President Trump and supporters have used Iran's potential to gain a nuclear arsenal as justification for their actions, while critics argue that Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have been making these claims without evidence for decades. Montgomery County native and U.S. Congresswoman Madeleine Dean condemned the "erratic decision-making of an irrational President." However, this criticism is not new, as Iran's dictator, Ayatollah Khamenei, has been involved in a violent crackdown on dissidents, suspected human rights abuses, and terrorism against civilians abroad. The vote on Trump's war powers in Iran could restrict what powers the president has to act unilaterally in waging the conflict. While the left generally opposes the conflict on humanitarian lines, many on the right have rejected it on ideological grounds.