Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) is breaking with his party over the Iran conflict, accusing fellow Democrats and the media of giving Tehran hope that it can outlast U.S. military pressure. In a Fox News interview Wednesday, Fetterman said the constant pushback on President Trump's operations is exactly what Iran wants to see.
“It’s almost as if, you know, we’ve forgotten on the Democratic side that the real enemy, the real threat, the real danger is Iran and … proxies too,” Fetterman said. He argued that the message being sent is that if Iran can endure missile strikes and a naval blockade for a few more weeks, domestic political forces will force Trump to back down.
“You know, Iran must be so excited by the American media and the Democratic Party the way they, it’s like, as long as we can hang on for 60 days, more and more people continue to vote against, you know, the Trump Administration to end the Iranian regime,” he added.
The Pennsylvania senator expressed bewilderment that Democrats, many of whom share the goal of preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, are so critical of the means to achieve it. “And so, why can we be this close and allow them to acquire nuclear bomb? So, that’s my real concern,” he said.
Senate Democrats have forced a fifth vote under the 1973 War Powers Act to direct Trump to withdraw troops from the conflict. Fetterman was the sole Democrat to oppose the resolution. This latest round of pressure comes amid a poll showing three-quarters of Americans support a ceasefire, even as the administration insists its objectives remain unmet.
Fetterman recently called his party’s response “very disappointing” and said some Democrats seem to be “rooting” for Iran out of sheer opposition to Trump. “It seems like people are almost rooting for Iran. It’s crazy,” he told video journalist Nicholas Ballasy. “So my party has been very disappointing, the way they’ve chosen to respond.”
The criticism follows an incident involving Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), who reposted a report that 26 ships had slipped through the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports with the comment “Awesome.” Republicans seized on the post as evidence of disloyalty. Murphy later clarified it was sarcasm, writing, “As I have said a million times here, it’s a disaster and he should end the war immediately. My tweet was something called ‘sarcasm.’”
Fetterman’s stance highlights a deepening rift within the Democratic Party over foreign policy, particularly when it comes to confronting Iran. While some lawmakers are pushing for de-escalation and questioning the war's cost, Fetterman argues that media spin on the conflict is eroding public trust in the mission and giving Tehran a strategic advantage. For now, he remains an isolated voice in his caucus, warning that the party’s anti-war impulse could have dangerous consequences.
