On Wednesday, President Trump said he hadnât decided yet if the U.S. will strike Iranâs nuclear facilities. But of Virginia said a war with Iran would be disastrous.
Kaine introduced a resolution that would require Trump to seek congressional approval before U.S. troops could engage in military conflict with Iran.
âA third war in the Middle East in this century would be a horrible, horrible mistake,â Kaine said, âand itâs going to put U.S. service members at risk and also risk destabilizing the region.â
5 questions with Sen. Tim Kaine
What are you hearing about potential U.S. involvement with Iran?
âThere are sources both in Israel and in the White House and in Congress really urging the president to join in a full-scale war against Iran. But thereâs also sources in the White House and here in Congress that are saying to the president, âPlease do not do this.â
âSo thereâs competing thoughts within the White House about this, and so thatâs why I introduced the resolution to force Congress to do what the Constitution requires, which is debate whether the U.S. being in war against Iran is a good idea or not.â
Is it possible for your resolution to be passed by a Republican-controlled Senate?
âItâs possible. Youâre right that the Senate Republican majority tends to be very loyal to President Trump, but I remind them of what President Trump has said over and over and over again: âWe shouldnât be in another war in the Middle East. The forever wars are over.â He has a long history that Iâm reminding my colleagues of, saying these kinds of military misadventures are a very, very bad idea.â
Would Trump defer to Congress on this decision?
âCongress doesnât matter to him much, but I saw this in the first Trump term. He initiated a strike that killed the Iranian guard leader [Qasem] Soleimani, and I filed a motion then saying the U.S. shouldnât be at war with Iran without a vote of Congress, and we got sufficient votes in both houses, including Republican votes. It went to his desk.
âPresident Trump vetoed the bill, and we couldnât override the veto, but guess what? He saw what the bill meant, and he backed off. And so yes, this does matter, even if we canât get there ultimately or say we get there and he vetoes it, he will see the level of Democrats and Republicans in Congress telling him this is a very bad idea and that will be a factor that he will contemplate as he tries to make the decision.â
âDo you have what you believe is an accurate handle on the nuclear capabilities of Iran right now?
âYes, and once the U.S. blew up the nuclear deal, Iran has continued to enrich uranium and increase centrifuges, but there is no indication that Iran has made a decision to turn that into a nuclear weapon.â
American forces are already in the region. How exposed are they and what kind of danger do they face?
âAll I can say is based upon whatâs happened already, the militias, for example, have been firing drones into U.S. military positions often over the course of the last 5 or 6 years. U.S. positions are pretty well known in the region. And they end up facing a lot of potential threats.
âAnd again, Iran has said there hadnât been a really active pace of attacks against U.S. positions in recent months, but theyâve said, âIf you enter the war on behalf of Israel, then youâre going to see this threat level increase,â and I think you have to take that threat seriously.â
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produced and edited this interview for broadcast with . adapted it for the web.
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