Was Trump's decision to attack Iran?

Article I specifically lists the ability to “declare war” as one of the powers of Congress.

However, article II – which establishes the president's powers – says that “the president will be commander in chief of the army”, and White House sources have told the BBC that they see this as the justification of the attacks on Iran.

Constitutional experts have affirmed that article II grants the President the authority to use military force in certain circumstances.

The circumstances are not specifically established in the Constitution, but it has been interpreted later that they include “real or anticipated attacks” or to “promote other important national interests”, according to experts from the Foreign Relations Council.

These interests could include the prevention of nuclear proliferation, which the Trump administration said it was its justification for attacks against Iran.

Four constitutionalist experts told BBC Verify that Trump had some authority under those circumstances to odenciate military attacks.

“The short answer is that yes, it had authority in this case,” says Claire Finkelstein, professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Pennsylvania.

“There has long been the practice that presidents participate in isolated military commitments without the approval of Congress.”

Jessica Levinson, an expert in constitutional law of the Loyola University, Marymount, said that the president has limited authority to authorize attacks as long as “they” begin to resemble a war, and there is no clear definition of when that occurs. “

However, Andrew Rudalevige, a government professor at Bowdoin College, told BBC Verify that he did not believe Trump had authority to launch the last attacks, since there was no “a sudden attack to repel.”

Although article I gives Congress the power to declare war, the provision has rarely used.

The last time Congress invoked this power was in 1942, after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor during World War II. Before that moment, it had only been used 10 times since 1812.

And experts say that the use of the presidential authority to order military actions without the approval of the Congress has become more common.

John Bellinger, who was a legal advisor to the White House during the presidency of George W Bush, said: “In recent decades, Congress has increasingly consented to the presidential use of the military force for a variety of purposes without authorization from Congress.”

“Congress and courts have effectively denied the requirement of a statement,” Verify Jonathan Turley, a conservative constitutionalist.

President Barack Obama authorized attacks in Libya without requiring the permission of the Congress, which his administration justified under article II, as also happened with the mission to kill Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan in 2011.

And during Trump's first administration, he ordered to kill the Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani without the approval of Congress.

Democratic president Bill Clinton launched attacks in the Balkans in 1990, without prior approval, and more recently, Joe Biden did the same thing attacking huti goals both in Yemen and Syria during his presidency.

“This authority has been repeatedly used by the presidents throughout history,” Turley said. “History and precedents favor Trump in this action.”

Spokesman Johnson cited examples of previous administrations by defending Trump, saying: “Presidents of both parties have acted with the same commander authority in chief under article II.”

“President Obama undertook an eight -month campaign by bombing Libya to end the regime of that country. I never heard a Democrat put repairs to any of that, and suddenly, now this, they get up in arms.”

Critics of Trump's attacks in Iran have also signed up for resolution on war powers, which was approved in 1973 after the United States withdrawal from the Vietnam War, precisely with the aim of limiting the presidential ability to fight a war without consulting Congress previously.

Although the law allows the president to use the force without the approval of the Congress in emergency cases, it establishes that they must “in all possible cases consult with Congress before introducing the United States armed forces into hostilities.”

“It does not seem that President Trump has met this requirement,” says Bellinger. “Based on the reports so far, it seems that President Trump actually had no substantive consultations with Congress, but simply informed several Republican leaders.”

The American media have reported that the leader of the Democratic minority in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, had been called about an hour before the attacks began, but that few details had been given.

The White House Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, wrote in X that the administration made “bipartisan courtesy calls to the leaders of Congress” and spoke with Senator Schumer before the attacks.

The resolution also establishes that Congress must be notified in the 48 hours of military action.

The Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegesh, declared after the attacks on Iran that Congress “was notified after the planes were safe” and that “they met the notification requirements of the law of war powers.”

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