The U.S. bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities on June 21, 2025 is a serious setback for peace, nuclear disarmament, and non-proliferation. It was an illegal act which violated the U.S. Constitution – which gives Congress the authority to declare war.
This war, initiated by Israel and now joined by the United States, is more likely to lead to what both Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Trump say they are trying to prevent – a nuclear-armed Iran. Iran is now even more closely aligned with Russia and China and has indicated they may withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). A nuclear-armed Iran would likely incentivize several other Middle East nations to pursue the bomb.
Israel’s undeclared nuclear arsenal did not prevent regional conflict but instead fueled military escalation. Iran’s potential pursuit of nuclear capability reflects a global system that rewards brute nuclear force over diplomacy.
Preventing the spread of nuclear weapons will not succeed through violence and war – diplomacy and international cooperation are by far our best choice.
There are no good and bad actors when it comes to nuclear weapons. No country should have or acquire nuclear weapons. The bottom line: the world must get serious about nuclear disarmament before catastrophe strikes.
Nuclear weapons are exponentially more lethal and destructive than the 15-ton conventional bunker buster bombs the U.S. dropped on Iran. A nuclear war involving fewer than a hundred of the world’s 12,000+ nuclear weapons would likely lead to millions of deaths and global economic, environmental, and societal catastrophe on an unimaginable level. A large-scale nuclear war between the United States and Russia could lead to the death of ¾ of the world’s people and effectively end humanity as we know it.
Nuclear weapons destabilize by design. They do not prevent war; they redefine it. Deterrence is not peace — it is a high-stakes gamble that only works until it doesn’t. It is morally unconscionable to threaten mass murder, the core idea behind nuclear deterrence, in the name of peace and security.
The only realistic path to save humanity and our planet is to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons, which is in the collective interest of every person and country on the planet, as well as future generations. Disarmament is not naïve — it is strategic, practical, and morally urgent.
Now, as the world stands at the nuclear brink, it is essential that the United States lead this global nuclear disarmament effort. For that to happen, members of the U.S. Congress need to step up, speak out, and show real disarmament leadership. A simple way that members of the U.S. House of Representatives can start to do that is by cosponsoring H. Res. 317, introduced in April by Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Rep. Jill Tokuda (D-HI).
H. Res. 317 offers a comprehensive set of common sense policies that will help the world step back from the nuclear brink while demanding that the United States pursue a verifiable, time-bound agreement among all nuclear armed states to eliminate their nuclear arsenals.
You can take action today and join us in the fight by urging your representative to co-sponsor H. Res. 317 with our action alert.
