‘A moment of high danger:’ Democratic U.S. Senate candidates speak on Iran war

As the nation plunges deeper into conflict with Iran, Democratic front-runners seeking to replace U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin weighed in on the spiraling situation.

Lieutenant Gov. Juliana Stratton and U.S. Reps. Robin Kelly and Raja Krishnamoorthi are just two weeks shy of the March 17 primary.

All three condemned the U.S. strikes on Iran that began Saturday, saying President Donald Trump abused his powers by skirting Congressional approval.

The White House officials contend the mission was a success in that it took out key Iranian leaders like Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who they say sought to destroy America.

Asked about that justification, a spokesperson for Chicagoan Stratton said, “there's no doubt that Khamenei is responsible for untold terror both on the people of Iran and others throughout the world, but Donald Trump's decision to take our country into war, based on ego and personal gain, without a clear understanding of what it means to win or a plan to get us there, puts our country at grave risk.”

“Nobody that I know is crying or mourning for Khamenei’s death,” added Krishnamoorthi, a Schaumburg resident. “However, what I fear is that even more brutal thugs are going to take over for Khamenei in Tehran, and they’re going to do worse things than he did. That means killing more Iranians, pursuing this nuclear weapons program with abandon, and then continuing to fund the ballistic missile program.”

Kelly, of Lynwood, noted six U.S. service members were killed in the attack and offered condolences.

“President Trump put our U.S. service members’ lives on the line without justification, evidence, or congressional approval. He created a power vacuum in Iran with no long-term strategy and refuses to say whether he’ll deploy troops or determine how long U.S. attacks against Iran will last,” she said.

The U.S. cannot and should not play judge, jury, and executioner for every oppressive leader, as it leads to destabilized regions and innocent deaths, Kelly added.

“This commander in chief, who avoided the draft, has no business endangering the lives of our brave service members,” Kelly said.

Krishnamoorthi warned that “this is a moment of high danger” for Americans.

His concern is that the regime through the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is going to order attacks on people throughout the world via sleeper cells and other means.

“Unfortunately, this is one of those situations where they have a vote as to how this proceeds, and we can’t control all the events,” he said. “That’s in part why I was so disturbed the president unilaterally took this action.”

Stratton spokesperson Allison Janowski said Illinoisans want to see solutions to the issues impacting their everyday lives, not the U.S. involved in a war abroad.

“Juliana continues to believe that Congress must act as a check on the president, and when elected, she plans to ensure these issues are put front and center,” she said.