Iranian American Group Sues Trump Over 7-Month Iran War as Unconstitutional

2 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Sep 24

The National Iranian American Council’s advocacy arm filed a federal lawsuit in Washington seeking a ruling that Trump’s roughly seven months of military operations in Iran are unconstitutional.
The suit argues the administration usurped Congress’s sole power to declare war and says members were harmed because relatives in Iran were killed, injured or lost livelihoods under bombing and economic pressure.
Trump escalated the standoff two days earlier at the United Nations, saying he was weighing whether to “annihilate” Iran or strike a deal.
The case faces a steep legal path: courts have often deferred to presidential war powers, and the Supreme Court in 1974 let Nixon’s Cambodia bombing continue without congressional authorization.
The filing follows bipartisan war-powers efforts in Congress this year, but those resolutions lacked binding force and were repeatedly brushed aside by the White House.