Large-scale US attack on Iran prompts numerous questions
Washington – US President Donald Trump announced on Saturday morning local time that American forces have launched a large-scale military campaign against Iran, raising questions about whether the White House is attempting to engineer regime change in Iran and the extent to which the operation will proceed.
Members of Congress have also questioned the absence of authorisation from the legislative body.
OBJECTIVES
In an eight-minute video address from his residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, Trump stated that the US would destroy Iran’s missile industry and naval capabilities, prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons, and neutralise Iranian-backed armed groups throughout the Middle East.
He also urged members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, the armed forces, and Iranian police to lay down their weapons in exchange for legal immunity, and called on the Iranian people to “take over the government” after the US military operation concludes – a statement which, according to analysts, indicates at least an implicit push for regime change.
Trump reiterated his claim that Iran is developing long-range missiles capable of reaching US territory. However, several US media outlets, citing intelligence officials, reported that there is no compelling intelligence evidence to support this assertion. The New York Times reported that an assessment by the Defence Intelligence Agency in 2025 found Iran has not decided to manufacture intercontinental ballistic missiles.
In a brief interview with The Washington Post on Saturday morning, Trump said he hopes his legacy from the attack on Iran will be “freedom for the people” and “a safe nation.”
“Trump’s approach to Iran is reckless. Its objectives are not clearly defined,” The New York Times wrote in its editorial opinion.
The Pentagon named the operation Operation Epic Fury, which US officials told various media outlets could last for several days or weeks and is estimated to exceed the scale of the joint US-Israeli assault over a 12-day period against several Iranian targets in June 2025.
In the initial wave on Saturday morning, dozens of aircraft were deployed from US military bases in the Middle East and from aircraft carriers in regional waters, then struck various targets throughout Iran.
Initial targets included missile launch sites and other military facilities scattered across various regions of the country, according to reports received in Washington.
Video verified by The New York Times showed strikes in central Tehran near the presidential complex, the Supreme National Security Council, and several other important government buildings, as well as areas around the Ministry of Intelligence.
CNN, citing Israeli security sources, reported that several senior Iranian officials were among the intended targets.
US military targets appear not to be limited to Iranian territory. A militia base allied with Iran in Iraq was reportedly also attacked, while Iran launched retaliatory strikes against Israeli targets and US facilities throughout the region. Several US embassies in the Middle East have instructed their staff to shelter in place.
The Pentagon plans a series of attacks that escalate gradually whilst providing options for de-escalation, CNN reported, citing a senior US official who stated that each round of operations would last one to two days, accompanied by pauses to recalibrate strategy and assess battle damage assessment.
The Trump administration has conducted the largest US military deployment to the Middle East since the 2003 Iraq War, positioning two aircraft carriers and several destroyer vessels. Senior officials, including Vice President JD Vance, have repeatedly stated that there will be no deployment of US ground forces to Iran.
Reactions on Capitol Hill emerged quickly and were divided.
Republican Senator Roger Wicker, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, expressed support for the attack on Iran.
“This is a necessary and important operation to protect American citizens and American interests,” he said in a statement.
Jack Reed, the senior Democrat on the US Senate Armed Services Committee, said the Trump administration did not provide “genuine guidance or intelligence information” to Congress before launching the large-scale military operation against Iran.
“The President barely mentioned Iran in the longest State of the Union address in history. He failed to explain his objectives,” Reed said in a statement.
“Congress did not receive genuine guidance or intelligence information, and it is difficult to justify action without clear reasons,” the senator added.
Senator Ruben Gallego, a Democrat from Arizona and former Marine who served in Iraq, wrote on social media on Saturday morning that Americans should not have to “bear the greatest burden for regime change and a war that has not been explained or justified to the American public.”
Republican Representative Thomas Massie from Kentucky criticised the attack on Iran as “an act of war without congressional authorisation” in a social media post shortly after the US launched the strike.