Iranupdated 55m ago2 min read
Peter Thiel Says U.S. Should Not Have Started Iran War
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Thiel says the United States should not have started the Iran war and calls it a mistake. Privately at a Nashville conference on Oct. 12, Thiel criticized Iran war as a mistake.
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Thiel questions Iran war
Peter Thiel said he was skeptical of the U.S. war with Iran and told an audience, “I’m skeptical of [the war], I think we should not have done it.”
“‘I’m skeptical of [the war], I think we should not have done it,’ Thiel said.”
Thiel added, “There were a lot of mistakes that were made,” while speaking at a private event on Oct. 12, according to audio obtained by POLITICO.
Thiel’s remarks came less than two weeks before the midterm elections in which Trump’s party was grasping to maintain power in Congress, and the audio was obtained by POLITICO from a lecture earlier this month.
Thiel also warned that “Maybe we don’t have the hard power. Maybe we’re going to lose the soft power war,” as his criticism of the Iran war sat alongside continued support for President Donald Trump.
Thiel’s comments were described as his most explicit statements to be revealed publicly about the war with Iran, and they were delivered on Oct. 12 at a private event.
Break without leaving Trump
Thiel’s criticism did not lead him to abandon Trump, and the lecture audio described him as still supportive of the president while he questioned the war.
Thiel said, “Maybe we don’t have the hard power. Maybe we are going to lose the soft power war,” while the reporting tied the remarks to his opposition to neoconservatives and Middle East wars.
Thiel also framed his concerns around the International Criminal Court, saying, “I have come to suspect that the threat of an ICC arrest warrant is the sword of Damocles hanging over the Trumpadministration as it tries to persecute this war in Iran.”
Thiel’s remarks were linked to his continued political alignment, with the reporting noting that representatives for Thiel and the White House did not respond to requests for comment.
The reporting also said Thiel’s break over the war represented one of the most important examples to date of a fierce Trump ally sharing deep concerns about the conflict.
Nashville lecture, political stakes
Thiel delivered the remarks as part of his lecture series in Nashville, which Decoded documented since the start of the series this fall.
“I read the Cheney family’s Trump derangement syndrome as an attempt to buy favor with the [International Criminal Court] and avoid prosecution.”
The reporting said Thiel issued extensive warnings about what he described as the unchecked power of the International Criminal Court, drawing on comments from Bush-era figures Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney.
Thiel said he read “the Cheney family’s Trump derangement syndrome as an attempt to buy favor with the [International Criminal Court] and avoid prosecution,” and he added, “Probably too late.”
Thiel also recounted a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahuin early 2024, after the Oct. 7 attack, where he said he asked the leader about his plans in Gaza.
Thiel said Netanyahu told him, “I can’t just Dresdenize it,” referring to the Allied bombing of the German city of Dresden during World War II that killed roughly 25,000 people.