Iranian-American group sues Trump over war

A group of Iranian Americans have filed a lawsuit against United States President Donald Trump, asking a court to order a halt to military action against Iran that they allege is harming them and their families and is in violation of constitutional war powers checks.

The complaint, filed in a Washington, DC, court on Thursday by the advocacy group National Iranian American Council (NIAC), argues the war will continue indefinitely and “cause imminent threats to the lives, limbs, health, property, and bare necessities” of Iranians, as well as Iranian Americans whom the organisation represents.

The lawsuit details the impact the war, which has raged on for more than six months now, has had on several of its members, including US citizens and a US Army veteran, and their families who are still inside Iran.

The relatives of some plaintiffs were allegedly killed or injured in air strikes during the war, including while in their homes, or as they went about doing routine tasks.

The plaintiffs also allege greater effects on themselves and their families, such as economic difficulties caused by US sanctions, and the inability to access adequate healthcare, or travel amid an expanding sanctions regime.

Those still inside Iran, the lawsuit says, are in danger because the Trump administration is continuing the war without legal oversight or proper authorisation. Thousands of civilians, including hundreds of children, have been killed by the US in the war so far, according to the lawsuit, and others are at risk.

“They are all in imminent danger of harm to their persons and properties proximately caused by the unconstitutional war waged by defendant President Donald J. Trump,” the complaint says.

In September, a United Nations fact-finding mission said the US likely committed “war crimes” in Iran, including in air strikes that allegedly killed hundreds of civilians.

“No President should have the power to take this country into an indefinite war by himself,” NIAC President Jamal Abdi said in a statement on Thursday. “This lawsuit asks a fundamental question: can one person decide, on his own, to keep an entire nation at war?”

On Tuesday, Trump told world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly that he was considering whether to “annihilate” Iran if Tehran did not return to talks and reach a deal with the US to end the war.