Foreign Affairs

Sen Fetterman Says Trump’s Iran Strike Was ‘Entirely Appropriate’ Response To Longstanding Threat

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Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman said Sunday that President Donald Trump’s strikes against Iran were “entirely appropriate” to address the Middle Eastern country’s longstanding nuclear threat.

The U.S. and Israel launched military strikes against the Islamic regime early Saturday, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and roughly 40 Iranian officials. Fetterman said on “State of the Union” the strikes were justified due to concerns about Iran’s nuclear and missile weapons programs, though he acknowledged they did not appear to pose an immediate threat to the United States.

“Imagine if people just listened to the conventional wisdom, that they could have possibly have acquired a bomb if we weren’t bombed back in June. So, yes, there is a threat. It’s not imminent that it could happen right now. But it’s one that I think is entirely appropriate to deal with it,” Fetterman told CNN host Dana Bash. “And that’s why I support it. So, again, people keep— describe that it was a legal war. Now read the War Powers Act. And, now, that has not been violated at this point what happened yesterday.”

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The War Powers Act requires presidential notification to Congress within 48 hours of committing U.S. military forces. The Trump administration notified the “Gang of Eight,” the bipartisan group of top congressional leaders and intelligence committee chairs, before the strikes but did not seek authorization.

“Well, what is true is that President Trump tried to negotiate that and tried to find a firm kinds [sic] of agreements, absolutely. And they refused to those basic, basic kinds of things: remind everybody, you are never allowed to acquire nuclear weapons. And, clearly, they was [sic]. And I absolutely supported what happened last June,” Fetterman continued.

Fetterman is one of the few Democrats who backed Operation Midnight Hammer, the June 2025 U.S. strike on Iranian nuclear facilities ordered by President Donald Trump, while most of the Democratic caucus condemned the action. He later voted as the lone Democratic senator against a war powers resolution seeking to curb the president’s authority following the operation.