A US senator has introduced a bill that would block President Donald Trump from using the American military in a conflict against Iran without explicit authorisation from Congress.
Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, a member of the Senate armed services and foreign relations committees, on Monday introduced the bill, which expresses concern about the escalating violence in the Middle East and its potential to pull the US into conflict.
“It is not in our national security interest to get into a war with Iran unless that war is absolutely necessary to defend the United States,” the Democratic senator said. “I am deeply concerned that the recent escalation of hostilities between Israel and Iran could quickly pull the United States into another endless conflict.
“The American people have no interest in sending service members to fight another forever war in the Middle East. This resolution will ensure that if we decide to place our nation’s men and women in uniform into harm’s way, we will have a debate and vote on it in Congress.”
The War Powers Resolution of 1973 – also known as the War Powers Act – limits a US president's ability to initiate or escalate military action abroad.
Israel launched what it called a “pre-emptive” strike against Iran last Friday, ostensibly out of fears that Tehran was days away from building a nuclear bomb. Iran retaliated, and the two countries continue to engage in strikes that have killed scores of civilians, threatening to pull the Middle East deeper into conflict.
Mr Trump said on Sunday that the US has not been involved in Israel's military strikes against Iran, but “it's possible we could get involved”. The President said previously that the US “knew everything” about Israel's plans to attack and that he “tried to save Iran humiliation and death” through negotiating a deal to put limits on its nuclear programme.
While Mr Kaine's bill requires that any hostilities with Iran be authorised by a declaration of war or specific authorisation from Congress, it would not prevent the US from defending against an imminent attack.
Iran has warned the US that it would attack its bases in the Middle East if Washington interferes with its strikes against Israel.
Progressive Senator Bernie Sanders later on Monday condemned Israel for initiating the conflict, saying the strikes were designed to block talks between Iran and the US over the new nuclear deal.
"The United States must not be dragged into another of Netanyahu’s wars – not militarily or financially. The US Constitution is crystal clear: there can be no offensive use of military force – against Iran or any other country – without an explicit authorisation from Congress," he said in a statement.
"No such authorisation exists and any such involvement would be illegal. Congress must not yield on this issue of enormous consequence."
Mr Sanders added that the attacks bring Israel closer to "becoming a rogue state and a pariah among nations".
