Following U.S. President Donald Trump’s early Saturday morning announcement that the United States and Israel had launched “major combat operations” against the Iranian regime, reactions began to pour in from all corners of the globe and from key U.S. lawmakers with oversight responsibilities.
Since the beginning of the year, Trump has offered changing rationales for a preemptive attack on Iran—his second in less than a year—including punishing Tehran for its brutal January massacre of thousands of protesters and preventing the regime from obtaining a nuclear weapon. The latter is a tacit acknowledgment that the U.S.-Israel joint strikes in June 2025 were unsuccessful in their objective of permanently ending Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
Following U.S. President Donald Trump’s early Saturday morning announcement that the United States and Israel had launched “major combat operations” against the Iranian regime, reactions began to pour in from all corners of the globe and from key U.S. lawmakers with oversight responsibilities.
Since the beginning of the year, Trump has offered changing rationales for a preemptive attack on Iran—his second in less than a year—including punishing Tehran for its brutal January massacre of thousands of protesters and preventing the regime from obtaining a nuclear weapon. The latter is a tacit acknowledgment that the U.S.-Israel joint strikes in June 2025 were unsuccessful in their objective of permanently ending Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
In a video announcing the Saturday strikes, Trump offered multiple justifications for taking military action, including to “defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime,” to “ensure that the region’s terrorist proxies can no longer destabilize the region or the world,” and to “ensure that Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon.”
He also told the Washington Post in a phone call later on Saturday that his main concern was “freedom” for the Iranian people and that the United States was working to make Iran a “safe nation.”
Here’s how world leaders and leading U.S. lawmakers are responding so far.
Global Leaders
French President Emmanuel Macron on X: “The outbreak of war between the United States, Israel, and Iran carries grave consequences for international peace and security. … France also stands ready to deploy the necessary resources to protect its closest partners at their request.”
The E3 leaders—Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer—in a joint statement: “We did not participate in these strikes, but are in close contact with our international partners, including the United States, Israel, and partners in the region. … We condemn Iranian attacks on countries in the region in the strongest terms. … We call for a resumption of negotiations.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in a post on Bluesky: “In close coordination with EU Member States, we will take all necessary steps to ensure that EU citizens in the region can count on our full support. We call on all parties to exercise maximum restraint, to protect civilians, and to fully respect international law.”
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand in a joint statement: “Iran is the principal source of instability and terror throughout the Middle East. … Canada reaffirms Israel’s right to defend itself and ensure the security of its people. Canada supports the United States acting to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to prevent its regime from further threatening international peace and security.”
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on X: “Australia stands with the brave people of Iran in their struggle against oppression. … We support the United States acting to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to prevent Iran continuing to threaten international peace and security.”
Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi, the leading mediator in the indirect nuclear negotiations between the United States and Iran, in a post on X: “I am dismayed. … Neither the interests of the United States nor the cause of global peace are well served by this. And I pray for the innocents who will suffer. I urge the United States not to get sucked in further. This is not your war.”
Russian Foreign Ministry statement: “The scale and nature of the military, political, and propaganda preparations preceding this reckless move, including the deployment of a large U.S. military force to the region, leave no doubt that this was a preplanned and unprovoked act of armed aggression against a sovereign and independent U.N. member state.”
Members of Congress
Republican Sen. Tom Cotton, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a member of the so-called Gang of Eight that is entitled to receive early briefings of any presidential orders of covert military operations, in a post on X: “The butcher’s bill has finally come due for the ayatollahs. May God bless and protect our troops on this vital mission of vengeance, and justice, and safety.”
Democratic Sen. Mark Warner, the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and another member of the Gang of Eight, in a statement: “The president conducted expansive U.S. strikes—not limited to nuclear or missile infrastructure but extending to a broad set of targets, including senior Iranian leadership—marking a deeply consequential decision that risks pulling the United States into another broad conflict in the Middle East.”
Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine, a longtime leader of the effort to reassert the legislative branch’s constitutional prerogatives when it comes to declaring war, in a statement: “These strikes are a colossal mistake, and I pray they do not cost our sons and daughters in uniform and at embassies throughout the region their lives. The Senate should immediately return to session and vote on my War Powers Resolution to block the use of U.S. forces in hostilities against Iran.”
Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, a leading figure in the congressional effort to prohibit unauthorized U.S. attacks on Iran, in a video message on X called for Congress to reconvene early on Monday to vote on a bipartisan Iran war powers measure from himself and Republican Rep. Thomas Massie: “Trump says his goal is to topple the Iranian regime, but the American people are tired of regime change wars that cost us billions of dollars and risk our lives. We don’t want to be at war with a country of 90 million people in the Middle East.”
Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee and another member of the Gang of Eight, in a statement: “Everything I have heard from the Administration before and after these strikes on Iran confirms this is a war of choice with no strategic endgame. As I expressed to Secretary [of State Marco] Rubio when he briefed the Gang of Eight, military action in this region almost never ends well for the United States.”
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, a longtime proponent of regime change in Iran and Senate confidant to Trump, in a post on X: “As I watch and monitor this historic operation, I’m in awe of President Trump’s determination to be a man of peace but at the end of the day, evil’s worst nightmare. Well done, Mr. President.”
