Lawmakers in the United States Senate are calling for public hearings on the country's war against Iran, following a series of classified briefings from officials in President Donald Trump's administration.
Senator Chris Murphy from Connecticut expressed frustration after the latest closed-door briefing, stating that the strategy is "totally incoherent".
Since the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on February 28, senior officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, have held several closed-door meetings to brief Congress members on the military campaign and its progress.
War Objectives and Timeline
Several Democratic senators have said they left the briefings frustrated, arguing that the administration had not provided clear answers about the war's objectives, timeline, or long-term strategy.
Senator Richard Blumenthal stated, "There seems to be no endgame. The president, almost in a single breath, says it's almost done, and at the same time, it's just begun. So this is kind of contradictory."
Senator Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts raised concerns about the cost of war, stating, "The one part that seems clear is that while there is no money for 15 million Americans who lost their health care, there's a billion dollars a day to spend on bombing Iran."
International Context
The dispute has revived a long-running debate in Washington, DC, about the limits of presidential war powers, with some lawmakers and legal experts saying the war on Iran highlights the need for stronger congressional oversight of military action.
David Schultz, a professor at Hamline University, said, "In the 1970s, we adopted something called the War Powers Resolution that gives the president limited ability to do this."
The Trump administration has argued that the February 28 strikes were justified as a response to an "imminent threat", a rationale often used by presidents to justify military action without prior congressional approval.
Source: Al Jazeera
