Peter Thiel admits Donald Trump’s war with Iran might have been a mistake: ‘I think we should not have done it’

Billionaire tech leader and key Republican donor Peter Thiel has concluded that, actually, going to war with Iran might not have been the smartest move. Thiel delivered a private lecture on Oct. 12 in Nashville, though his words are only now being reported.

Per Politico, he told attendees, “I’m skeptical of [the war], I think we should not have done it,” admitted that “There were a lot of mistakes that were made,” and made a gloomy prediction for the future: “Maybe we don’t have the hard power. Maybe we’re going to lose the soft power war.”

Donald Trump’s decision to attack Iran looks set to become one of the most consequential decisions from either of his two presidencies. The most obvious impact, at least for regular Americans, was a spike in fuel prices and its impact on the cost of living. This would be bad news for any president, but especially bad news with crucial midterm elections looming.

“Mistakes that were made”

As such, many prominent figures on the right like Thiel have been gradually and gently distancing themselves from Trump’s war with Iran, urging the administration to bring the conflict to an end as quickly as possible. For example, during the Michigan Senate race, Mike Rogers said, “The war with Iran needs to end and end quickly,” and during the Iowa Senate race, Ashley Hinson said voters, “shouldn’t have to foot the bill at the pump or the checkout line for the war in Iran.”

But Thiel reportedly emphasized that while he doesn’t think attacking Iran was a good idea, he will continue to support Trump and, as Politico put it, he wants to “protect the president.” Thiel also touched on his meetings with Benjamin Netanyahu, claiming that the two met in early 2024 and discussed what Israel was planning to do to Gaza.

As per Thiel, Netanyahu told him, “I can’t just Dresdenize it,” referring to the Allied bombing campaign against the German city towards the end of World War II that left large swathes of the city as a heap of grey rubble. Much of Gaza is now a heap of grey rubble, so it seems that Netanyahu may have been mistaken on that one.

Regardless, it’ll be interesting to see if Thiel’s position on Trump shifts after the November midterms. If they’re as punishing for Republicans as the polls suggest Trump may be left mortally wounded (in political terms) and all eyes will move to the 2028 presidential race, where the Republican candidate will have to choose whether to say they’re Trump’s heir or make a break with his legacy.