Trump says Iran conflict is a ‘military operation,’ doesn’t require congressional approval

While giving the keynote address at the Future Investment Initiative Priority Summit in Miami on Friday, Trump said, “See, I get into a war — of course, they call it a war, I call it a military conflict,

“I said, ‘Look, you know, we have a thing called a war,’ or as they would rather say, a military operation. It’s for legal reasons,” the president continued. “I say ‘military’ because as a military operation, I don’t need any approvals. As a war, you’re supposed to get approval from Congress. Something like that.”

Many Democratic lawmakers have criticized the administration’s actions toward Iran, arguing that congressional authorization is required under the Constitution. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries pushed back on the House floor earlier this month, saying, “Article I of the Constitution explicitly provides Congress with the sole authority to declare war. There is nothing ambiguous about that.”

During his address, Trump also criticized several foreign leaders for not aligning with US policy toward Iran, including French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Trump said that he is “very disappointed” that NATO “didn’t come to our aid.” He also thanked “the entire Kingdom of Saudi Arabia” for supporting the military conflict.

Trump applauded the US efforts against Iran, saying that the world is “closer than ever to the rise of the Middle East that is finally free at last from Iranian terror, aggression, and nuclear blackmail.”

"Under my leadership, America is ending the threat posed by this radical regime, decimating Iran's capabilities with Operation Epic Fury. Nobody's ever seen anything quite like it. We have the most powerful military in the world ... For 47 years, Iran has been known as the bully of the Middle East. But they are not the bully any longer. They are on the run,” Trump announced.