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Iranians gather around a vehicle carrying the caskets of slain military commander Qasem Soleimani and others during a funeral procession after the bodies arrived in the northeastern city of Qom on January 6, 2020. Mehdi Marizad/FARS NEWS/AFP via Getty Images
Iranians gather around a vehicle carrying the caskets of slain military commander Qasem Soleimani and others during a funeral procession after the bodies arrived in the northeastern city of Qom on January 6, 2020. (Mehdi Marizad/FARS NEWS/AFP via Getty Images)

Bay Area Lawmakers Propose Requiring Approval of Congress for Further Action Against Iran

Bay Area Lawmakers Propose Requiring Approval of Congress for Further Action Against Iran

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Two Bay Area members of Congress have proposed two new measures to mandate congressional approval for U.S. military action against Iran, in the wake of President Donald Trump authorizing U.S. forces to kill Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike in Iraq last Thursday.

Soleimani, the leader of Iran’s Quds Force, was widely viewed as the nation’s second-most-powerful person behind Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

On Sunday, Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) announced a resolution to halt U.S. armed forces from hostilities against Iran without congressional approval. In a separate measure, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-San Jose) introduced a bill to block funding for military force against Iran without approval from Congress.

Omar and Lee’s resolution, a companion to a war powers resolution authored by Sen. Tim Kaine, would require any hostilities against Iran to be authorized by Congress through a declaration of war or authorization of military force.

“The assassination of any official of another country is against any kind of foreign policy that we should have as a country,” Lee told KQED on Monday. “[Soleimani] was not a good man. Everyone understands that. He has committed horrible, horrible crimes. That’s not the issue. This president did not come to Congress. He did not receive authorization, nor did he consult with Congress.”

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In a letter to House Democrats on Sunday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House will vote this week on Lee and Omar’s resolution, which would require military hostilities against Iran to end within 30 days if Congress does not grant approval.

“We are concerned that the Administration took this action without the consultation of Congress and without respect for Congress’s war powers granted to it by the Constitution,” Pelosi said in the letter. Still, the bill states it would not prevent the administration from defending itself from an imminent attack.

In justifying the drone strike, President Trump, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and others cited evidence that Soleimani was planning an “imminent attack on Americans.”

Rep. Lee said she’s skeptical of that evidence, and pushed for it to be made public.

“The Pentagon said in their statement that this was to prevent further acts. If they’re talking about further acts, one has to assume that the ‘imminent’ threat is questionable,” Lee said. “And that’s why it’s important that we see the intelligence, and that they come to Congress and disclose and de-classify the information. We need to demand an answer from this administration immediately.”

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In a statement announcing the measure, Rep. Omar called the killing of Soleimani a “violation of the Constitution.” The resolution highlights that only Congress has the Constitutional power to declare war, and aims to mandate a public debate and vote in Congress to authorize military action.

“For far too long, Congress has been missing in action on matters of war and peace,” said Lee in a statement. “Make no mistake: the assassination of Qasem Soleimani places us on the brink of war with Iran. Trump’s reckless military actions, without Congressional approval or authorization, have caused this crisis.”

Additionally, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-San Jose) introduced a bill to block future funding for actions called for by Trump against Iran without prior congressional authorization.

Sanders and Khanna said their measure aims to ensure the federal government will “invest in the needs of the American people, not spend trillions more on endless wars,” in a statement on Friday.

A similar measure co-authored by Khanna passed by a 251-170 margin vote in the House in July — but it was taken out of the the National Defense Authorization Act, which was adopted by Congress in December.

“After authorizing a disastrous, $738 billion military budget that placed no restrictions on this president from starting an unauthorized war with Iran, Congress now has an opportunity to change course,” Sanders and Khanna said in a joint statement.

In a twitter thread on Saturday, Trump threatened targeting 52 Iranian cultural sites if Iran strikes Americans or American assets. He added the military would utilize newly-purchased equipment “without hesitation.”

Meanwhile, CNN reported Sunday the military adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader stated the country’s response to the killing “will for sure be military.”

Iranian state television also reported that Iran would no longer abide by the the 2015 nuclear deal.

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