Smoke engulfs a street after a strike in Tehran, Iran, Monday, March 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohsen Ganji)

Hawaii’s congressional delegation has criticized President Donald Trump for authorizing military strikes against Iran, saying he overstepped his authority and is putting American lives at risk.

The U.S. and Israel launched a joint military operation targeting Iran’s leadership Saturday, killing Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other leaders. Iran has launched counterattacks, striking Israel as well as U.S. bases in the region.

On Monday, President Trump said the military operation “Epic Fury” is necessary to prevent Iran from advancing its missile and nuclear programs. Trump said the “world’s No. 1 sponsor of terror” must never obtain nuclear weapons.

“The President’s unilateral decision to strike Iran for purposes of regime change is a clear violation of the Constitution, which gives Congress, not the president, the sole power to declare war,” U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono said in a statement.

Hirono added that Trump has not articulated a clear exit strategy and she fears he is “recklessly putting the lives of our service members and personnel in the region at risk.”

The military said Sunday that four American service members were killed and five others were wounded during the U.S. attacks. Trump has said the action against Iran could lead to more losses in the coming weeks.

“In their memory, we continue this mission with ferocious, unyielding resolve to crush the threat this terrorist regime poses to the American people and a threat indeed it is,” Trump said.

U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz also expressed concern for American service members and called it “a war of choice and a mistake.”

Schatz said that had the president stuck to negotiations or held to the Iran nuclear deal, the military strikes could have been avoided.

U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda, whose 2nd Congressional District includes Maui, also took issue with the strikes, saying Trump did not seek authorization from Congress or give the American people any evidence of an imminent threat that would justify military action.

“The Constitution is clear: The power to take this nation to war does not rest with one person alone,” Tokuda said.

“There is no question that the brutal Iranian regime has sponsored terrorism against our country and brutally repressed its own people. But every American, especially those with loved ones serving in our military, must ask whether this president has sufficiently justified sending our troops into battle and whether he has laid out a strategy and plan that will guide this conflict toward a defined and achievable end,” Tokuda continued. “The human toll abroad and the economic pain at home should never be the price Americans pay for one man’s war. We deserve better than this.”