Both Iran and the United States have expended significant resources throughout the conflict. For the United States, this includes the deployment of 50,000 service members to the region, several aircraft carrier strike groups, and repeated use of airstrikes and drones. This operation has cost an estimated 29 billion dollars thus far, and the lives of at least 7 service members. For the Iranians, this includes thousands of drones and missiles that have been launched at United States assets in the region, and the closing of the Strait of Hormuz. CERL Advisory Council Member Benjamin Farley discusses at Foreign Policy how the deployment of military assets clearly makes this conflict a war and analyzes the state of constitutional war powers.

Benjamin R. Farley is special counsel at the National Immigration Law Center, a Visiting (non-resident) Fellow at the University of Minnesota’s Human Rights Center, and a member of the Advisory Council of the Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law. Read his bio here.  

The views expressed here are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of any organization or university.