Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) urged President Donald Trump to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities instead of attempting to negotiate with the “diseased regime.”
The United States began talks with Iran this month, seeking a new deal that denuclearizes the country. The Trump administration has signaled it believes Tehran is dangerously close to acquiring a nuclear weapon, surging troops in the Middle East to project strength as Iran appears to stall negotiations.
Fetterman knocked the Trump administration for prioritizing diplomacy over blunt force as it looks to hold further talks next week in Rome between White House special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
“Waste that s**t,” he told the Washington Free Beacon on Wednesday. “You’re never going to be able to negotiate with that kind of regime that has been destabilizing the region for decades already, and now we have an incredible window, I believe, to do that, to strike and destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities.”
Launching air strikes would not trigger a broader regional conflict with Iranian proxies such as Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis, because the three groups have already been severely weakened due to strikes from the U.S. and other allies, Fetterman argued.
“[Hezbollah] couldn’t fight for s**t. And Hamas, literally, are just a bunch of tunnel rats with junkie rockets in the back of a Toyota truck,” he said. “And now the Houthis have been effectively neutered as well,” he said.
“So what’s left? You have Iran, and they have a nuclear facility, and it’s clearly only for weapons,” Fetterman continued.
The Pennsylvania senator also questioned Trump’s quest for a diplomatic solution with Iran after pulling the U.S. out of a deal former President Barack Obama made with the country during his first term. At the time, Trump led critics who argued Obama’s “insane” 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action failed to sufficiently curb Iran’s nuclear program, allowing Tehran free rein to develop ballistic missiles and fund terrorism.
“Years ago, I completely understood why Trump withdrew from the Obama deal. Today, I can’t understand why Trump would negotiate with this diseased regime. The negotiations should be comprised of 30,000-pound bombs and the [Israel Defense Forces],” Fetterman said.
Trump has said that while he is willing to carry out strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities, he wants to first exhaust all diplomatic options before launching a new war.
TRUMP ‘NOT IN A RUSH’ TO BOMB IRANIAN NUCLEAR FACILITIES
“I am not in a rush to do it because I think Iran has a chance to have a great country and to live happily without death, and I’d like to see that. That’s my first option,” the president said last week. “If there’s a second option, I think it would be very bad for Iran — and I think Iran is wanting to talk.”
Trump also said he sent a letter to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in March saying, “I hope you’re going to negotiate because if we have to go in militarily, it’s going to be a terrible thing.”
