The Aporia · Peter Thiel disapproves of Iran war in notable break with Trump: ‘We should not have done it’

Peter Thiel disapproves of Iran war in notable break with Trump: ‘We should not have done it’

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Herzlich, T. (2026, October 22). Peter Thiel disapproves of Iran war in notable break with Trump: ‘We should not have done it’. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/10/22/business/peter-thiel-disapproves-of-iran-war-we-should-not-have-done-it/

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Quick Summary

Peter Thiel, a billionaire tech investor and long-time supporter of President Trump, recently expressed skepticism about the U.S. involvement in the war with Iran at a private event in Nashville on October 12. Thiel stated that he believes "we should not have done it" and criticized the war as a mistake. Despite his reservations, Thiel remains supportive of Trump and continues to be critical of neoconservative policies, highlighting tensions within conservative circles regarding military interventions in the Middle East.

Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-22, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

Billionaire Republican investor Peter Thiel, known for his strong support of former President Donald Trump, expressed skepticism about the ongoing war with Iran during a lecture in Nashville on October 12, 2026. Thiel stated, "I'm skeptical of [the war]; I think we should not have done it," indicating that he believes there were many mistakes made leading to the conflict. The war with Iran began on February 28 when the US and Israel launched joint strikes against Iranian targets. Despite his criticism of the war, Thiel reaffirmed his continued support for President Trump. This statement comes two weeks before the mid-term elections where Republicans are facing pressure to maintain their slim Senate majorities.

Written for “Peter Thiel Criticizes Trump On Iran War” on 2026-10-22, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.

Why this leaning score

The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted verbatim and was checked against the article text before being stored, so you can find it in the original.

Billionaire investor Peter Thiel does not think the US should have started the war with Iran – a notable break from one of President Trump’s most loyal supporters less than two weeks ahead of the midterm elections.

left criticizes the war as a mistake

Reading Leans left (beta estimate) Confidence high 1 quote(s) discarded as not found in the article

Leaning: leans left for article 100262 (high confidence, 1 verified quote) · logged 2026-10-22

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans left and hedges 12% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.

Billionaire Republican donor Peter Thiel says he thinks Trump's war with Iran was a mistake as potentially disastrous mid-terms loom same event · 100%

Daily Mail · 0.92 cosine similarity

⚖️ Leans left 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 20 📰 publisher trust 64

“Both articles report on Peter Thiel's remarks expressing skepticism about the US war with Iran, quoting him saying 'I think we should not have done it,' indicating they describe the same specific incident.”

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

12%

2 of 17 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

Leans left

of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate

Publisher signals

66/100

New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

Outlets on this story

Politics

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Who wrote this

Taylor Herzlich

57 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

🔮 “Maybe we don’t have the hard power.

2026-10-22 · assertive framing · Peter Thiel disapproves of Iran war in notable break with Trump: ‘We should not have done it’

🔮 Trump told reporters late Wednesday that “something one way or another” will “happen fairly soon” in Iran.

2026-10-22 · assertive framing · Oil soars above $111 as stocks plummet on Iran strike news, AI spending concerns

🔮 Ackman said he has some friends in the Democratic Party, like New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker – but that he can’t think of a single candidate who could win his vote in the 2028 presidential election.

2026-10-20 · assertive framing · Bill Ackman blasts ‘radicalized, anti-American’ Democratic Party and ‘disasters’ Pritzker, Newsom

🔮 “Everyone’s talking about ‘tokenize this, tokenize that, tokenizing securities,’” Cuomo – who suffered a brutal defeat to NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani last year – told the Wall Street Journal earlier this month.

2026-10-20 · assertive framing · Andrew Cuomo faces blowback as he plugs NYSE owner’s Chinese joint venture for crypto-based stock exchanges

🔮 Defense stocks have plummeted over the past few weeks as investors grow convinced Dems will emerge victorious in the midterm elections – potentially thwarting President Trump’s plans for huge military spending.

2026-10-19 · mixed framing · Defense stocks plummet as investors worry possible Dem midterms win could thwart Trump’s spending plans

🔮 “Do you assume that I wouldn’t?”

2026-10-19 · assertive framing · CBS News correspondent apologizes, deletes post praising heckler who questioned El-Sayed on Muslim Brotherhood

🔮 The VanEck Semiconductor ETF – which tracks top chipmakers – slipped 3.3%, set to end the week down more than 10%.

