With Democrats furious at the Iran war, an 18-year-old clip of Hillary Clinton vowing that the United States would “totally obliterate” the country’s Islamic regime has gone viral.
“I want the Iranians to know that if I’m the president, we will attack Iran,” Clinton said. “Whatever stage of development they might be in their nuclear weapons program in the next 10 years, during which they might foolishly consider launching an attack on Israel, we would be able to totally obliterate them. That’s a terrible thing to say, but those people who run Iran need to understand that.”
At the time, Iran filed a formal complaint with the United Nations, with its deputy ambassador condemning the remarks as “a provocative, unwarranted and irresponsible statement” in a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
At the time, then- Sen. Barack Obama piled on.
“It’s not the language we need right now, and I think it’s language reflective of George Bush,” Obama told NBC’s Meet the Press days later, accusing Clinton of “cowboy diplomacy.”
Take a look —
A resurfaced clip of Hillary Clinton from 2008 is circulating online in which she says, "I want the Iranians to know that if I'm the president, we will attack Iran." pic.twitter.com/HLOlWnrlxG
— 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐦 (@Malcolm_Pal9) April 6, 2026