WATCH: Sen. John Kennedy: Trump Had “No Choice” But to Strike Iran
Senator John Kennedy is pushing back against growing criticism from Democrats over President Donald Trump’s recent military strikes against Iran.
During a new interview on Newsmax, Kennedy made the case that Trump’s actions were not the beginning of another endless Middle East conflict—but rather an effort to prevent a far larger and more dangerous war from erupting.
“President Trump did not start a war by entering Iran,” Kennedy said during the interview. “He is trying to stop a war.”
The Louisiana senator explained that intelligence briefings and basic strategic realities point to the same conclusion: Iran’s leadership had no intention of abandoning its nuclear ambitions.
According to Kennedy, Iran’s ruling regime—which he described as religious zealots—was actively rebuilding its military capabilities after previous strikes earlier this year.
“They were not going to ever stop trying to develop a nuclear warhead,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy noted that after the United States bombed Iranian targets in June, the regime quickly began rebuilding its missile arsenal and expanding weapons production.
“They were manufacturing hundreds of missiles a month,” he explained.
Even more concerning, Kennedy said, was Iran’s growing cooperation with global adversaries.
The regime’s strategy, according to the senator, involved working with China and Russia to produce such a massive stockpile of missiles that any attempt to strike Iran would risk triggering a regional catastrophe.
“Their game plan was to manufacture enough missiles with the help of China and Russia so that no one could attack them without them blowing up the entire Middle East,” Kennedy said.
“And we could not allow that to happen.”
Critics—particularly on the Left—have argued that Trump needed congressional authorization before launching the strikes. Some media outlets (like MSNOW, CNN) and Democrat lawmakers have framed the operation as the start of another Middle East war.
But Kennedy rejected that narrative, arguing that the military objectives are limited and clearly defined.
According to the senator, the mission has several specific goals: destroy Iran’s remaining nuclear weapons infrastructure, eliminate its missile and drone manufacturing capabilities, cripple its naval forces, and dismantle the military networks controlled by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.
“To destroy their manufacturing facilities for missiles and drones, to destroy their navy, which we have done,” Kennedy said.
“To destroy all the infrastructure for their army and the Revolutionary Guard.”
After those objectives are achieved, Kennedy said the United States intends to leave.
The goal is not long-term occupation or nation-building—policies widely blamed for America’s past failures in the Middle East.
Instead, the senator suggested the strikes could weaken the regime enough that the Iranian people may eventually challenge their rulers themselves.
“Hopefully we will have undermined the religious zealots sufficiently,” Kennedy said, “so that the people of Iran can rise up and try to do something about it.”
Kennedy also made clear that Trump has no interest in sending American troops into Iran.
“I do not believe the president will put boots on the ground,” he said. “I do not believe he wants to stay there permanently. I do not believe he wanted to do this.”
Kennedy added that the president ultimately faced a difficult reality.
“I think he had no choice.”
The debate over the strikes is likely to intensify in Washington in the coming days.
While many Democrats have criticized the operation, many Republicans argue that failing to act would have allowed Iran to expand its nuclear and missile programs even further—putting both the United States and its allies at risk.
For supporters of the president, Kennedy’s message is simple: Trump’s decision was not about starting a war.
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