Early on Sunday, strikes were carried out in Iran by Israel and the U.S., as President Donald Trump has called on its citizens to “take over your government.”
This comes as tensions have escalated in Iran, where citizens have gathered to protest their government throughout 2026. In addition to a wanted regime change, Trump has also claimed that Iran has continued to proceed with its nuclear weapons program.
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The U.S. also carried out strikes on Iranian nuclear sites in 2025 with Operation Midnight Hammer, which Trump initially claimed “obliterated” the program. You can read the president’s full statement on the strikes here.
As a result, various Virginia lawmakers have given their opinions on the strikes.
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., who is also the Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said the following:
“Overnight, the president conducted expansive U.S. strikes – not limited to nuclear or missile infrastructure but extending to a broad set of targets, including senior Iranian leadership – marking a deeply consequential decision that risks pulling the United States into another broad conflict in the Middle East.
Iran’s leadership has long supported terrorism across the region, undermined regional stability, continued to advance its nuclear ambitions, and brutally repressed its own people. But acknowledging those realities does not relieve any president of the responsibility to act within the law, with a clear strategy, and with Congress.
The American people have seen this playbook before – claims of urgency, misrepresented intelligence, and military action that pulls the United States into regime change and prolonged, costly nation-building. We owe it to our service members, and to every American family, to ensure that we are not repeating the mistakes of the past. The president owes the country clear answers: What is the objective? What is the strategy to prevent escalation? And how does this make Americans safer?
By the president’s own words, ‘American heroes may be lost.’ That alone should have demanded the highest level of scrutiny, deliberation, and accountability, yet the president moved forward without seeking congressional authorization. The Constitution is clear: the decision to take this nation to war rests with Congress, and launching large-scale military operations – particularly in the absence of an imminent threat to the United States – raises serious legal and constitutional concerns. Congress must be fully briefed, and the administration must come forward with a clear legal justification, a defined end state, and a plan that avoids dragging the United States into yet another costly and unnecessary war.”
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va
In Southwest Virginia, the only congressman to comment on the strikes has been U.S. Rep. Ben Cline, R-Va., of Virginia’s 6th Congressional District:
“Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons and longstanding state sponsorship of terror have threatened our allies and targeted American interests for decades. Their continued aggression cannot be allowed to continue to threaten America’s national security.”
U.S. Rep. Ben Cline, R-Va
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., also condemned the strikes in a video posted to X, and called for Congress to vote on a proposed War Powers Resolution, which would block war with Iran without approval from Congress.
“Has President Trump learned nothing from decades of U.S. meddling in Iran and forever wars in the Middle East? Is he too mentally incapacitated to realize that we had a diplomatic agreement with Iran that was keeping its nuclear program in check, until he ripped it up during his first term?
For months, I have raised hell about the fact that the American people want lower prices, not more war—especially wars that aren’t authorized by Congress, as required by the Constitution, and don’t have a clear objective. These strikes are a colossal mistake, and I pray they do not cost our sons and daughters in uniform and at embassies throughout the region their lives. The Senate should immediately return to session and vote on my War Powers Resolution to block the use of U.S. forces in hostilities against Iran. Every single Senator needs to go on the record about this dangerous, unnecessary, and idiotic action.”
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va.
As of 11 a.m. on Saturday, Gov. Abigail Spanberger has not issued a statement regarding the strikes, nor have Republican Reps. Morgan Griffith or John McGuire, both R-Va., of Virginia’s 9th and 5th Congressional Districts, respectively.