What Tommy Vietor has said about United States war with Iran

Vietor alleges the administration is lying about casualties and costs of the Iran war and urges oversight hearings.

“I think they're lying about the casualty count. I think the Pentagon is lying about the cost”

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Vietor says Iran is correctly betting that Trump does not want to return to war before the midterms.

“they're betting that Trump doesn't want to go back to war before the midterms. And I think they are right”

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Vietor argued Trump has given up his leverage over Iran, making a better deal unlikely.

“Trump's leverage is just gone. He's given the sanctions relief. The threat of military action is gone”

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Vietor argued presidents are punished politically when they are perceived to have lost a war.

“if you end a war and are perceived to have lost the war, I think voters will punish you”

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Vietor said the best outcome is the war ending, while arguing Iran got the better of the deal.

“I mean, look, big picture, the best outcome is the war being over”

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Vietor says Trump calling the Iran talks boring should have been career-ending given the war's human and economic costs.

“It's just hard to wrap your head around a politician saying that, a president saying that, and it not being a career ending moment”

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Vietor argues that restarting the war would be unlikely to topple the Iranian regime but would cause regional economic chaos.

“he can restart the war, which is extremely unlikely to lead to regime change, but will certainly lead to economic chaos in the region”

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Vietor argues that trying to inflict enough pain to make Iran capitulate is a flawed strategy because the IRGC is indifferent to its people and holds the weapons.

“I still think that's a flawed strategy because the IRGC doesn't give a shit about their own people and they have all the guns”

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Vietor argued the Iran stalemate is humiliating for the U.S. because Trump started a war he cannot end.

“Not just, though, because J.D. Vance is sitting on a tarmac in Islamabad, but because Trump has started a war and he has no ability to end it”

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Vietor relayed that international law professor Oona Hathaway told him carrying out Trump's threats would be a war crime.

“She said it would be a war crime to carry out those threats. Destroying civilian infrastructure to foment civil unrest is clearly unlawful”

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Vietor argued that destroying all power plants serving 90 million people would be clear-cut collective punishment under the Geneva Conventions.

“explicitly threatening to bomb all of the power plants serving a country of 90 million people. That's about as clear cut of a war crime as I could think of”

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Vietor warned that Iranian retaliation against Gulf desalination plants would create a regional humanitarian catastrophe.

“when the Iranians respond by hitting desalination plants in Kuwait and Iraq and all these places. And then you have a genuine humanitarian catastrophe throughout the Gulf”

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Vietor said Trump's disclosure of rescue details risked exposing intelligence capabilities still needed in an ongoing conflict.

“the cia is bragging about creating a disinformation campaign to help the pilot get out of iran feels like those assets or tools would be useful as it's an ongoing conflict”

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Vietor said he saw no logic in Iran accepting a 45-day ceasefire and had no hope for a deal.

“I don't see the logic of this for them in any way. It seems like they've rejected the ceasefire”

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