03/06/2026
Military Strikes on Iran Unconstitutional and Immoral
Statement of the UE Officers
On Saturday President Trump, who ran for office pledging to keep the U.S. out of military entanglements overseas, ordered extensive military strikes on Iran. These strikes are unconstitutional and reckless, and will make the world a more dangerous place on many levels. They come at great cost in both human lives and treasure.
Over 200 Iranians have already lost their lives in this unnecessary conflict, including at least 148 civilians killed in an attack on an elementary girls school, and there have been dozens of casualties in several other countries in the Middle East. Four members of the U.S. military have been killed and four wounded. It has put tens of thousands U.S. troops stationed in the Middle East at risk, and will almost certainly push the price of oil higher at a time when working people are already struggling to afford the basic necessities of life.
The U.S. Constitution is clear: only Congress has the authority to declare war. Iran poses no imminent threat to the U.S. that would justify military action without consulting Congress, and attacking Iran is not supported by the American public. Trump’s actions betray a contempt for democracy and the Constitution, as if he were a “supreme leader” whose will trumps the will of the people.
The massive resources spent on unnecessary military adventures, in both Iran and Venezuela, would be better spent addressing the high costs of healthcare, groceries and housing for working people. Although the Trump administration has declared the affordability crisis “over,” working people’s pocketbooks and bills say otherwise. The only people who will benefit from these attacks are Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu, who as the UE officers noted last June “is trying to maintain a constant state of war for his country” to avoid prosecution on corruption charges, the CEOs and stockholders of the oil companies who covet Iran’s oil and the military and high-tech companies who profit off of war.
The actions of the Iranian regime against its own protestors is indefensible, but U.S. and Israeli military attacks will do nothing to bring freedom or democracy to the Iranian people. As we know from President George W. Bush’s disastrous war in Iraq — a war that Trump condemned — U.S. efforts to bring “regime change” to other nations have never resulted in functional democracies. In fact, the very existence of the Islamic Republic in Iran is a direct result of the U.S. and its allies overthrowing a democratically-elected government there in 1953 and installing Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The Islamic Republic was born from a 1979 revolution against the Shah’s autocratic government, which regularly jailed and tortured dissidents. It needs to be up to the Iranian people to make changes to their government, something that being bombed by the U.S. and Israel will only make more difficult.
Trump’s actions are sowing hatred of the U.S. throughout the world, but it is ordinary Americans, both military service members and civilians, who will pay the price of any backlash.
In a democratic society, the decision to go to war must be made democratically, with full discussion and debate. We demand that Congress invoke the War Powers Act to end this unconstitutional, unprovoked, immoral and unnecessary conflict, and we encourage all working people to take action to demand that our government end this war.
Scott Slawson
General President
Andrew Dinkelaker
Secretary-Treasurer
Kimberly Lawson
Director of Organization
https://www.ueunion.org/political-action/2026/military-strikes-on-iran-unconstitutional-and-immoral
