This image provided by U.S. Central Command shows Navy sailors moving ordnance on the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) in support of Operation Epic Fury, on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (U.S. Navy via AP)

Responses to the new war in Iran were mostly on partisan lines this weekend from candidates and federal office holders in West Virginia and Ohio.

President Donald Trump Saturday morning announced U.S. and Israeli forces launched attacks on Iran, code named Operation Epic Fury. Trump encouraged Iranians to take over their government and later announced Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who ruled Iran for 36 years, was killed in the strikes.

Iranians around the world celebrated and the Iranian government vowed revenge.

“Thank you, President Trump, for your strong, decisive leadership,” Sen. Jim Justice, R-W.Va., said. “Cathy and I are praying for you and the First Lady today, and for the safety of our service members in the Middle East. God Bless our troops and God Bless America.”

Zachary Shrewsbury, a Democrat from Princeton running for the party nomination for Senate, said America “cannot afford another war” in a social media post.

This image provided by U.S. Central Command shows a F/A-18E Super Hornet preparing to make an arrested landing on the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) after a mission in support of Operation Epic Fury, on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (U.S. Navy via AP)

“Not morally. Not economically. Not as a nation already stretched thin. Every bomb dropped overseas is money not spent fixing our water, our roads, our hospitals or caring for our veterans,” Shrewsbury said. “The same people who told us Iraq was necessary are beating the drums again. I will not fall in line. I stand with the working class, not the war machine.”

Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno, Republican, had two posts on Twitter.

“God bless and protect our troops,” Moreno said in the first post. “President Trump sought for months to avoid conflict and negotiate with Iran to prevent them from rebuilding their nuclear program. I fully support his decision to eliminate the threat once and for all once it became clear there was no other option. President Trump will always put America’s interests first and defend American citizens. I have complete trust in him to finally bring peace to the Middle East.

Moreno later posted “President Trump just changed ‘Death to America’ to ‘Death by America.'”

Mike Pushkin, chairman of the West Virginia Democratic Party, said the Iranian regime is a brutal and repressive government.

This image provided by U.S. Central Command shows the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116) firing a Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM) in support of Operation Epic Fury, on Sunday, March 1, 2026. (U.S. Navy via AP)

“But acknowledging the brutality of the Iranian regime does not absolve President Trump of his responsibility to act with clarity, honesty and strategic foresight when contemplating war,” Pushkin said. “The American people deserve consistent leadership rooted in truth. Just eight months ago, President Trump claimed that the United States had ‘completely obliterated Iran’s nuclear program, setting it back years.’ If that claim was accurate, then what is the justification for launching armed action against Iran now on the basis of its nuclear threat? And if it was not accurate, then the American people were misled. Either way, the president’s contradictory statements severely undermine his credibility at a moment when clarity and trust are essential.”

Pushkin called upon Congress to exercise its constitutional oversight responsibilities.

“History has taught us that regime change cannot be imposed through American military action. Lasting political transformation must come from within, driven by the Iranian people themselves. Military intervention risks strengthening hardliners, inflaming regional tensions and prolonging suffering rather than bringing freedom,” Pushkin said. “Ultimately, only diplomacy, not bombs, can produce lasting peace and stability in the Middle East. The United States must lead with strength, but also with wisdom, consistency, and respect for the rule of law. The stakes are too high for reckless decisions, shifting justifications, or leadership that the American people cannot trust.”

The regime in Iran for 47 years had ample opportunity to be a productive member of the global community, Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, said.

“Instead, it chose to export death, terrorism, extremism and instability against America and our allies. It did all of this while brutally oppressing its own people, who yearned for the freedom and prosperity that they deserve but the regime has refused to deliver,” Husted said. “Today, the president took action to address the threat Iran poses to America and global stability. I look forward to being briefed and learning more from the administration in the coming days. I pray for our military servicemembers, all Israeli military personnel and our allies in harm’s way. May God bless them and keep them safe.”

This image provided by U.S. Central Command shows an F/A-18E Super Hornet preparing to launch from the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in support of Operation Epic Fury, on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (U.S. Navy via AP)

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said the president has given the Iranian regime “countless opportunities to stand down, stop killing their people and abandon their nuclear ambitions.”

“Instead of choosing a peaceful path, they have doubled down on weapons designed to threaten the American people. I am following U.S. operations in Iran very closely and I look forward to receiving briefings soon,” Capito said. “In the meantime, I will continue to monitor developments as we work to ensure the safety and security of Americans at home and abroad. My prayers are with the brave men and women who serve our country in uniform.”

Ace Parsi, Democrat, a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives 2nd District in West Virginia, is a native Iranian who lives in Morgantown. He lived under the authoritarian regime and fled the country with his family as a child.

“One of my earliest memories is hiding in the bathroom of our home in Iran, the only room without windows, while bombs fell outside,” Parsi said Saturday. “We feared for our lives. My uncle was imprisoned for supporting democracy. My family fled when my older brother was about to be conscripted into a war launched by that regime.”

