Sunday, March 1, 2026 – Harvard Law professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz declared that President Donald Trump’s decision to launch a surprise military strike against Iran is constitutional and does not violate federal law, rejecting claims from critics who labeled the action an illegal war.
Dershowitz emphasized that the U.S. Constitution grants the president sole authority as commander in chief of the army and naval forces, though Article I designates Congress with the power to declare war. “The War Powers Resolution of 1973—which requires the president to notify Congress within 48 hours of military action—has created tension,” he stated during a recent interview.
“The Constitution makes the decision about what powers are allocated to Congress and what powers are allocated to the president,” Dershowitz asserted. “I don’t think the War Powers Act is constitutional.” He noted that the original draft of the Constitution’s war powers clause granted Congress broader authority, but James Madison narrowed it during finalization. “Congress only has the power to declare war,” he said.
The United States has not formally declared war since June 1942, when it entered World War II against Romania. Since then, presidents of both parties have initiated military actions without congressional approval—including in Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq. “Every Democratic president since has taken some military actions without congressional approval,” Dershowitz added. “So I think the president’s decision to level a surprise attack that doesn’t permit Congress to debate it is completely lawful, constitutional, and correct for national interest.”
Addressing Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia and others who have called the strike illegal, Dershowitz dismissed such claims as premature and unsupported by constitutional law. “When you get people like Kaine and other senators—even some reasonable ones—saying this is illegal, they’re jumping the gun,” he said. “This is not illegal.”
Dershowitz referenced legal challenges during the Vietnam War that sought Supreme Court intervention over presidential war powers. “The court turned down all of those requests,” he noted. “So the idea that it’s clearly illegal to do what President Trump did is dead wrong as a matter of constitutional law.”
On broader implications for the Middle East, Dershowitz expressed hope that confronting Iran could foster regional peace. “This will help promote peace in the Middle East,” he said. “There’s widespread consensus that unless Iran has a change of regime, there will never be peace in the Middle East.” He added that Iran once maintained alliances with both Israel and the United States under the shah and could do so again under new leadership. “If Iran becomes an ally rather than an enemy, there will be peace in the Middle East for the first time in any of our lifetimes,” Dershowitz stated.
Dershowitz also mourned American and Israeli service members who lost their lives in the Iranian action. “War takes lives, and the president has the authority to wage war—though not to declare war. Declaring war has become a real anachronism,” he remarked.
