Trump and Netanyahu 'launched this war unilaterally': Van Hollen questions President's Iran narrative

President Donald Trump is facing a lot of backlash from Democrats over the war in Iran, with many claiming that the President has been providing Americans with confusing updates that limit clarity on how long these updates could last. From promising to "obliterate" Iran's nuclear programme to reigniting a hot war over the same, Trump has yet to provide a definite roadmap on how he intends the Iran conflict to end. The U.S. Senator from Maryland, Chris Van Hollen, recently amplified the criticism of the Iran conflict by claiming that the President was not truthful about the war.

"Of course, it is never good to have a President who lies to the country. But it is especially dangerous to have a President who lies to the country during a time of war. And yet, that's what Donald Trump does," Van Hollen said. Explaining his statement, Van Hollen recalled Trump's campaign promises about ending "forever wars," specifically in the Middle East. Van Hollen claimed that the reason why Trump went to war with Iran in the first place was a farce in itself. "Donald Trump said that the United States was facing an imminent threat from Iran," he said, adding, "But all the US intelligence agencies said the opposite. The reality is that Donald Trump and Bibi Netanyahu launched this war against Iran unilaterally."

Notably, in light of Van Hollen's statement, an incident that became the talk of the town was the Joe Kent, who served as the Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC). In a highly publicized resignation letter, Kent claimed that Iran "posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby." 

Van Hollen also spoke about recent comments that President Trump has made about having conversations with the Iranian leadership. "He says that Iran wants to talk to the United States about negotiating an end to the war. But he, Donald Trump, doesn't want to talk. Well, that was a lie," the Democratic Senator said. He then claimed that it was Iran who refused to speak to the American leadership, as they were not the ones to have started the war. "And now Donald Trump says he is talking to the Iranians about negotiating the end of the war, but the Iranians said no, they're not talking. This has got to end," Van Hollen said.