2026-10-16 · mixed framing · AI stock sell-off ramps up over debt-fueled data center spending fears: ‘Full-blown crisis of confidence’

🔮 Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh stayed mum Friday on the path for interest rates, even after hot inflation data this week – which traders took as a sign officials will hold rates steady this month.

2026-10-16 · mixed framing · Traders bet on October interest-rate hold after Kevin Warsh is tight-lipped at conference

🔮 The Alexander brothers “spent years designing, executing, and perfecting their playbook of luring victims with promises of luxury, drugging victims so they could not resist, and then forcibly raping them,” the feds wrote.

2026-10-14 · assertive framing · Luxury real-estate Alexander brothers face life in prison over ‘sex crimes of extraordinary magnitude’

🔮 In a letter sent to the agencies Wednesday, the state treasurers and auditors argued their own finances could be hurt if the bodies use the discredited “Environmental, Social, and Governance” framework, or ESG, to downgrade publicly traded companies in which the states have invested billions of dollars.

2026-10-14 · assertive framing · State treasurers press Moody’s, Fitch and S&P on ‘ESG’ guidance that gives higher rankings to Chinese companies, downgrades US biz

Also by Taylor Herzlich

Oil soars above $111 as stocks plummet on Iran strike news, AI spending concerns

2026-10-22 · New York Post

Bill Ackman blasts ‘radicalized, anti-American’ Democratic Party and ‘disasters’ Pritzker, Newsom

2026-10-20 · New York Post

Andrew Cuomo faces blowback as he plugs NYSE owner’s Chinese joint venture for crypto-based stock exchanges

2026-10-20 · New York Post

Defense stocks plummet as investors worry possible Dem midterms win could thwart Trump’s spending plans

2026-10-19 · New York Post

Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 57 articles by Taylor Herzlich →

Claims (17 extracted, 2 hedged)

Billionaire investor Peter Thiel does not think the US should have started the war with Iran – a notable break from one of President Trump’s most loyal supporters less than two weeks ahead of the midterm elections. asserted

US → think → elections

The Palantir and PayPal co-founder worth $37 billion, according to Forbes, reportedly revealed his disapproval in remarks during a private event on Oct. 12 as part of a lecture series he was giving in Nashville. uncertain

he → accord → Nashville

“I’m skeptical of [the war], I think we should not have done it,” Thiel said in audio recordings obtained by Politico. asserted

Thiel → ’m → Politico

“There were a lot of mistakes that were made. asserted

that → be → mistakes

“Maybe we don’t have the hard power. asserted

we → have → power

Maybe we’re going to lose the soft power war,” he added. asserted

he → go → war

Thiel made clear throughout the lecture that he is strongly against neoconservatives and wars in the Middle East, and that he is still supportive of Trump, according to the report. His comments mark one of the strongest criticisms from a close Trump ally of the president’s operations in Iran, which began in February. Thiel was the first prominent Silicon Valley figure to back Trump in the 2016 presidential election. uncertain

Thiel → make → election

He donated $1.25 million to Trump’s campaign at the time and gave a speech at the Republican National Convention. asserted

He → donate → Convention

Republicans are fighting to hold onto congressional seats in the highly-anticipated midterms, as Americans increasingly report economic anxiety. asserted

Americans → fight → anxiety

The Strait of Hormuz crisis in the Middle East has sent global energy costs surging, keeping gasoline prices above $4 a gallon and threatening to raise prices on everything from food and apparel to furniture and toys. asserted

crisis → send → furniture

In his Nashville lecture, the techie investor also sounded the alarm over the powers of the International Criminal Court, nodding to comments from members of former President George W. Bush’s administration like the late Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney, Politico reported. asserted

Politico → sound → Rumsfeld

“I read the Cheney family’s Trump derangement syndrome as an attempt to buy favor with the [International Criminal Court] and avoid prosecution. asserted

I → read → prosecution

Probably too late,” Thiel said. asserted

Thiel → say → ?

“And I have come to suspect that the threat of an ICC arrest warrant is the sword of Damocles hanging over the Trump administration as it tries to persecute this war in Iran.” asserted

it → come → Iran

He also discussed a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in early 2024, after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attack. asserted

He → discuss → attack

Thiel said Netanyahu told him, “I can’t just Dresden-ize it” – a reference to the Allied bombing of Dresden, Germany, during World War II. asserted

I → say → II

The joint attacks by UK and US forces sparked a firestorm and killed an estimated 25,000 people, mostly civilians. asserted

attacks → spark → people

Peter Thiel disapproves of Iran war in notable break with Trump: ‘We should not have done it’

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Claims (17 extracted, 2 hedged)