Two US Republican lawmakers have criticised President Donald Trump’s reported threats of military intervention against Iran, arguing that such moves would undermine constitutional limits.
Representative Thomas Massie said on Friday that any military action against Iran would require explicit congressional authorisation and should not proceed without it.
"We have problems at home and shouldn’t be wasting military resources on another country’s internal affairs," Massie said on US social media company X.
His remarks came after Trump said early Friday that the US would "come to the rescue" of Iranian protesters who have taken to the streets in recent days over a deteriorating economic situation and the dramatic depreciation of the Iranian currency rial.
"If Iran shoots and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go," Trump said.
Massie said that proposed strikes were not about defending freedom of speech in Iran. Instead, he characterised the dispute as being driven by economic and geopolitical interests, citing "the dollar, oil, and Israel."
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene echoed concerns about foreign entanglements and framed the issue as a betrayal of the 2024 voter mandate.
"An Israeli cybersecurity billionaire demanding to take away Americans guaranteed First Amendment Free Speech and President Trump threatening war and sending in troops to Iran is everything we voted against in ‘24," she said on X.
Greene said such positions run counter to what Trump voters supported in the last election, arguing that voters wanted less overseas spending and stronger protections for civil liberties at home.
She pointed to growing anger among Trump supporters over federal spending on foreign aid and military engagements, saying some have threatened a "tax revolt" in response to what they view as waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer dollars.
Iran cites past US actions
Meanwhile, Iranian officials have reacted strongly to a threat by Trump to intervene in the ongoing protests in the country, which have erupted amid worsening economic conditions.
In a Friday statement, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Iranians will not allow foreign interference and will resolve their problems "through dialogue and engagement."
"It is enough to review the long record of actions by American politicians undertaken in the name of ‘saving the Iranian people’ to grasp the depth of America’s so-called ‘empathy’ with the Iranian nation," he said.
Baghaei cited as examples the 1953 coup against former Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh, the shooting down of an Iranian civilian airliner in 1988, US support for former Iraqi ruler Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq war, and backing for Israel during last year’s attacks on Iran.
"And today, once again, there are threats of an attack on Iran under the pretext of concern for Iranians, in blatant violation of the most fundamental principle of international law," he noted.
The protests, which began last week at Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, the hub of small local businesses, have gradually spread to different parts of the country, with shopkeepers expressing anger over destabilizing economic conditions.
In some areas, the protests have taken a violent turn, with reports of deaths as well.
The Iranian government has accused "external forces" of instigating peaceful protesters to engage in acts of violence.
