Senator Rand Paul isn’t holding back, openly warning President Trump that any military intervention in Iran would completely backfire and actually hurt the country’s ongoing freedom movement, as per The Hill. The Kentucky Republican, known for his libertarian views, expressed serious skepticism about the administration’s threats to intervene if the Iranian regime continues its violent crackdown on peaceful demonstrators.
Paul said he shares President Trump’s desire to see the protesters succeed in pushing back against Tehran, but he believes bombing the country is the absolute wrong move to achieve that goal. Paul laid out a chilling warning about the unintended consequences of foreign intervention. He noted that while everyone hopes a freedom movement will overwhelm the authoritarian government, military action usually has the opposite effect.
“The only problem I have with saying, ‘Oh, we’re going to bomb Iran,’ is that sometimes it has the opposite effect,” Paul explained. “So, when you bomb a country, then people tend to rally around their own flag. They tend to see this [as] … a foreign country coming in and bombing us. And so, I don’t think it always has that effect.” He stressed that while he hopes the freedom movement survives, he just doesn’t see how bombing Iran would produce the intended result.
This debate comes as nationwide protests challenging Iran’s strict theocracy have been raging for weeks
The Iranian regime is responding with a brutal crackdown. Activists estimate that a staggering 538 people have died in connection with the protests, and another 10,600 individuals have been detained. Gauging the exact numbers is incredibly difficult right now because the internet is down across the country, and phone lines have been cut off. This digital blackout is awful for human rights monitoring.
President Trump has been very vocal about the potential for US action. Earlier this month, the president issued a stark warning, stating that the US is ready to step in if the killing continues. “If Iran [shoots] and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go,” President Trump said.
Paul strongly disagrees with the notion that military intervention is the right path forward, stating bluntly that he doesn’t think “it’s the job of the American government to be involved with every freedom movement around the world.”
Instead, Paul offered a more diplomatic and less destructive approach. He argued that the “best way” to support the protests is simply to encourage them. The US should make it clear that it would recognize a new government that is “freedom-loving” and allows free elections. Furthermore, Paul raised a major constitutional objection to the president acting unilaterally.
“Plus, there is this sticking point of the Constitution that we won’t let presidents bomb countries just when they feel like it,” he said. “They’re supposed to ask the people, through the Congress, for permission.” It’s a good reminder that even when trying to support a worthy cause like democracy, the president still needs to follow the rules outlined in the Constitution. We can’t just bypass checks and balances because we feel strongly about a situation overseas.
Published: Jan 12, 2026 10:30 am