Jon Ossoff claims Trump lied us into war, but here’s why U.S. is in Iran
For most of our nation’s history, partisan politics stopped at the water’s edge.
Americans argued vigorously at home, but when conflict emerged abroad, we shared a common goal: Ensure our troops prevailed, and our country remained secure.
That consensus has eroded with the rise of the modern left. Embracing a strategy of resistance, the modern left has opposed every action taken by the Trump administration to defend the American people, facts notwithstanding.
U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., exemplifies this trend. With an arrogant certainty, Sen. Ossoff speaks about the origins, objectives and future consequences of the war against Iran.
He accuses the president of lying America into a war and insists that Iran posed no genuine threat to the United States. He dismisses American military operations as ineffective and claims the administration is recklessly depleting the nation’s munitions and oil reserves.
Both Sen. Ossoff and I serve on our respective chamber’s intelligence committees. We have access to the same classified intelligence information and are bound by the same oath not to disclose it. That said, we also share a responsibility not to mislead the American people about matters of war and peace.
War is costly, but a nuclear Iran would be costlier
Sen. Ossoff’s claims that the war was unprovoked and Iran poses no threat to the United States are contradicted by decades of documented behavior.
For nearly 50 years, the Islamic Republic of Iran has treated the United States as an enemy. Iran and its proxies have attacked American troops, bombed American diplomatic facilities, taken Americans hostage and supplied weapons and intelligence to kill American service members across the region.
The regime arms Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis and Iraqi militias. It threatens international shipping lanes and continues developing increasingly capable missiles and drones. These are documented actions by a terrorist regime.
Iran chose to escalate tensions by continuing to enrich uranium far beyond the 5% limit established under the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. This is not a political talking point; it is a documented finding of the International Atomic Energy Agency that Iran had achieved 60% enrichment.
The war is costly, but allowing Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon would be far costlier. That is why President Donald Trump ordered Operation Midnight Hammer on June 22, 2025, weeks after the IAEA warned of Iran’s “rapid accumulation of over 400 kilograms of highly enriched uranium.”
If further enriched, that stockpile could have yielded material for 10 nuclear weapons. Yet, Sen. Ossoff claims that President Trump “lied” America into war, dismissing the very IAEA findings he once relied upon to defend the JCPOA.
Sen. Ossoff further argues that the war is solely about regime change. While I hope the Iranian people one day enjoy a free government, that is not the mission American forces are executing. The military campaign is focused on countering missile threats, addressing nuclear concerns, ensuring maritime security and protecting our forces.
Despite the claims of those afflicted with Trump Derangement Syndrome, these operations have yielded significant results: substantial damage to Fordow, Natanz, Esfahan and other nuclear infrastructure; destruction of Iranian missiles, launchers, production sites, naval assets and air defenses. Our military has been remarkably successful in degrading Iran’s capabilities, a fact that Sen. Ossoff seems unwilling to recognize.
Trump did not ignore international warnings
Sen. Ossoff continues to claim that President Trump inherited full stockpiles of munitions and oil and then recklessly depleted them. The facts tell a different story. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve had already been substantially drawn before the 2026 conflict.
In 2020, when oil prices collapsed, President Trump sought to refill the reserve at a historically advantageous moment, but Senate Democrats blocked the purchase. The Biden administration later tapped the SPR even further, ultimately leaving it 37% less than what President Trump had maintained in 2020.
President Trump ordered American forces into combat based on a credible threat and understands the responsibility of that decision. Calling it “Trump’s war” is political branding, not analysis. I am grateful that this president did not ignore the IAEA’s warnings or hope the problem would conveniently disappear before the next election. Many presidents would have.
Sen. Ossoff’s rhetoric may help him rationalize his support of the JCPOA, but claiming the president “lied” America into war is absolutely false. We all recognize it is the political season, but on matters of national security, the American people deserve honesty, not partisan theater from their elected officials.
Congressman Austin Scott is in his eighth term serving Georgia’s Eighth District in the U.S. House of Representatives. A Republican, he serves on the House permanent select intelligence, armed services and agriculture committees.
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