On Saturday, February 28th, U.S. and Israeli forces executed Operation Epic Fury, or Operation Roaring Lion in Israel, a major military offensive aimed at destroying Iran’s nuclear program, missile arsenal, and military infrastructure. President Donald Trump authorized the operation;its legality is heavily debated among politicians and citizens alike. As of March 2nd, about 500 Iranian citizens have died since the strikes began, including Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as six U.S. service members. When announcing the operation, President Trump acknowledged that casualties will be inevitable, stating that, “the lives of courageous American heroes may be lost, and we may have casualties,” before adding, “that often happens in war.”
On Sunday, after the casualties, Trump stated, “We pray for the full recovery of the wounded and send our immense love and eternal gratitude to the families of the fallen, And sadly, there will likely be more before it ends. That’s the way it is, likely be more, but we’ll do everything possible where that won’t be the case,” reported by The Guardian.
The exact reason for the U.S. strikes is unclear. President Trump argued that the purpose of the war was to protect the U.S. and its allies from Iranian attacks.
“An Iranian regime armed with long-range missiles and nuclear weapons would be an intolerable threat to the Middle East, but also to the American people,” Trump stated on Monday, retold by BBC News.
Most politicians on the right have spoken out in favor of the strikes while politicians on the left have spoken out against the strikes. Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, who is the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, stated that he “saw no intelligence that Iran was on the verge of launching any kind of preemptive strike against the United States of America.”
Another Democrat, Representative Ro Khanna of California argued that the authorization should be debated on the congressional floor.
“We’re at war with Iran. We killed their leader. We have over 100 of our fighter jets bombing them. The point of this resolution is to say, ‘We do not want another war in the Middle East,’ or at least Congress should opine on that, should vote on that,” Khanna stated in a CNN interview, NBC News reports.
Former Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia slammed President Trump’s decision on the strikes. A former Trump ally, Greene left Congress after a falling out with the president and is one of his harshest critics.
In a statement on X, Greene stated, “It’s always a lie and it’s always America Last. But it feels like the worst betrayal this time because it comes from the very man and the admin who we all believed was different and said no more,” says The Hill.
Here in Arkansas, Republican leaders are speaking out in favor of the strikes.
“ I am proud of President @realDonaldTrump for standing up to evil…May God bless our President, our amazing military and all those willing to risk their lives in the fight for good against evil,” Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in an X post, revealed by K8 News.
Representative Rick Crawford of Arkansas’ first congressional district also posted a statement.
“Iran absolutely cannot be allowed to maintain a nuclear weapon or capabilities. The safety and security of Americans and our allies are on the line…The United States of America has the most premier military in the world, and I am confident it will successfully carry out the very clearly stated goals of this operation,” Representative Crawford also said in an X post, K8 News shared.
It is unclear how long the war with Iran will take. It’s even less clear whether or not the U.S. is even at ‘war’ with Iran. One week in, President Trump was vague on when .
“Whatever the time is, it’s OK, whatever it takes. Right from the beginning we projected four to five weeks, but we have the capability to go far longer than that. We’ll do it.” Trump said, Yahoo! News reports.
It is unknown if the conflict will spiral into something bigger. About 54% of Americans disapprove of the war in Iran, a poll by NPR states. Without further communication about decisions regarding the security of the United States, there is a high potential for tension and disapproval in government throughout the country.