And now what ?

If the current regime stays in power, it's pretty much a guarantee that they will pursue nuclear weapons by all means available, in the future.

If the US / Israel want to topple the regime... that worked really well in Libya, Syria, Iraq, Afganistan....

Also, isn't it really illegal for a US president to authorize a strike like this without Congress ?

No, it is not illegal for a US president to authorize strikes like this. American hasn't formally declared war since WWII.

Iran has been pursuing nuclear weapons for decades - and no one, especially no one in the middle east - wants a nuclear armed Iran. America and its partners - and quite often its not-partners - have been working to stop Iranian uranium enrichment for a very long time.

As for "guarantees they will pursue nuclear weapons by all means" -- that's the point: they've already been doing so nonstop for decades.

In much of the middle east, Iran is detested, and a nuclear armed Iran is deeply feared throughout the region. Iran with nukes means the rest of the middle east will feel compelled to pursue nuclear weapons as well. Again, in vast swaths of the middle east, Iran is considered an enemy.

> that worked really well in Libya, Syria, Iraq, Afganistan....

I think that was the plan. Israeli and american and turkish planes are now freely flying over Syria , iraq, (i assume also afghanistan) to conduct attacks. Iran is being set up as theater for long proxy war. The rest of middle east and libya is controlled by turkey & israel which seem to have complementary interests as proxies of the US. At the moment it appears the US/israeli dominance in the whole former Ottoman empire is strong, but inevitably (and quickly) we will see dozens of unconventional wars in the region (what we call terrorism)

President can authorize precision strikes and special ops if there’s imminent threat justification. I’m not arguing either way if this strike was justified, but there’s legal pathways for it. The congress rule is about declaring war.

> the US / Israel want to topple the regime... that worked really well in Libya, Syria, Iraq, Afganistan....

Then, they wouldn't be organized enough to build a nuclear weapon. That would be a better outcome.

This information is just a google search away, so I’ll assume you’re willfully ignorant. No it’s not illegal. It can go on for 60 days before requiring authorization by Congress.

Why are people surprised when Trump does things illegally?