Welcome to The Fill From the Hill, a recurring political column where one University Times writer dissects the key political topics and controversies in the news, from domestic politics to international affairs. This week tackles the American war in Iran. Despite my position, this column is not representative or a reflection of the opinions of the UT Staff nor the UT itself.
On Feb. 28, 2026, America and Israel opened fire on Iran, bombing several cities across the country, including Tehran, Isfahan, Qom, Karaj, and Kermanshah.
The news of the war, which began under the name “Operation: Epic Fury,” was shared by President Donald Trump on his TruthSocial account, claiming the strikes were launched because of Iran’s “unending campaign of bloodshed and mass murder targeting the United States.”
Following the bombing on Feb. 28, Iran launched several counterattacks in the Persian Gulf region, including the US embassy in Saudi Arabia, bases located in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as well as targets in Israel.
Throughout the course of the war, nearly 900 people have died, many of whom were in Iran. (However, many have died in neighboring countries like Bahrain, Kuwait, the UAE, Lebanon, and Israel.) Further, six United States service members were killed during strikes on a naval port in Kuwait.
The strikes led to the death of longtime Iranian Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which was first announced by Trump on Feb, 28. This was later confirmed by Iranian state media on March 1, after his body had been recovered. During the initial strikes, several other high-ranking Iranian officials were killed as well.
On March 2, the State Department announced that any American citizens in the region should evacuate immediately, without giving further guidance. Days later, on March 3, several European nations like France, Spain, and the UK announced emergency flights from the UAE, Israel and Oman. That same day, the White House announced that it would charter flights in the region as well, without further instruction.
Like many other military actions during the second Trump administration, the recent actions in the Middle East were made without authorization from Congress. Because of this, the House tried to pass what they called the “War Powers Resolution,” which would rein in Trump’s power to make military actions without congressional approval.
A vote was held in the Senate and was backed by 13 representatives, but ultimately failed by a 47-53 vote.
Now that the table has been set, let’s get into our views on the war in Iran.
Samuel Valencia: Have you gotten what you voted for yet, Republicans?
Trump has backpedaled on almost every single one of his campaign promises, and this is just another example of that.
Straight out of the Republican president playbook, if you’re in hot water at home, go start a war abroad to try to distract from the issue. George W. Bush did it during his term with the hunt for “WMDs” in Iraq, and now, Trump has done it in his first term in the Middle East. This is just an easy out for them. Unfortunately for Trump, the American people are paying full attention to his actions this time around.
Trump isn’t worried about the safety of Americans, but if he were, he wouldn’t have started this war in the first place. What he wants is a regime change in Iran that will favor US economic interests. He’s putting the entire region at risk for more money, which feels asinine to say about a US president.
It isn’t enough that we have destabilized the region for well over two decades, but we constantly have to keep poking and prodding the Middle East to make sure that they are doing what we want.
However, Trump isn’t the only one to blame here. Benjamin Netanyahu is a warmonger who wants Israel to be the US of the Middle East. He wants to push around every other country around him, and Trump is ready to back him at his beck and call.
Together, Trump and Netanyahu have made the situation in the Middle East critical, at the expense of all the human lives in the region.
But, if there is any glimmer of hope to take from this situation, many Iranians, as well as Iranian-Americans, have celebrated the death of the Ayatollah. His suppression of the Iranian people and his countless human rights violations made him a terrible person. But a strike from the United States was not the call for the president to make, especially without approval from Congress.
As the war continues with no end in sight, the Republican Party has a choice: continue to support Trump as he drags them down during one of the most critical midterm elections in recent memory, or break from Trump and risk losing their seats in Congress. Regardless, it’s time for the government to step up and do its job to curtail this madman calling himself the president.