Parsi said he opposes the Iranian government:

“I have no illusions about the Iranian regime. It is authoritarian. It has persecuted its people and destabilized the region,” Parsi said. “I escaped that system, which concentrated power in the hands of a few and silenced democratic voices.”

Parsi also opposes unilateral executive military action.

“Our Constitution is clear: The power to declare war belongs to Congress.” Parsi said. “That safeguard exists to prevent unchecked executive authority, the very kind of concentration of power I fled as a child. No president should bypass Congress when American lives and global stability are at stake.”

Others believed that true and last change has to start with the Iranian people.

“What we saw today was our tax dollars being pitted against a sovereign state to a foolish and bitter end. When will we ever learn that it is impossible to win the hearts and minds of a people if we kill their children? It is such a simple lesson,” Rachel Fetty Anderson, a Democrat running for U.S. Senate from West Virginia, posted.

“When will ‘Christian’ nations ever understand that Jesus was serious when he said that it would be better for a millstone to be tied around someone’s neck than for them to harm a child? Better to cut off a hand than to sin against another?” Anderson said. “We live in undisciplined times under a feckless and careless administration. We will be called to account for every innocent life including the lives of our own children sent in to harm the children of others. If your news sources giggle with glee when we get blood on our hands, consider changing the channel.”

Rio Phillips, a Democrat from Charleston running for the Senate, posted on Facebook “Donald ‘I Stopped 8 Wars’ Trump is now launching the Epstein War in Iran to distract from the Epstein files.”

Alexander Gaaserud of Parkersburg, Republican for the Senate, on Facebook commended the joint military action “on the malicious state sponsor of terror, Iran.”

“I have wanted to take military action against this evil nation since the mid-2000’s. I am thankful that President Trump has taken bold action to prevent a nuclear armed Iran,” Gaaserude said. “We aren’t playing with Iran anymore. We will protect our nation and our people. Negotiating with Iran is like negotiating with the Devil, it’s pointless. Our women and children are safer today in America because of this action. I call on Iranians to seize their country once our military operation concludes. I am strategically hawkish and so is President Trump.”

Several hours later on Facebook Gaaserude posted: “People like me told the Iranians for years this would happen if they did not stand down and use their own agency to have a free and prosperous Iran. We mean what we say in the United States. I don’t hear death to America today do I? I don’t hear Ali Khamenei at all.”

Janet McNulty, a Republican from Martinsburg and candidate for the Senate, said on Facebook that the U.S. has attacked Iran, “thus sealing the fact that President Trump had no intention of keeping us out of foreign wars, despite his 2024 campaign promise.”

“This act was done without a formal declaration of war from Congress. Going to war without a Congressional declaration of war is a violation of the Constitution, which makes it illegal, but it also means that Trump has violated his oath of office, a sacred oath sworn before God and country. If Congress does not hold him accountable, they will also be in violation of their oath of office,” McNulty said.

“This was avoidable, but our entire government loves going to war and our politicians are well funded by lobbying groups, like AIPAC, that want us to go to war with Iran,” McNulty said. “Keep in mind: wars always grow, they grow unpredictably and they last far longer than you think they will. Trump is hoping for a quick in and out strategy, but the Iranian people are very patient. All they have to do is wait us out and the U.S. will most likely suffer a defeat.

“Also keep in mind the adage ‘When in doubt, they take you to war,” she said. “The economy is not doing well, despite what we’re being told. America is experiencing inflation and if things keep going as they are, we will start to see hyperinflation. When this happens, empires go to war because war makes a good distraction.

“Even if the U.S. succeeds in regime change, no country on this planet has reason to trust us. Iran was willing to engage in peace talks, the U.S. chose war,” McNulty posted. “Would you talk to someone like that?”

The West Virginia Republican Party retweeted a post by the Republican National Committee Chairman Joe Gruters that said “Operation Epic Fury sends a clear message: the United States will defend its citizens and use overwhelming force when our national security is threatened.”

Tom Willis of Martinsburg, Republican for the Senate, posted on Facebook that while Iran claims the operation by the United States and Israel was illegal and against international law, international law allows for self-defense.

“Iran has threatened to annihilate the USA and Israel countless times already and was developing the conventional and nuclear weapons to do so again as soon as possible. We don’t have to guess if they would actually attack,” he said. “They have attacked Israel and commandeered and harassed U.S. shipping directly and through terrorist proxies (Hezbollah, Houthis, etc.) thousands of times already. They are operating under a Muslim ideology that believes instigating war with the West is a prerequisite to usher in the Mahdi (the promised Muslim messiah).

“I do stand for the fact that the war powers are constitutionally reserved to Congress, not the president, but in this instance, I applaud the president’s bold action with our close ally and partner, Israel, to eliminate a clear and present danger to the USA,” Willis posted. “A nuclear Iran would absolutely attack Israel/USA and kill millions.”