The House is expected to vote Thursday on a war powers resolution that would require Congressional approval before President Trump orders further military action against Iran, with the vote pushed by a bipartisan group led by Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY). House Speaker Mike Johnson informed Republican lawmakers of the upcoming vote on a Sunday call, while urging members to vote against the resolution. Republican leadership faces a narrow margin, as Johnson can only afford to lose one vote if all members are present. Johnson also indicated plans for a separate vote this week on Department of Homeland Security funding amid an ongoing partial government shutdown.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman reportedly urged President Trump in private calls to attack Iran, a regional rival, as Saudi Arabia and the UAE — both of which have extensive financial ties to Trump and Jared Kushner — lobbied for military action. Kushner's private equity firm, Affinity Partners, received a $2 billion investment from the Saudi Public Investment Fund and approximately $200 million from the UAE, while Trump envoy Steve Witkoff holds a significant stake in a crypto firm that received hundreds of millions from UAE-linked entities. Despite having previously pledged to stay out of government, Kushner participated as a key negotiator in last-ditch mediation talks with Iran in Geneva, after which both he and Witkoff expressed disappointment with Iran's position. The article also notes that the Trump Organization recently finalized a $7 billion Saudi-funded development deal, and that the conflict has already resulted in the deaths of three U.S. service members and hundreds of Iranians.
The U.S. and Israel jointly killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday, triggering an expanding conflict across the Middle East, with Iranian-backed militias launching retaliatory strikes on targets including Erbil Airport in Iraq, which hosts U.S. military assets. The Department of Defense reported three U.S. service members killed, five seriously injured, and six others stable after ejecting from fighter jets shot down in a friendly fire incident in Kuwait. President Trump stated that combat operations would continue "until all objectives are achieved" and suggested the conflict could last four to five weeks, though the ultimate goals — whether regime change or eliminating Iran's nuclear program — remain unclear. Congressional Democrats are pushing for a War Powers Resolution vote to require Trump to seek congressional approval for military action, while most Republicans have backed the president's decision.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, was killed in a joint U.S.-Israeli military operation on Saturday, along with several top Iranian security officials including the defense minister and Revolutionary Guard commander. The large-scale operation, dubbed "Epic Fury" by the Pentagon and "Roaring Lion" by Israel, involved approximately 200 Israeli fighter jets striking around 500 targets across Iran, with the stated goal of eliminating Iran's missile program and toppling the Islamic regime. Iran has retaliated with missile and drone strikes targeting Israel and several Gulf nations, killing and injuring dozens, while Iran's Red Crescent reported over 200 deaths from strikes across the country. President Trump warned Iran against further retaliation, threatening an unprecedented military response, while the UN Secretary-General condemned the strikes from both sides and called for peaceful resolution.
Aziz Huq argues that the U.S. and Israeli aerial assault on Iran sets a dangerous precedent by demonstrating that Trump can deploy military force with disregard for legal constraints. Huq warns that this exercise of unchecked power could embolden the Trump administration to use national-security authority domestically, potentially to justify repression ahead of the midterm elections. The piece acknowledges the deaths of many Iranians under the country's theocratic government while framing the military action as the start of what Huq describes as arbitrary and difficult-to-contain violence.
This opinion piece claims that the United States and Israel launched a military attack on Iran on February 28, allegedly assassinating Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other senior officials, which the author characterizes as war crimes including aggression, civilian targeting, and political assassination. The article contextualizes these events against a backdrop of a major Iranian popular uprising in January 2026, in which the Islamic Republic reportedly killed at least 7,000 protesters and arrested 40,000 others. The author argues that both the Iranian regime and U.S.-Israeli military intervention pose threats to the Iranian people's aspirations for democracy and social justice, and criticizes the attacks as "imperial hubris" unlikely to achieve regime change without ground forces or an organized armed opposition. The piece calls on the global left to oppose both the theocratic Iranian government and U.S.-Israeli military actions while supporting Iranian civil society movements.
Trump's self-styled "Board of Peace," launched in February 2025, counts 28 member states, every one of which has been cited for human rights violations in U.S. State Department annual reports, according to an Intercept analysis. Members include Belarus, Israel, and Saudi Arabia — flagged even in the Trump State Department's softened 2025 reports for offenses such as unlawful killings, torture, and arbitrary detention. Trump, as permanent chair, controls the Board's membership, finances, and decision-making, and has structured it so that all decisions require his final approval. Traditional U.S. allies including the U.K., France, and Germany have declined to join, while authoritarian-aligned leaders such as Hungary's Viktor Orbán and Argentina's Javier Milei are among its members.
Lindsey German on gangster warmongering and a breakthrough for the Greens Donald Trump’s pledge that he would take the US out of ‘forever wars’ has been torn up in the first two months of 2026.
Former U.S. military and legal experts, including the former chief of international law at U.S. Central Command, allege that President Trump's coordinated strikes against Iran violated international law, the U.S. Constitution, and the War Powers Resolution. Critics argue that briefing the congressional "Gang of Eight" ahead of the strikes did not satisfy the resolution's requirement for formal written notification to Congress within 48 hours, and that Congress — not the president — holds the authority to authorize offensive military action. The operation, dubbed "Operation Epic Fury," resulted in three U.S. service members killed and multiple casualties on all sides, including reported civilian deaths from a strike on a girls' school. Some analysts also raised concerns that Trump is linking the military action to domestic political grievances, warning it could be used to justify expanded use of executive power ahead of the midterm elections.
Dozens of Chattanooga residents gathered on Riverfront Parkway on February 28 to protest military attacks against Iran announced by President Trump less than 12 hours earlier. The demonstration was organized by several local groups, including Democracy Rocks and Chattanooga Bridge Brigade, and drew participants carrying signs, banners, and flags while voicing concerns about potential escalating conflict. Attendees also expressed broader opposition to Trump administration policies, including ICE enforcement and other issues. No counterprotests were observed during the event.
Israel and the U.S. conflict with Iran has expanded into a third day, with Hezbollah launching rockets into Israel for the first time in over a year and Israel responding with airstrikes in Lebanon. Iran is also targeting neighboring countries hosting U.S. military bases, with Saudi Arabia reporting Iranian drone strikes on a major oil refinery, causing oil prices to spike. The Pentagon confirmed three U.S. service members were killed over the weekend, while Congress is pursuing bipartisan war powers resolutions to limit President Trump's military operations, though those efforts face significant obstacles. Separately, Texas primaries are being watched as a test of whether Republicans can maintain the Latino voter support that helped fuel Trump's 2024 electoral gains.
Iran and its allied armed groups launched missiles against Israel, Arab states, and U.S. military targets on Monday, while the U.S. and Israel conducted strikes on Iran targeting missile sites, naval assets, and nuclear infrastructure, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and at least 555 Iranians. The conflict has expanded across the region, with Hezbollah firing on Israel from Lebanon, Iraqi militias attacking U.S. bases, and Iranian drones striking key Gulf oil infrastructure including Saudi Arabia's Ras Tanura refinery, causing global oil prices to spike. Kuwait mistakenly shot down three U.S. F-15E fighter jets, with all six pilots ejecting safely, while QatarEnergy announced a halt to liquefied natural gas production due to the conflict. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was scheduled to hold a press conference on the escalating situation, as President Trump vowed to continue military operations until all objectives are achieved.
