Iran Archives - Pensito

Peace Is Boring

January 19, 2026January 19, 2026 Buck Banks

After ending eight wars or causing the shooting to cease,
Donald Trump says he deserves a Nobel, at the very least.
But after killing Venezuelan boaters
And threatening Iran for killing protesters,
It’s clear that the commander-in-chief has gotten bored with peace.

Chickenhawk Lindsey Graham Tells Trump to Kill Ayatollah

January 12, 2026 Buck Banks

“If I were you, Mr. President, I would kill the leadership that are killing the people.”

— Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), on Fox News, urging President Trump to kill Iran’s supreme leader.

FIRE Criticizes Iran Crackdown

January 12, 2026 Buck Banks

“A tyrannical theocracy has shut down the internet for an entire country so the world can’t see the brutal tactics it plans to use to crush a free Iran. In my view, this is the biggest free-speech story in the world right now.”

— Greg Lukianoff, head of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, on X.

High-Test Protests

January 12, 2026 Buck Banks

Of domestic American protesters Donald Trump is not a fan,
Even though peaceful protest is a right of every American.
So even if you’re fighting the good fight,
Trump won’t protect your protest rights,
Unless, of course, you’re demonstrating on the streets of Tehran.

Trump’s No Comment Is a Comment

December 3, 2019 Buck Banks

“I don’t want to comment on that. But the answer is no. But I don’t want to comment on that.”

— President Trump, quoted by CNN, when asked if he supports the protesters in Iran.

Three Trump Retreats in Three Weeks

June 25, 2019 Buck Banks

3

First Read notes that in less than three weeks, President Trump has made three different retreats: Reaching a deal with Mexico to avert tariffs – a deal that largely consisted of actions that Mexico had already agreed to; backing down on military strikes against Iran for shooting down a U.S. drone; delaying his plan for nationwide raids to deport undocumented immigrants.

Iran’s Leader Clarifies Meaning of ‘Death to …’ Slogan

February 8, 2019 Buck Banks

“‘Death to America’ means death to Trump, John Bolton, and Pompeo. It means death to American rulers.”

— Iranian leader Ayatollah Khamenei, seeking to clarify that the slogan, often chanted by his supporters, was aimed at U.S. leaders, not the American nation, Reuters reported.

Iranian General Warns Trump

July 26, 2018 Buck Banks

“You know that this war will destroy all that you possess. You will start this war but we will be the ones to impose its end. Therefore you have to be careful about insulting the Iranian people and the president of our Republic.”

— Iran’s Quds force chief Qassem Soleimani, warning President Trump against war, saying it would “destroy all that you possess”, Reuters reports.

Donald Sinks to 38% Approval in Gallup Daily Tracking Poll – 30 Days into His Presidency

February 17, 2017February 17, 2017 Jon Ponder

Good news: People have caught on. Bad news: Donald will be even more determined to start a war in hope that, like Bush did in 2003, he’ll gain approval as a war-time president.

Needless in D.C.

February 1, 2017March 17, 2017 Buck Banks

Donald Trump says we don’t need the Mexicans.
Mike Flynn says we don’t need the Iranians.
And we don’t need Muslim refugees
Or green card holders with advanced degrees.
And pretty soon, we won’t even need real Americans.

Tag: Iran

Peace Is Boring

Chickenhawk Lindsey Graham Tells Trump to Kill Ayatollah

“If I were you, Mr. President, I would kill the leadership that are killing the people.”

— Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), on Fox News, urging President Trump to kill Iran’s supreme leader.

FIRE Criticizes Iran Crackdown

“A tyrannical theocracy has shut down the internet for an entire country so the world can’t see the brutal tactics it plans to use to crush a free Iran. In my view, this is the biggest free-speech story in the world right now.”

— Greg Lukianoff, head of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, on X.

High-Test Protests

Trump’s No Comment Is a Comment

“I don’t want to comment on that. But the answer is no. But I don’t want to comment on that.”

— President Trump, quoted by CNN, when asked if he supports the protesters in Iran.

Three Trump Retreats in Three Weeks

3

Iran’s Leader Clarifies Meaning of ‘Death to …’ Slogan

“‘Death to America’ means death to Trump, John Bolton, and Pompeo. It means death to American rulers.”

— Iranian leader Ayatollah Khamenei, seeking to clarify that the slogan, often chanted by his supporters, was aimed at U.S. leaders, not the American nation, Reuters reported.

Iranian General Warns Trump

“You know that this war will destroy all that you possess. You will start this war but we will be the ones to impose its end. Therefore you have to be careful about insulting the Iranian people and the president of our Republic.”

— Iran’s Quds force chief Qassem Soleimani, warning President Trump against war, saying it would “destroy all that you possess”, Reuters reports.

Donald Sinks to 38% Approval in Gallup Daily Tracking Poll – 30 Days into His Presidency

Needless in D.C.

Poetic Justice

Verbatim

— Timothy Snyder

“If you combine an economy that people don’t like with a prolonged war that you know nobody in his base believes they voted for, that’s a toxic problem.”

— A Trump ally, quoted by Politico.

“We’ve spent $8 trillion in the Middle East. And we’re not fixing our roads in this country. How stupid is it? We’re not fixing our highways, our tunnels, our bridges, our hospitals, even.”

— President Trump, speaking in 2020.

Numerati

$5.00

$100

“U.S. oil futures have followed their biggest weekly rise ever by surging as much as 20% in Sunday evening trading, vaulting above $100 a barrel for the first time since war in Europe rattled energy markets in 2022,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

56%

G. Elliot Morris: “According to a simple average of new high-quality surveys, 38% of Americans approve and 49% disapprove of U.S. military action in Iran. … When ignoring ‘don’t know’ respondents, 56% disapprove.”

92,000

“The U.S. lost 92,000 jobs in February, a sign that the job market continues to struggle across a broad range of sectors,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “The unemployment ticked slightly higher to 4.4%.”

72%

A new Fox News poll finds 72% of independents disapprove of President Trump’s job performance and 78% think he is focused on the wrong issues.