Did President Trump have legal authority to launch Iran strikes?

Since US President Donald Trump ordered strikes on many nuclear facilities in Iran during the weekend, Democrats and legislators have questioned his legal authority to do so.

Republican Congress member Thomas Massi said on X that the strikes are “not constitutional”, and another Republican member Warren Davidson wrote “it is difficult to imagine the constitutional logical basis.”

But the Republican spokesman for the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, defended the president, saying that he “values ​​that the imminent danger exceeds the time that Congress will take to behave” and that there is “a tradition of similar military actions under the heads of the two parties.”

BBC asked the legal experts to verify whether Trump’s actions were in line with the constitution or whether he should consult Congress first.

There are two parts of the US constitution closely relevant here: the first article and the second article.

The first article specifically lists the ability to “declare war” as one of the powers of Congress.

However, the second article – which places the president’s powers – says that “the president will be the commander of the army,” and sources at the White House informed the BBC that they see this is the logical basis for strikes in Iran.

Constitutional experts said that the second article gives the president the authority to use military force in certain circumstances.

Conditions are not specifically placed in the constitution – but they were subsequently interpreted to include “actual or expected attacks” or “the progress of other important national interests” Experts in the Council of Foreign Relations.

These interests can include the prevention of nuclear proliferation – which the Trump administration said are their justifications for Iran’s strikes.

Four constitutional experts have told BBC to verify that Trump has some authority under these circumstances to order military strikes.

“The brief answer is yes, I got power here,” says Claire Venkelstein, a professor at the Faculty of Law at the University of Pennsylvania. “There is a long -term practice of presidents who are participating in military ties that are isolated without the approval of Congress.”

Another expert in the constitutional law, Jessica Levinson of Liula Marimaont University, said that the president has a limited authority to declare air strikes as long as it “does not start with war similar, and there is no clear definition of when it happens.”

However, Andrew Rodalefg, a government professor at Bodwin College, told BBC, who verified that he does not believe that Trump has the authority to launch the latest strikes because there was no “sudden attack by chance.”

Although the first article was given Congress the authority to declare war, the ruling was rarely used.

The last time Congress raised this power in 1942 after Japan bombed Perl Harbor during World War II. Before this point she had It has been used on only 10 occasions since 1812.

Experts also said that the presidents who use their authority to request military measures without obtaining approval from Congress have become more common.

“Over the past few decades, Congress has surrendered more and more in the presidential uses of the military force of a variety of purposes without the permission of Congress,” said John Bellinger, who was a legal consultant at the White House during the era of President George W. Bush.

Jonathan Torley, a conservative constitutional expert, told BBC: “Congress and courts have already canceled the requirements of the announcement,” Jonathan Torley, a conservative constitutional expert, told BBC.

President Barack Obama authorized air strikes in Libya without requesting permission from Congress, which justifies his administration under Article Two, as was the case with the mission of killing Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in 2011.

During Trump’s first state, he is He ordered the killing of Iranian military officer Qassem Soleimani Without the approval of Congress.

Democratic President Bill Clinton launched strikes in the Balkans in the nineties without prior approval, and recently, Joe Biden did the same when hitting him Houthi goals in Yemen As well as in Syria during his presidency.

“This authority has been used again and again by presidents throughout our history,” said Mr. Torley. “History and race Trump prefers this work.”

The spokesman Johnson was martyred with examples of previous departments when defending Trump, saying: “The heads of the two parties have acted with the same leader in the main authority under Article Two.”

“President Obama went on an eight -month campaign to bomb Libya to land the regime there.

Trump strikers also referred to Iran to the decision of the war authorities issued in 1973 after America withdrew from the Vietnam war to limit the president’s ability to launch the war without consulting Congress first.

Although the law allows the president to use force without the approval of Congress in emergency situations, it states that “in every possible case consults with Congress before the armed forces present to the United States in hostilities.”

“President Trump does not seem to comply with this requirement,” says Bellinger. “Based on reporting so far, it seems that President Trump has not had fundamental consultations with Congress, but rather informed many Republican leaders.”

American media I mentioned The minority leader of the Democratic Senate was summoned about an hour before the start of the strikes but did not give a few details.

White House press secretary Caroline Levit wrote on X The administration made “courtesy calls from the two parties to the leadership of Congress” and spoke to Senator Schumer before the strikes.

The decision also says that Congress must be notified within 48 hours after military action.

Defense Minister Beit Higseth said after the strikes on Iran that Congress “was notified after the planes came out safely” and that “they complied with the requirements of notification of the law of war authorities.”