As Democrats line up to denounce President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s joint strikes on Iran’s ruling regime, Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., is doing the opposite, forcefully defending the operation and rebuking members of his own party who call it reckless.
The Pennsylvania Democrat, who has increasingly staked out unapologetic pro-Israel positions, has openly questioned why critics from both the far-right and far-left are making hay over the strikes, arguing the operation was necessary to counter Tehran’s aggression. His stance is widening a visible fracture inside the party over how far to back Israel amid escalating regional tensions.
On Monday, Fetterman wrote that he’s “not sure why it’s controversial to anyone to appreciate and celebrate wiping out 49 leaders of one of the most evil regimes in recorded history,” after Trump announced the potentially four-week mission was ahead of schedule after discovering several top Iranian officials being targeted were reportedly in the same area and could be taken out at once.
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After the initial strike on Saturday, Fetterman reposted an image from the “Israel War Room” that showed a Wanted-style poster of Ayatollah Ali Hosseini Khamenei with the word “Eliminated” burned across it.
“Let’s see who grieves for that garbage,” Fetterman captioned.
The former Pennsylvania lieutenant governor later credited Trump, saying in a statement that he “has been willing to do what’s right and necessary to produce real peace in the region.”
“God bless the United States, our great military, and Israel.”
He also openly questioned members of his own caucus, who have otherwise agreed that Iran cannot be permitted to nuclearize.
“Every member in the U.S. Senate agrees we cannot allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon,” he wrote on X.
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“I’m baffled why so many are unwilling to support the only action to achieve that. Empty sloganeering vs. commitment to global security — which is it?”
He said Saturday he would be a “hard no” if Democrats forced a war powers resolution vote to claw back Trump’s authority.
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., told Richmond press on Monday that he intends to press for a vote on a War Powers Resolution he filed in January focused on Iran.
Kaine wondered aloud in a separate public statement whether Trump is “too mentally incapacitated to realize we had a diplomatic agreement with Iran…”
“The Senate should immediately return to session and vote on my War Powers Resolution to block the use of U.S. forces in hostilities against Iran. Every single Senator needs to go on the record about this dangerous, unnecessary, and idiotic action,” Kaine said.
Fetterman was not the only Democrat to sound off on critics of the Iran strike. Former New York Mayor Eric Adams, who is also a former NYPD officer, lambasted what he called the political fringes for ignoring the human rights abuses, mass murder and attacks on Americans committed by Khamenei, 86, and his predecessor, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
Rep. Gregory Landsman, D-Ohio, also praised the operation against Iran and compared the killing of Khamenei to taking out Usama bin Laden, but stopped short of endorsing Trump’s broader plans.
“There’s a lot of folks in Congress who don’t trust this president and I’m one of those people. In the end I trust the generals and I trust our military,” he told the Cincinnati Enquirer.
