Democratic Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania continued to throw his full support behind Israel in its war with Iran this week, saying it’s “not warmongering,” it’s “peacemongering.”
Why It Matters
Israel and Iran have been lobbing missiles and strikes at one another since Israel first attacked Iran last week, decapitating Iran’s military and intelligence chain-of-command, destroying nuclear sites and killing key nuclear scientists. The conflict entered its seventh day on Thursday, with Iran launching a strike that hit a major hospital in Israel, injuring at least 240 people and causing extensive damage.
Israel subsequently accused Iran of crossing a “red line” and violating international law, and the country’s defense minister, Israel Katz, said Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei “should not continue to exist.”
The White House, meanwhile, said President Donald Trump will decide within two weeks whether the United States will join the conflict and launch a strike at Iran.
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What To Know
The rapidly escalating war has divided lawmakers and splintered President Donald Trump’s typically ironclad MAGA coalition, as isolationists warn about the U.S. getting mired in another “forever war” in the Middle East and foreign policy hawks support the United States intervening to stop Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
Fetterman, one of the most pro-Israel Democrats in Congress, weighed in on the prospect of U.S. involvement on Wednesday, telling reporters: “I’d like to point out … the polling has shown that, I think it’s effectively … 80 percent of Americans think that Iran should never acquire a nuclear weapon.”
“So, like, this isn’t shocking,” the Pennsylvania Democrat added. “You know, it’s like, this is not warmongering. This is peacemongering … I mean, that’s not controversial. It definitely shouldn’t be controversial for Democrats.”
Fetterman’s remarks stand in sharp contrast to those of lawmakers like Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, both of whom have advocated for Congress to impose limits on the president’s war powers and criticized the Trump administration for weighing further U.S. involvement in the conflict.
Joining progressive Democrats in their opposition are ultraconservative members of the House Freedom Caucus, like Representatives Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Chip Roy of Texas. The antiwar wing of the MAGA movement—which consists of figures like Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, former Fox News host Tucker Carlson and former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon—is also staunchly opposed to the U.S. playing a bigger role in the war.
On the other side of the coin are pro-Trump lawmakers and Iran hawks like South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham and Texas Senator Ted Cruz, both of whom have advocated for the U.S. to assist Israel in taking out Iran’s nuclear facilities. That includes providing Israel with bunker-busting munitions, without which Israel cannot destroy Iran’s the heart of Iran’s nuclear program located deep underground in Fordo.
A recent Washington Post survey also asked about 1,000 Americans whether they would support or oppose the U.S. launching airstrikes at Iran over its nuclear program. According to the poll, 45 percent of Americans oppose the move compared to 25 percent who said they would support a strike.
Among Republicans, 47 percent back a U.S. strike against Iran, while 53 percent said they are either unsure or oppose a strike. Meanwhile, just nine percent of Democrats said they would support the move, compared to 67 percent who oppose it and 24 percent who say they’re unsure.
The Post’s survey was conducted on June 18 and had a sample size of 1,008 U.S. adults. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.
What People Are Saying
Former Democratic Representative Dean Phillips reacted to Fetterman’s comments, telling Fox News: “I think Senator Fetterman is spot on. And let’s take Israel out of this equation for a moment. Independent of that question, the United States should be playing a role in ensuring they don’t acquire a nuclear weapon. I don’t think some Americans are aware of what a danger that is, but at the end of the day, even if we assist with a bunker-busting bomb or assist with air support, at the end of the day, if the Iranian people do not choose a new path forward, nothing will change and we will be doing this time and time again.
“The pendulum will swing back and forth. We are not good regime changers, I think it’s fair to say.”
What Happens Next
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump will make a decision on whether to strike Iran sometime in the next two weeks.
Update 6/19/25, 5:09 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with additional information and context.
