The Corner

The Democrats’ Iran Gamble

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Left: California Governor Gavin Newsom at the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, February 13, 2026. Right: Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., March 5, 2025.

Liesa Johannssen, Kent Nishimura/Reuters

It’s not just the progressive activists in Congress who are seeking advice on how to approach the politics of the Iran war from the most unreliable narrators in America. It seems that the Democratic Party, broadly, has concluded that the roughly 120-hour-old campaign is a disaster that the public is destined to despise.

New Mexico Senator Martin Heinrich told Semafor, “This seems like a really stupid f***ing idea.” Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez agreed. “I, of course, personally, substantively, and vocally oppose war with Iran,” she said. This positioning aligns with the advice the progressives are getting from the likes of Islamic Republic lobbyist Trita Parsi and foreign-affairs hobbyist Ben Rhodes.

Noah Rothman

About the Author

Noah Rothman

Noah Rothman is a senior writer at National Review. His third book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence, was published by Hachette in May 2026.

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