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“Israel Made Us Do It” — Senator Chris Murphy Says — “Netanyahu Decided He Wanted to Attack, and He Convinced Trump to Join Him by Scaring Trump”

  • Rob Glenn
  • March 10, 2026
“Israel Made Us Do It” — Senator Chris Murphy Says — “Netanyahu Decided He Wanted to Attack, and He Convinced Trump to Join Him by Scaring Trump”

Senator Chris Murphy suggested that Israel played a decisive role in pushing the United States into its current war with Iran, raising questions about the origins and objectives of the conflict. His comments came on the tenth day of the conflict, known as Operation Epic Fury, as U.S. casualties, rising energy prices, and uncertainty about the administration’s long-term strategy continue to dominate debate in Washington.

During the interview with host Nicolle Wallace, Murphy pointed to what he described as shifting explanations from the administration about why the United States entered the war. Asked why the conflict began if Iran’s nuclear program is no longer considered a central objective, Murphy replied that one explanation may be that Israel drove the decision. “The simplest explanation might be the one that they gave 24 hours in, that they’ve kind of tried to backtrack since then, which is that Israel made us do it,” Murphy said. He added that Benjamin Netanyahu may have chosen the timing of the attack and convinced President Donald Trump to join the operation by arguing that American assets in the region were at risk.

Murphy argued that the war has proceeded without clear authorization from Congress, which the Constitution assigns the authority to declare war. He said lawmakers had just received another classified briefing on the conflict but that the administration has not publicly presented a consistent explanation for the mission. “The most sacred responsibility that a commander in chief has is the decision on when to send our men and women into war,” Murphy said, adding that Congress and the public have yet to see open hearings explaining why the conflict was necessary.

The Connecticut senator also described the briefings as inconsistent and confusing, saying that the administration’s objectives appear to change frequently. At one point during the interview, Murphy said the Department of Defense had told lawmakers that eliminating Iran’s nuclear program was not an objective of the war, even as some supporters of the operation publicly cited it as the primary justification. “Every single hour, the objectives that they state publicly and privately for this war change,” Murphy said, describing the situation as “totally incoherent.”

He also argued that the conflict may increase security risks rather than reduce them. Murphy said federal counterterrorism capabilities have been weakened at the same time the risk of retaliation could be growing, particularly from militant groups aligned with Iran. “Not only are they not standing up protection against terrorist attacks,” Murphy said of the administration, “they are weakening our ability to find those plots and stop them,” warning that threats could rise in response to the widening conflict.