California officials condemn attack on Iran, urge Congressional vote

The U.S. and Israel launched a major attack on Iran on Saturday, prompting outrage among Bay Area officials and local Muslim advocacy groups who condemned the action as an “illegal regime change” by President Donald Trump.

The military action threatens a broader regional conflict, as Iran has retaliated by launching missiles and drones toward U.S. and Israel military bases in the region and Trump vowed to “annihilate” the country’s military and missile industry, according to multiple reports.

The U.S.-led attack comes as Trump has repeatedly threatened an attack on Iran — including in his State of the Union address this week — if the country did not cave on its refusal to a nuclear deal. A third round of nuclear talks began in Geneva on Thursday, which Iranian officials said resulted in “significant progress.”

Just eight months ago, the U.S. military bombed three of Iran’s nuclear facilities during a 12-day-war between Israel and Iran.

In a social media video announcing the “massive and ongoing operation,” Trump called on Iranians to overthrow the regime, stating that “when we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations.”

Some of the first strikes on Iran appeared to hit near the offices of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and it wasn’t immediately clear whether the 86-year-old leader was in his offices when the attack occurred, the Associated Press reported.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested on Saturday in a televised address that Israel and the United States had killed Khamenei, citing “many indications that this tyrant is gone” and called on Iranians to “take to the streets and finish the job.”

But a spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry, Esmaeil Baghaei, told ABC News that both Khemeni and President Masoud Pezeshkian were “safe and sound.”

Iranian state media also reported that one of the attacks had struck a girl’s elementary school, killing dozens of children.

Iran retaliated to the strikes by firing waves of ballistic missiles at Israel, where authorities reported only minor injuries. The United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait — all of which host U.S. military bases — said they had come under attack as well, according to the New York Times.

Dina Asna, a resident of Moraga, California, and the founder of Iranian Women in Network, said she was not able to get even three hours of sleep after hearing of the bombing of Iran, where she lived until she was in her 20s.

She has been in shock, she said Saturday morning, and Trump’s announcement urging Iranians to take down their government was “so scary,” given it comes weeks after a government crackdown on protests calling for the end to Iran’s theocratic rule resulted in the deaths of thousands.

“We have another wave of violence and another war to fight, and then we don’t know who is coming and who is going to take it over,” Asna said. “That’s another very, very unknown situation right now.”

“We are worried it can escalate to become a much bigger war,” she added. “It’s heavy. It’s super heavy.”

Asna, who lived in Germany for 20 years before immigrating to the United States, has an uncle and cousins still living in Iran, as well as friends and a community of artisan girls living in a small village near the border with Pakistan. She spoke briefly with the artisans before they lost internet access last night.

“Immediately their first reaction was the prices, and we are going to get even more poor,” she said. “(The people in Iran) are scared very much, and at the same time they say their life is really not easy to carry anymore. (They say,) ‘If the war comes and it’s the end for me, I hope I can go with my family, and if I survive, I hope I survive and there’s no Islamic Republic after that.’”

Asna added that the attacks coincided with Ramadan, a Muslim holiday that marks a time to “be spiritual” and “be the best human you can be.”

“We don’t know what is the price of this … because right now it is too early,” she said. “War is no solution for (anybody). Not for the kids, not for the women, not for humanity, so there is a huge concern.”

California and Bay Area officials condemned the attack, calling the action unconstitutional and urging Congress to take action on a war powers resolution intended to limit Trump’s ability to conduct military action in Iran.

“Trump is drawing our country into yet another foreign war that Americans don’t want and Congress has not authorized,” Senator Adam Schiff posted on X. “The Iranian regime is a brutal and murderous dictatorship. But that does not give Trump the authority to unilaterally initiate a war of choice.”

Schiff urged Congressional lawmakers to “immediately return” and vote on the bipartisan “War Powers Resolution,” introduced by California Rep. Ro Khanna, a Democrat, and Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican.

The measure would require the Trump administration to seek congressional approval before engaging in any further activity in Iran. Under the U.S. Constitution, Congress has the sole authority to declare war, though that authority has been stretched in recent years by the executive branch.

Congress is set to reconvene next week, and Democrats announced Thursday they plan to force a vote on the resolution.

Khanna — who represents the heart of Silicon Valley — urged every member of Congress to publicly declare how they plan to vote on the resolution in wake of the U.S. attack on Iran.

“Trump has launched an illegal regime change war in Iran with American lives at risk,” Khanna posted on X early Saturday morning.

U.S. Senator Alex Padilla also took to social media Saturday to criticize Trump’s shift from promising “no new wars” to launching a major military operation in Iran.

“This decision to strike Iran without Congressional approval stands in stark contrast to a President who promised to put Americans first and end foreign wars,” Padilla said on X. “At a time when millions of hardworking families face higher costs of living and skyrocketing health care to pay for tax breaks for billionaires, Donald Trump is now pushing the country toward a war that risks American lives without presenting a clear justification to the American people or any plan to prevent escalation and chaos in the region.”

California Republican representatives praised Trump for his “decisive action.”

“President Trump took decisive action in response to refusal by the Iranian regime to take diplomatic off-ramps, dismantle its nuclear program, and end its reign of terror against the United States and our allies,” Republican Congresswoman Young Kim posted on X. “I hope for a swift and decisive operation that will pave the way for a more peaceful Middle East and a safer world.”

“May God bless and protect our brave service members as they carry out their duties and their mission,” Republican Congressman Darrell Issa said on social media Saturday.

Protests sparked Saturday across the United States, both in support of the attack against Iran and in opposition. Dueling protests were held in Boston as protesters took to Times Square in New York City on Saturday afternoon to oppose the attack.

At least one protest is expected to take place in San Jose on Saturday. Led in partnership by the San Jose State University Students for a Democratic Society, Green Party of Santa Clara County, Silicon Valley Democratic Socialists of America, among other local groups, the protest is scheduled to take place at 4 p.m. at the corner of Winchester and Stevens Creek Blvd.