Arizona lawmakers were divided along party lines in their reaction to the U.S. military striking three sites in Iran early Sunday, inserting America into Israel’s effort to decapitate Tehran’s nuclear program and risking reprisals that could spark a wider regional conflict.

“I know how difficult an operation like this is to pull off and thank our military members and intel community for their patriotism and professionalism,” Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly stated in a release.

“As a combat pilot, I’ve noticed that folks without combat experience are often the first to rush into dropping a bomb. I’m concerned about how President Trump and his administration made this decision to put pilots in harm’s way and our country on the edge of war with Iran.

“It will take time to see how successful these strikes were in degrading Iran’s nuclear capability. The next steps must be to work to contain this, deter Iran from retaliating and escalating further, and use every diplomatic tool possible to protect Americans and our interests, including preventing Iran from restarting their nuclear program.”

Ruben Gallego, Arizona’s other U.S. senator and also a Democrat, said Americans “do not want to be dragged into another endless war in the Middle East. I would know. I saw close friends die next to me serving as a Marine in a high-combat unit in Iraq. Each of these deaths was needless.

“We have yet to see any evidence to prove that tonight’s strikes were necessary to protect U.S. national security. President Trump must immediately show why tonight’s strikes were necessary.”

Republican congressmen Andy Biggs and Abraham Hamadeh were fully behind the U.S. mission, which came after more than a week of strikes by Israel on Iran that have moved to systematically eradicate the country’s air defenses and offensive missile capabilities, while damaging its nuclear enrichment facilities.

“We thank God that Donald Trump is our President,” Biggs wrote. “We pray for his preservation, wisdom and discernment. And we thank God that Kamala Harris is not our Commander in Chief. I’m grateful our troops made it out of the Middle East safely. Iran must come back to the negotiating table.”

Hamadeh wrote: "Peace through strength is only possible if we are resolved to do what is necessary. President Trump took decisive action to eliminate any vestige of Iran’s nuclear program.

“The days of Iran's nuclear blackmail are over. Now, the people of Iran must rise up and seize control over their own destiny. Only then will true peace be possible.”

Arizona Democratic Rep. Yassamin Ansari, an Iranian American, said Trump’s military action was illegal because he did not receive congressional authorization for the attack, “risking dragging us into another endless war.

“I am calling for an immediate emergency session of Congress to vote on the War Powers Resolution."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

We’d like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org.