Sunday, July 19, 2026

Trump ‘stupid enough’ to drag U.S. into needless war with Iran: Senator Van Hollen

Chris Van Hollen, a U.S. senator representing Maryland, has accused President Donald Trump of dragging America into a reckless armed conflict with Iran.

• March 4, 2026
Chris Van Hollen
Chris Van Hollen[Credit: Reuters]

Chris Van Hollen, a U.S. senator representing Maryland, has accused President Donald Trump of dragging America into a reckless armed conflict with Iran.

Mr Van Hollen, who made the accusations after a classified Senate briefing on the war with Iran on Tuesday, said, “We do know from Secretary Rubio that Netanyahu decided to strike Iran.

“So here we are, doing what Prime Minister Netanyahu said he wanted to do for 40 years, which was to attack Iran. “It’s just Netanyahu had not found a president stupid enough to drag the United States into that war before. And now Donald Trump has done it,” stated Mr Van Hollen.

Mr Van Hollen further accused Mr Trump of being incoherent about the rationales for the war with the Middle Eastern country, alleging the U.S. president broke his promise to Americans.

“There was no explanation for why Donald Trump broke his promise to the country when he said he wasn’t going to drag us into additional wars. If you get rid of the Iranian leadership, you’re very likely to get a much more, even more radical group in their place,” he explained.

While noting that the war had no clear endgame, the Maryland senator dismissed Mr Trump’s claim that Iran possessed nuclear capabilities that could get anywhere close to the U.S.

“We know Iran has no nuclear weapons capability. After all, the president told the country that it had been decimated last year. Iran has no ballistic missiles that can get anywhere close to the United States. Zero. They don’t have a clue as to what the end game is,” the lawmaker stated.

Iran has been attacking U.S. bases in Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, after the U.S. and Israel launched their airstrikes, killing the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and some of his regime officials.

At least 40 members of Mr Khamenei’s regime were killed in airstrikes over the weekend, with Mr Trump insisting the current armed conflict with Iran could run for four weeks.

Mr Trump had reportedly reached out to top Kurdish leaders in Iraq, including Masoud Barzani, chairman of the Masoud Barzani Kurdistan Democratic Party, and Bafel Talabani, leader of the Bafel Talabani Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, for cooperation over the ongoing U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran.

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