US lawmaker moves to impeach defense secretary over Iran war

Rabia Iclal Turan

US Representative Yassamin Ansari said Monday that she plans to introduce articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over his handling of the US-Israeli war against Iran.

US President Donald “Trump is escalating a devastating, illegal war, threatening massive war crimes and targeting civilian infrastructure in Iran,” the Democrat from Arizona said in a post on the US social media company X’s platform, adding that “Pete Hegseth is complicit.”

“I’ve called for the 25th Amendment and am introducing Articles of Impeachment against Hegseth,” she added.

Her remarks came amid mounting scrutiny over US military actions in Iran, including reports of civilian casualties and potential violations of international law.

A preliminary US military investigation found that the US is responsible for a missile strike on an Iranian elementary school in February that killed at least 175 people, most of them children, according to media reports.

Trump has also drawn criticism for threatening to expand strikes to civilian infrastructure, including power plants and bridges, with legal experts warning that such actions could constitute war crimes under international law.

Regional tensions have escalated since the US and Israel launched a joint offensive on Iran on Feb. 28, killing more than 1,340 people to date, including then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to Iranian authorities

Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel as well as Jordan, Iraq and Gulf countries hosting US military assets. It has also restricted the movement of ships through the Strait of Hormuz.