In a Thursday appearance on Newsmax, prominent legal scholar Alan Dershowitz offered insight into President Donald Trump’s decision to delay for two weeks a final determination on whether to authorize a strike on Iran’s heavily fortified Fordow nuclear facility.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced Trump’s impending decision on Thursday, stating the U.S. would decide within two weeks whether to directly involve itself in the escalating Israel-Iran conflict.
Speaking on “The Record with Greta Van Susteren,” Dershowitz characterized the postponement as a deliberate strategic maneuver, designed to intensify pressure on the Iranian regime. “What do you think President Trump’s strategy is by postponing for two weeks his decision whether to bomb Fordow? It’s to put pressure on the other side,” Dershowitz asserted.
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Dershowitz further underscored the necessity of granting the President the authority to make such crucial calls, particularly in matters of national security and foreign policy. He explained that a requirement for immediate congressional approval would strip the executive branch of a vital tool in diplomatic and military negotiations, especially for a leader known for his “threatening” and “deal-making” approach.
“If you don’t do this in two weeks, I’m going to go to Congress. I know there are people in Congress who are opposed to this, Republicans and Democrats. It would eliminate the ability of the president to effectuate foreign policy and military policy by threats. That would particularly affect President Trump, who is the threatening president, the deal-making president,” Dershowitz stated.
The legal expert spoke of the historical and constitutional debate surrounding presidential authority in matters of war, emphasizing the central role of Congress, not the judiciary, in shaping such foreign policy decisions. He highlighted that the current balance of power often limits judicial challenges to executive actions in military affairs.
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“I think this two-week thing is a perfect example of why it’s necessary to give the president the kind of authority he has,” Dershowitz remarked. He also pointed to the historical evolution of Article I of the Constitution, noting that the original formulation granted Congress the “power to make war,” which was later amended to “declare war,” thereby limiting congressional power.
Dershowitz noted that even in the nascent stages of the U.S. government, there was a robust debate about how to divide war-making responsibilities between the executive and legislative branches. He firmly stated that the judiciary has “no role to play” in these types of decisions, making challenges to Article I, Article II conflicts exceedingly difficult.
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The discussion comes amid heightened tensions between Israel and Iran. Defense experts earlier this week suggested that the U.S. may possess the sole weapon capable of neutralizing Iran’s Fordow facility, a highly fortified underground nuclear site believed to be crucial to Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
This weapon, the Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), a 30,000-pound precision-guided “bunker buster” bomb, has never been used in combat. Despite hundreds of Israeli airstrikes on Iranian nuclear infrastructure, including reported targeting of the Natanz enrichment facility and elimination of top military officials, the Fordow site remains untouched, underscoring the challenge it poses.
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