Politicians and others in the Southwest remain divided over U.S. airstrikes in Iran.
The Operation Epic Fury strikes began over the weekend and were in coordination with Israel. Many Iranian weapons were destroyed, and dozens of top Iranian officials were killed, including longtime Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Within hours of his death, people took to the streets of U.S. cities, including San Francisco, Los Angeles and Phoenix. Some were opposed. Others supported the strikes.
“We do understand democracy,” said Kamyar Majlan, an Iranian native who is in favor of the U.S. attacks and attended a San Francisco demonstration supporting America’s efforts. “We [Iranians] are not just people hiding in a cave, and suddenly now they kill the supreme leader, we are happy. No, we’ve been fighting this fight for more than 50 years.”
Majilan – who fled Iran in the early 2000s and studied in Texas and is now a U.S. citizen living in San Ramon, a city near San Francisco – said Iranians appreciate the U.S. efforts.
“Everything we have right now, we owe it to the U.S. government, to U.S. citizens,” Majilan told The Center Square. “We will become better citizens from today until our future.”
Majilan envisioned a future Iran where people help rebuild and make the nation a vibrant one.
Because of the “47 years of suppression” and “47 years of dictatorship,” Majilan said that all some people know about Iran is “Persian cat, Persian rug, and caviar.”
There’s a lot more to Iran than that, he said.
“No, we have many scientists, physicists, educated people,” said Majilan.
Others voiced opposition to the strikes.
Actress and anti-war activist Jane Fonda spoke at a demonstration in Los Angeles that “this dangerous and insane war” violates international law and the U.S. Constitution. Fonda also warned that it risks igniting a larger war.
“It is yet again another war based on false information,” said Fonda.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom is also opposed to the strikes. Speaking at an Alameda County press conference about homelessness, Newsom told an inquiring reporter that Americans did not want this to happen.
“We’ve had to have conversations over the last few days that we haven’t had to have prior to this, as it relates to emergency preparedness and planning and unintended consequences, the uncertainty that Donald Trump has unleashed around the world,” the Democratic governor said. “Four service members died today, and Donald Trump spent more time talking about his ballroom than he did about the loss of those lives.”
The number of American service members killed in action had risen to six by mid-Monday afternoon, as reported by The Center Square.
“He still has not articulated a clear vision of what the endgame is,” Newsom said. “There’s no War Powers Act that has been exercised.”
Newsom said oil prices are rising because of the war with Iran and noted every $10 increase in barrel prices will mean paying 24 cents more per gallon at the pump. He criticized Trump for an unfunded war during a time when the president has cut money for food stamps and Medicaid while cutting taxes for those who are well off.
But Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said on X that his state “stands with President Trump.”
According to the Republican governor, Trump’s message to Iran is clear: ‘Aggression toward America and our allies will no longer be tolerated.”
The mixed feelings are also along party lines on Capitol Hill.
Republicans such as U.S. Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Arizona, responded positively to the strikes.
In an X post, Ciscomani wrote that the action from President Trump “sends a clear message” to the leaders of Iran.
“The Iranian regime’s aggression and destabilizing threats will not go unanswered,” wrote Ciscomani. “For decades, the Iranian regime has funded terror, attacked our allies, and threatened American service members.”
Ciscomani added that President Trump and his administration have continually been seeking peace, but Iran chose escalation.
U.S. Rep. Abe Hamadeh, R-Arizona, also agreed with the U.S. operations. Hamadeh, a veteran, said that the Iranian regime has for years chanted “Death to America” while having “the blood of hundreds, if not thousands, of Americans on its hands through terror proxies and direct attacks” on our forces.
“President Trump has been absolutely clear: America does not seek war, but we will never apologize for defending our nation, our allies and our interests,” Hamadeh told The Center Square. “Peace comes through projecting maximum strength. When our adversaries know the United States is serious and prepared to act, that is what prevents conflict in the first place.”
Hamadeh added that when Americans are forced into combat, it will be fast, decisive and overwhelming. He said there would be no endless half-measures, no drawn-out nation-building experiments.
“Every decision is grounded in one simple principle: Does this advance American security?” said Hamadeh. “If it does, we will act with overwhelming force, and we act to win. America First does not mean America Alone.”
U.S. Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Arizona, said he views the war as “dumb.” A veteran of the Iraq War of the early 2000s, Gallego also downplayed the pro-strikes demonstrations. Gallego said on X that “this happened after Saddam was toppled,” and it did not stop Iraqi insurgents from shooting rocket-propelled grenades at him years later.
“We’re going to send a bunch of working-class kids to go down for a bunch of rich countries, a bunch of rich men here, and it’s not a good feeling,” said Gallego in a video he posted on social media. “Congress needs to get back in session, we need to get control, we need to stop this war, we need to hear from the president why we should be going to war in the first place.”
U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California, also pushed for Congress to return to Washington, D.C.
“Americans do not want another forever war in the Middle East,” said Schiff in a video post.
U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nevada, voiced her concerns about Iran’s nuclear ambitions and how the regime has treated citizens. Rosen also spoke of being “grateful for our brave men and women who are conducting Operation Epic Fury” and even mentioned that she is “praying for those service members who are under attack” in the region. Still, Rosen wants more information from the Trump administration.
“I am concerned that the president’s approach to armed conflict over the past year and his administration’s history of repeatedly withholding information and misleading Congress could lead us into another protracted Middle East conflict, without authorization from Congress,” said Rosen. “The American people are wary of prolonged military engagements abroad, especially when the objectives are unclear.”
That, said Rosen, is why “the Constitution is clear that only Congress has the ability to declare war and authorize the use of military force.”
California native and television personality Alyssa Farah Griffin, who’s on ABC’s “The View,” said on X that Congress has only itself to blame.
“It has ceded its war-making powers to the Executive Branch for decades,” said Griffin, who worked in government before television.