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Tim Kaine: “After Iran overtook our embassy, we funded Iraq to wage war…”

Featuring: Tim Kaine, Democratic | U.S. Senate from Virginia

The Iran War Needs to End

Published May 12, 2026 | Video Starts at 09:11

We didn't have to do that, but we did it. And Secretary Hegseth and the President never mention that. They don't mention that. After Iran overtook our embassy, we funded Iraq to wage war on Iran. We gave Iraq funds, we gave Iraq intel. and in a seven or eight year war, Iraq, we funded Saddam Hussein to wage war against Iran. Hundreds of thousands of Iranians were killed and they knew the US was partially responsible for it. (09:11–09:22)

CLAIM

Asserts that the US funded and provided intelligence to Iraq to wage war on Iran.

This is an excerpt from a raw transcript. The assertions have not been audited or verified. Tap the video to view the source footage and understand the context.

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Tim Kaine

“In 1953, the US through the CIA, engineered a coup. We toppled the democratic government [of Iran].”
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“We installed the Shah, a dictator. We funded the secret police of the Shah who tortured, exiled, imprisoned and killed thousands of…”
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“In the late 1980s, a US Navy vessel, the Vincennes, shot down an Iranian commercial aircraft, killing 290 civilians.”
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“The American public does not like being lied to by its government.”
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“We were lied to about the war in Iraq. We were told that Iraq had something to do with 9/11. That was not true.”
The Iran War Needs to End | Uploaded May 12, 2026 | 01:26-01:32
“We were told that Iraq was pursuing nuclear weapons and had weapons of mass destruction they'd use against the United States. That was not…”
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“Most now agree 25 years later [the Iraq War] was a massive, massive mistake.”
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“The United States is not being told the truth about the situation in Iran.”
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“The administration is not even willing to share the legal rationale, the opinion developed by the Office of Legal Counsel at the State…”
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“In at least two instances, I believe the administration is not being truthful with the American public about this war.”
The Iran War Needs to End | Uploaded May 12, 2026 | 03:06-03:11
“The war is needed to stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. No, it isn't.”
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“We had stopped Iran from getting a nuclear weapon by a diplomatic deal that Donald Trump chose to tear up.”
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“The White House has lied to the American public. And every time they say this war is justified to stop Iran's nuclear program, they are…”
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“The United States invaded Iran's next door neighbors to the east and west to topple their governments, Afghanistan and Iraq.”
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“More war between the US and Iran is not an answer to anything. It hasn't been an answer to anything since 1953.”
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“We should not be at war without a vote of Congress.”
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“It is an illegal war. It is an unwise war that demonstrates a profound lack of understanding of the deep tragic history between the US and…”
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