Did Trump have the legal authority to strike Iran?published at 10:42 British Summer Time
Lucy Gilder
BBC Verify journalist
After the Trump administration bombed three Iranian nuclear sites at the weekend, Democrats as well as some lawmakers from his own Republican Party have questioned his legal authority to do so.
Late last night, President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between Iran and Israel – the details of which are still unclear.
Before that development, we spoke to legal experts about whether the US strikes on Iran were in line with the US Constitution or whether Trump should have consulted Congress first.
Image source, ReutersThere are two parts of the US Constitution that are relevant here: Article I and Article II.
Article I lists the ability “to declare war” as one of Congress’ powers. However, Article II – which lays out the president’s powers – says that “the president shall be Commander in Chief of the Army”, and sources at the White House have told the BBC they see this as the rationale for the strikes on Iran.
Four constitutional experts told us that Trump had some authority under Article II to order the military strikes.
Although one legal scholar said he didn’t believe Trump had the authority to launch the strikes as there wasn’t “a sudden attack to repel”.
Previous administrations have also carried out strikes without congressional approval. President Barack Obama authorised airstrikes in Libya without requesting permission from Congress, which his administration justified under Article II.
