Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) slammed the President Donald Trump administration on Sunday amid the ongoing tensions between Washington and Tehran, saying that the situation has put the U.S. on the back foot.
Iran War Weakened the U.S.
In a post on the social media platform X, Massie delivered sharp criticism of Trump’s handling of the Iran war, saying that the situation had “significantly weakened” the U.S. He added that Trump had depleted the U.S.’s missile defenses, as well as the oil reserves and caused the deaths of U.S. service members.
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Massie then said that the White House had “inflated the price of consumer goods, increased our debt, and neglected our domestic needs…” The Representative from Kentucky’s Fourth Congressional District then said that it was “all for Israel,” reaffirming his criticism of the country.
The U.S. has been significantly weakened by the war with Iran.
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) July 26, 2026
This administration depleted our missile defenses, drained our oil reserves, sacrificed our men & women, inflated the price of consumer goods, increased our debt, and neglected our domestic needs…
all for Israel.
Oil prices fell sharply across the board, with Brent crude falling 4.85% to around $92/bbl at the time of writing this article and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude trading at $84.79/bbl during press time. The United States Oil Fund (NYSE:USO) fell 5.38% to $129.34 during overnight trading.
Gas prices, on the other hand, also recorded a marginal decline on Sunday, according to data from the American Automobile Association (AAA), as the national average still hovered above $4 at $4.1100/gallon. California had the highest average price at $5.6380/gallon, while Indiana residents continued to pay the lowest prices at $3.5060/gallon on average.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Slams Ukraine
Iran’s Foreign Minister, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, criticized Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy via a post on X on Sunday, saying that the attack on an Iranian commercial vessel, which killed a sailor, was a “blatant UN Charter violation done at Israel’s behest to drag Europe into its war”
He then said that Iran had spoken to senior EU officials, calling Zelenskyy the “freeloader in Kyiv” and affirming that the attack on the vessel “CANNOT GO UNANSWERED.”
Zelenskyy has attacked an Iranian commercial vessel, killing a sailor. A blatant UN Charter violation done at Israel's behest to drag Europe into its war.
— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) July 26, 2026
In calls with EU High Rep Kallas and FM Lavrov, made clear that what the freeloader in Kyiv did CANNOT GO UNANSWERED.
US-Iran War Updates
The news comes as the U.S. halted strikes against Iran after two weeks of consecutive missile strikes on Iranian targets, as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, said that the move was Trump’s way of opening the door for diplomatic efforts between the two sides.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that any Iranian strikes against Israel would result in a strong response.
On the other hand, maritime traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait slowed down following Yemen’s Houthis carrying out strikes against Saudi Arabian oil installations along the Red Sea coast, according to a Reuters report on Sunday.
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Photo courtesy: Shutterstock/ Saulo Ferreira Angelo
