impulsively risked launching a war that may ensnare us for generations. It is absolutely and clearly grounds for impeachment,” Ocasi0-Cortez said in a statement.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), another longtime critic of American interventionism, criticized the airstrikes while speaking to an audience of his supporters.
“Not only is this news … alarming, but it is so grossly unconstitutional. … The only entity that can take this country to war is the US Congress,” Sanders said.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), the leader of House Democrats, lambasted Trump for allegedly circumventing Congress in authorizing the strikes: “President Trump misled the country about his intentions, failed to seek congressional authorization for the use of military force and risks American entanglement in a potentially disastrous war in the Middle East.”
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) condemned the strikes and suggested they could escalate violence within the region.
“The strikes on Iran, ordered by President Trump and executed without congressional authorization, mark a dangerous and reckless escalation of an already volatile conflict in the Middle East,” Omar wrote on X/Twitter.
“Military strikes will not bring peace. They will only provoke more violence, destabilize the region, and endanger US troops and civilians. We’ve seen what happens when diplomacy is sidelined in favor of bombs. It only brings more death and destruction,” she continued.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), the sole Palestinian-American woman in Congress, called the strikes a “blatant violation of our Constitution.”
“Instead of listening to the American people, Trump is listening to War Criminal Netanyahu, who lied about Iraq and is lying once again about Iran. Congress must act immediately to exert its war powers and stop this unconstitutional act of war,” Tlaib said in a statement, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to the War Powers Resolution of 1973, the president must notify Congress within 48 hours of deploying American troops if a formal declaration of war has not already been issued. The resolution also mandates that the president withdraw any forces deployed in a conflict within 60 days if Congress has not formally declared war.
Supporters of the US strike have argued that Trump is acting within his legal authority, noting that the US government has long identified Iran as the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism responsible for the deaths of many Americans. Trump and many lawmakers have said for years that such a regime can’t be allowed to build nuclear weapons, even if it means using military force.
Iran has maintained that its nuclear program is for peaceful, civilian purposes.
The post Progressive Democrats Condemn US Airstrikes on Iran’s Nuclear Facilities first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Kurdish-led SDF Say Five Members Killed During Attack by Islamic State in Syria
Islamic State slogans painted along the walls of the tunnel was used by Islamic State militants as an underground training camp in the hillside overlooking Mosul, Iraq, March 4, 2017. Photo: via Reuters Connect.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said on Sunday that five of its members had been killed during an attack by Islamic State militants on a checkpoint in eastern Syria’s Deir el-Zor on July 31.
The SDF was the main fighting force allied to the United States in Syria during fighting that defeated Islamic State in 2019 after the group declared a caliphate across swathes of Syria and Iraq.
The Islamic State has been trying to stage a comeback in the Middle East, the West and Asia. Deir el-Zor city was captured by Islamic State in 2014, but the Syrian army retook it in 2017.
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Armed Groups Attack Security Force Personnel in Syria’s Sweida, Killing One, State TV Reports
People ride a motorcycle past a burned-out military vehicle, following deadly clashes between Druze fighters, Sunni Bedouin tribes, and government forces, in Syria’s predominantly Druze city of Sweida, Syria, July 25, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
Armed groups attacked personnel from Syria’s internal security forces in Sweida, killing one member and wounding others, and fired shells at several villages in the violence-hit southern province, state-run Ekhbariya TV reported on Sunday.
The report cited a security source as saying the armed groups had violated the ceasefire agreed in the predominantly Druze region, where factional bloodshed killed hundreds of people last month.
Violence in Sweida erupted on July 13 between tribal fighters and Druze factions. Government forces were sent to quell the fighting, but the bloodshed worsened, and Israel carried out strikes on Syrian troops in the name of the Druze.
The Druze are a minority offshoot of Islam with followers in Syria, Lebanon and Israel. Sweida province is predominantly Druze but is also home to Sunni tribes, and the communities have had long-standing tensions over land and other resources.
A US-brokered truce ended the fighting, which had raged in Sweida city and surrounding towns for nearly a week. Syria said it would investigate the clashes, setting up a committee to investigate the attacks.
The Sweida bloodshed last month was a major test for interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, after a wave of sectarian violence in March that killed hundreds of Alawite citizens in the coastal region.
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Netanyahu Urges Red Cross to Aid Gaza Hostages
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference, in Jerusalem, May 21, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/Pool
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he spoke with the International Red Cross’s regional head, Julien Lerisson, and requested his involvement in providing food and medical care to hostages held in Gaza.