Rep. Sara Jacobs warned Saturday of a major “foreign policy blunder” after the United States and Israel launched air strikes on Iran.
“Donald Trump’s strikes on Iran will go down as one of the biggest foreign policy blunders in American history,” said Jacobs, who is a member of the House Armed Services and Foreign Policy committees. “He’s failed to learn from history that the United States has an abysmal track record of success for military adventures in the Middle East.”
“He’s putting our service members and our country at immediate risk for retaliation, wasting billions of taxpayer dollars, and setting us up for another endless war – all for regime change, that in the end will likely backfire,” she said.
Jacobs and other members of San Diego congressional delegation responded to the attacks, which President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The president also called on the Iranian public to “seize control of your destiny” by rising up against the Islamic clerical leadership that has ruled the nation since 1979.
Early on, few official details about the attacks were available, but Israeli TV reported that the Supreme Leader may have been killed, and that was later confirmed. Iran responded with missile and drone attacks on Israeli and U.S. bases in the region.
The San Diego-based aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, with 5,000 personnel aboard, is among the military assets that converged on the region in recent weeks.
Another San Diego Democrat, Rep. Scott Peters, said in a statement that he wishes “our troops success and safety as they embark on this dangerous mission.” He called on the Trump administration to brief Congress on “whether this attack was justified and how we go forward.”
“Like many Americans, I did not see an imminent threat to the United States that required immediate military action,” Peters said. “This makes me deeply concerned about the risk of American lives being lost in someone else’s war. We owe our servicemembers clear objectives and a defined endgame.
Rep. Darrell Issa, a Republican, expressed his support for the campaign in an X post, writing “May God bless and protect our brave service members as they carry out their duties and their mission.” He retweeted a post by a Riverside County Republican, Rep. Ken Calvert, that blamed Iran for a 1983 bombing in Beirut that killed hundreds of Marines and deaths during the war in Iraq that followed the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the U.S.
“They have been a threat to our national security interests for decades,” Calvert wrote.
Jacobs said the attack was risky and unnecessary and could involve U.S. troops in a wider war.
“Trump promised to start no new wars, and then he turned around and started a regime change war in Iran,” said Jacobs. “For my generation and my community in San Diego, war isn’t abstract or an out of sight, out of mind issue – it’s real and we pay the human cost of it.”
Trump said on Truth Social that “Operation Epic Fury” could result in American casualties but stressed that “we’re doing this for the future, and it is a noble mission.”
Here at home, authorities also said they would watch for potential local fallout from the attacks.
The San Diego Police Department said on social media that it was “monitoring events in Iran and the Middle East” and “at this time, there are no known credible threats to San Diego.
“Our patrol divisions and intelligence support are mindful of our religious institutions, cultural centers, and other sensitive locations throughout the city to deter anyone who may try to create fear or harm in our city,” officials added.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said state officials were also watching the situation, and like in San Diego, “there is no specific or credible threat to California at this time.”
“California is closely monitoring the evolving situation in Iran and the surrounding region. Our homeland security and emergency management teams are working with federal partners to prepare for any impacts here at home,” the governor’s office said. “The State Threat Assessment Center is actively coordinating with local law enforcement partners.”
City News Service contributed to this report.
Updated 7:05 p.m Feb 28, 2026
