Billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel, a major Republican donor and early Trump backer, said he opposes the U.S. war with Iran and believes the country should not have launched it. The remarks put Thiel at odds with President Donald Trump over one of the administration’s biggest foreign policy decisions, POLITICO reported.
Thiel spoke on Oct. 12 at a private event in Nashville, less than two weeks before the midterm elections. Decoded by POLITICO obtained audio of the talk, which was part of a lecture series Thiel has been giving this fall.
What Thiel said
“I’m skeptical of the war, I think we should not have done it,” Thiel told the audience. He said the administration made many mistakes, and he questioned whether the United States has the hard power to win. He also warned that Washington could lose the contest for global influence, which analysts call soft power.
Thiel used the same lecture to attack neoconservatives and Middle East wars in general. He kept his criticism narrow, though. He repeated that he still supports Trump, and he suggested he wants to protect the president.
The International Criminal Court claim
Much of the talk focused on the International Criminal Court. Thiel argued the court holds too much unchecked power. He said he suspects the threat of an ICC arrest warrant hangs over Trump administration officials as they pursue the Iran war. He also said critics from the Cheney family were trying to win favor with the court.
In the same lecture, Thiel described a conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in early 2024, after the Oct. 7 attack. Thiel said he asked about Israel’s plans in Gaza, and Netanyahu answered that he could not flatten the territory the way Allied bombers flattened Dresden in World War II.
Why it matters
POLITICO calls the comments one of the clearest examples so far of a committed Trump ally voicing deep doubts about the war. Thiel was the first big tech investor to back Trump in 2016 and spoke at that year’s Republican National Convention. He was also the largest financial backer of the super PACs that supported Vice President JD Vance’s 2022 Senate campaign. POLITICO reported in March that Vance was skeptical about striking Iran before the war began.
The war has split Republicans and has pushed up fuel prices. For the latest on the fighting and its effect on shipping, see our report on the tanker attacks in the Strait of Hormuz.
Representatives for Thiel and the White House did not respond to POLITICO’s requests for comment.
