MAGA Rep. Anna Paulina Luna insisted that U.S. airstrikes on Iran, ordered by President Donald Trump, do not amount to war. Trump has described the operation in wartime terms, and U.S. officials confirmed there were American casualties.
Luna, a Republican from Florida, made these comments during an appearance on MS NOW’s The Weekend Primetime. She argued that the U.S. campaign should be seen as limited military action, not war, because there are no U.S. ground forces entering Iran. “We are not invading. Are you seeing boots on the ground there? Because I’m not,” Luna said. “Targeting strategic military sites and invasions are two totally different things. Strategic strikes are not war.”
The hosts challenged Luna’s definition of war during the interview. Elise Jordan told Luna that her standard “makes no sense” and pressed her with a hypothetical question about whether an attack on the United States would count as war if there were no ground troops involved.
Luna responded by stating that Iran “has killed thousands of Americans,” adding, “by definition, they’ve already declared war on the United States.” Anchor Ayman Mohyeldin asked her when Iran had killed thousands of Americans. Luna cited Iranian “state-sponsored terrorism” over “the past few decades,” along with recently reported U.S. deaths linked to the current operation. Mohyeldin told Luna she had said “a lot of things that are incorrect” during the segment.
Trump announced the start of “major combat operations” against Iran early Saturday. He warned that Americans could be killed. In a transcript of the statement published by Global News, Trump said, “The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost, and we may have casualties. That often happens in war.”
AYMAN: Can you tell me where Iran killed thousands of Americans in America?
ANNA PAULINA LUNA: I said they are responsible for thousands of Americans being killed
AYMAN: Where?
LUNA: Are you serious right now?
AYMAN: It seems like you don’t want to have a good faith… pic.twitter.com/Uza0TAWdEy
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 2, 2026
On Sunday, U.S. Central Command reported that three U.S. service members were killed and five were seriously wounded during operations related to the Iran offensive. Reuters reported that two U.S. officials said the deaths occurred at a base in Kuwait, and additional U.S. troops suffered minor shrapnel injuries and concussions.
In a Truth Social video cited by The Associated Press, Trump said, “And sadly, there will likely be more before it ends. That’s the way it is. Likely be more, but we’ll do everything possible to prevent that.”
Reuters reported that U.S. aircraft and warships struck more than 1,000 Iranian targets after Trump ordered the operation, including B-2 bombers dropping 2,000-pound munitions on underground missile facilities.
Public support for the strikes appeared limited. A Reuters/Ipsos poll that concluded on Sunday found that 27% of Americans approved of the strikes, 43% disapproved, and 29% were unsure.
The debate over whether the U.S. is “at war” continues. The administration and its allies describe the mission as a focused campaign aimed at Iran’s military capabilities. Meanwhile, opponents argue that the scale of combat, the risk of escalation, and the reported U.S. casualties fit any common understanding of war.
