U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, said on Saturday that President Donald Trump and Republicans “have deluded themselves” into thinking that “the next strike or another bombing campaign will finally bring victory” in Iran, sharing a New York Times report published Wednesday that said the United States and Israel had drawn up plans for renewed strikes on Iran after the Nov. 3 midterm elections. “This war must end NOW,” he wrote.
“Trump’s illegal Iran war is turning into our next forever war,” Van Hollen wrote in a post on X. “8 months in, Trump & Republicans have deluded themselves into thinking the next strike or another bombing campaign will finally bring victory. From Vietnam to Iraq, we know how this ends. This war must end NOW.”
The post included a screenshot of the Times headline, “U.S. and Israel Draw Up Plans for Renewed Strikes on Iran After Elections,” with a subheading saying renewed hostilities “might not be any more successful than the war’s first phase, and President Trump has repeatedly canceled plans for a return to major combat.”
Citing U.S. officials and other people briefed on the deliberations, all speaking on condition of anonymity, the Times reported that the two militaries had developed specific plans for “a short but intensive operation” after the midterms and had stepped up exercises, flying planes over Iraq to practice strike maneuvers. Hegseth met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel that week to discuss new strikes, U.S. officials told the paper. Likely targets include Iran’s energy infrastructure, nuclear facilities and missile and drone arsenal, possibly including Pickaxe Mountain, a deeply buried nuclear site, the paper reported. Some officials said the targeting would avoid refineries and oil infrastructure because Trump wants to prevent even higher gas prices.
Some U.S. planners believe “an intensive three-day campaign” could cause enough economic damage to change Iran’s position, the Times reported, and the United States will not have its full complement of forces, including three aircraft carriers, in place until early November. The paper also reported that Trump has repeatedly vetoed plans to return to major combat, including early this month, when the two militaries had placed their air forces on the highest state of alert, and that officials see only a small possibility of strikes before the U.S. vote. Israel’s own election on Oct. 27 could complicate the plans, the paper reported.
The report also laid out doubts about a renewed campaign. “At this point in the war, what is clear is that the conventional military campaign waged to date, and the current punishing economic sanctions and American naval blockade, have not brought the regime back to the negotiating table in a meaningful way,” Dana Stroul, the Pentagon’s top Middle East policy official in the Biden administration, told the Times. Iranian officials have threatened to expand retaliation to data centers and underwater internet cables, and Mahdi Mohammadi, an adviser to Iran’s chief negotiator, called the idea of a 72-hour U.S. campaign a “fantasy,” the paper reported.
ABC News reported on Thursday, citing two Israeli sources, that the two militaries had also drawn up plans to renew joint strikes and that the plans were discussed during Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s unannounced visit to Israel that week. Both sources said the decision was “only for Trump to decide,” the network reported.
The White House has said no strikes will come before the vote. “The United States will not be attacking Iran at any time prior to the midterm elections,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement to ABC News. A White House official said the administration does not comment on “sensitive military plans that may or may not exist” and that Trump “keeps all options on the table” to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. The Pentagon declined to comment.
Trump addressed the possibility of new strikes on Saturday as he took questions from reporters in Palm Beach, Florida, after voting early. “I may have to finish it off or maybe they’ll make a deal, but I’m not sure. Uh, either way we win,” he said.
Asked later how far along he was on a possible attack, he replied, “do you really think I’m gonna tell you?” He added: “If I’m going to do it, and there’s a possibility I will, there’s also a possibility we’ll have a nice, big, beautiful agreement.”
In the same answer, Trump defended the length of the campaign. “I could have done the B-2 bomber thing a year ago and left,” he said, adding that Iran “would have somehow figured a way to make a nuclear bomb. I’ve got to make it permanent. That’s the only reason I’m doing it as long as I’m doing.”
The United States and Israel began striking Iran on Feb. 28, nearly eight months before Van Hollen’s post. U.S. strikes resumed on July 7 after a spring ceasefire, and Trump told Congress in a July 10 War Powers letter that he “acted pursuant to my constitutional authority as Commander in Chief.” Congress has not declared war on Iran or passed a specific authorization for the use of military force.
Van Hollen has voted to end U.S. involvement. On Sept. 24, the Senate rejected by 49-50 a concurrent resolution, H.Con.Res. 89, directing the removal of U.S. forces from hostilities with Iran, according to the Senate roll call. Van Hollen voted in favor, as did four Republicans: Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Rand Paul and Thom Tillis. Democrat John Fetterman voted against it.
As of early Sunday, neither the White House nor Republican leaders had responded to Van Hollen’s post on X.
The descriptions of the conflict as “illegal” and a “forever war,” and the claim that Trump and Republicans “have deluded themselves,” are Van Hollen’s characterizations; the administration says the strikes rest on the president’s constitutional authority, and Republican senators were not unanimous, with four voting for the withdrawal resolution. His “8 months” figure is consistent with the record, as the war began on Feb. 28. The reported post-election strike plans rest on anonymous officials, the White House has declined to confirm them, Trump has repeatedly called off planned strikes, and he has said publicly that a deal with Iran remains possible.