WASHINGTON — Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said Saturday that President Donald Trump’s war with Iran is “turning into our next forever war.” He added that Trump and Republicans have “deluded themselves” into believing that further strikes will bring victory. The post came days after a report that the U.S. and Israeli militaries have drawn up plans for renewed strikes on Iran after the midterm elections.
Van Hollen posted the following on X at 3:44 p.m. on Oct. 24, 2026:
Trump’s illegal Iran war is turning into our next forever war.
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 Report Behind the Post
The New York Times reported on Oct. 21 that U.S. and Israeli forces have developed specific plans for renewed strikes on Iran after the American midterm elections. The report cited U.S. officials and other people briefed on the deliberations, all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military planning.
As planning for a short but intensive operation advances, the two militaries have stepped up exercises, including flights over Iraq to practice strike maneuvers. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel this week to discuss new strikes, U.S. officials said. Likely targets include Iran’s energy infrastructure, nuclear facilities, and missile and drone arsenals.
The article said there are reasons for skepticism that a renewed campaign would succeed where the first phase, between February and April, did not. That phase drove up energy prices and inflation worldwide, eroded security in the Middle East and strained the Pentagon’s supply of missile interceptors. It also said Trump has repeatedly vetoed plans for a return to major combat, including earlier this month, when the militaries were nearly ready to attack.
The report also described a nuclear-site option. Trump said last week that he was considering a 22,000-pound GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb against Pickaxe Mountain, a deeply buried Iranian site. Weapons specialists told the paper the bomb detonates above ground and would be unlikely to destroy a granite underground facility. Military officials warned that its delivery aircraft would be vulnerable to Iranian air defenses.
Iranian officials, the report said, have promised to widen their targets in response, to include data centers and underwater internet cables. Mahdi Mohammadi, an adviser to Iran’s lead negotiator, said on social media this week that the idea of finishing another round of strikes within 72 hours was a “fantasy.” He noted that Trump said in February the war would last two weeks. A White House official said the administration does not comment on military plans that may or may not exist, and that Trump is keeping all options open to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
Van Hollen’s Record on the Iran War
Van Hollen’s position that Congress alone holds the power to take the nation to war with Iran predates the current conflict. In a statement on his vote for S.J. Res. 68, an earlier Iran war powers resolution, he said the Commander in Chief’s power to protect the nation is “not a blank check to go to war.” He said Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign had produced only failure and urged the administration to work with Congress on a real strategy.
After U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites in June 2025, Van Hollen said Trump had abandoned diplomacy and risked pulling the country into another long conflict in the Middle East. He noted that the U.S. intelligence community had repeatedly assessed that Iran was not building a nuclear weapon. He also compared the situation to the last major war in the region, saying “The war in Iraq was also started under false pretenses.”
When the current war began in late February, Van Hollen called it an “illegal, regime-change war” and said the Senate must immediately vote on a War Powers Resolution to stop it. As the conflict continued, he filed a resolution that could be used to force a Senate vote. He joined a group of Democrats, including Sens. Tim Kaine, Jeff Merkley, Adam Schiff and Kirsten Gillibrand, in filing a new wave of such measures.
In remarks on the Senate floor on July 23, Van Hollen said both chambers had passed House Concurrent Resolution 86 the previous month, directing the president to end hostilities with Iran. He described it as the first time since 1973 that Congress had used that mechanism against a president. The Senate then rejected his new resolution, S.J. Res. 180, by a 47-49 vote, according to a statement from Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), who voted for it.
In the same remarks, Van Hollen described a pattern of repeated promises of quick victory: “just one more bombing campaign would finally produce lasting peace.” He recalled that Hegseth had told the country after last year’s strikes that the bombing had eliminated Iran’s ability to build nuclear weapons, and that Trump said the same. He also noted that when Trump was asked on March 1 how long the war would last, the president said the U.S. had already won.
What Comes Next
The Oct. 21 report said the U.S. will not have its full complement of forces in place until early November. That includes three aircraft carriers, thousands of Marines, fighter jets and Special Operations forces. It added that Trump made his own promise earlier this month not to strike before the election, and that Israel’s Oct. 27 election could complicate any timeline. Van Hollen’s post made no reference to those details and ended with a single demand: “This war must end NOW.”