Dan Bongino says ‘Iranians were too stupid,’ arguing they acted strong despite having no leverage

WASHINGTON, DC: Conservative commentator Dan Bongino sharply criticised Iran’s leadership during a Fox News broadcast following US–Israel military strikes on Iranian targets, saying Tehran “acted like they had a full house” despite being in what he described as a position of significant weakness.

Appearing on The Ingraham Angle, hosted by Laura Ingraham, Bongino argued that Iranian leaders miscalculated strategically in the lead-up to the coordinated military action.

Dan Bongino criticizes Iranian leadership's negotiating tactics

During the broadcast, Bongino argued that Iran’s leadership failed to recognise its weakened position and the opportunity it had to negotiate with President Donald Trump.

"Do you have any idea how many white papers in academia have been written about how to transform this cauldron in the Middle East into a more peaceful place? President Trump, I think he just thinks in like a basic sort of SWOT analysis, you know, 'Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats'," Bongino, who also hosts The Dan Bongino podcast, said.

"The Iranians were just too stupid to take advantage of that," the former FBI official added. He said that even a "basic game theory analyst" would have advised Iran to minimize risks rather than escalate tensions.

"When you're in a position of weakness, what you try to do is mitigate threats and take advantage of small opportunities," he said.  

"What the Iranians did, their leadership— and now they're dead— is they exacerbated the threats and they kicked away all the opportunities every time they came in front of them," Bongino went on to reveal.

"[Iranian leadership] had no card to play with and they acted like they had a full house. It was just bizarre."

Laura Ingraham contrasts Trump's Iran approach with Obama's

Ingraham referenced a $1.4 billion cash payment to Iran made during the Obama administration in 2016, which US officials at the time said was the settlement of a pre-1979 arms dispute that had been adjudicated at an international tribunal. 

Critics, including many Republicans, have long argued that the timing of that payment, coinciding with the implementation of the nuclear agreement, had sent the wrong signal to Tehran.

She described Trump’s approach toward Iran as “super bold,” contrasting it with what she characterized as past diplomatic missteps.

"We remember all too well the $1.4 billion in cash that was directly given to Iran during the Obama administration. These were funds that were unfrozen and this was part of the Iranian negotiation at the time after he failed to support the Green revolution of 2009 on the ground, which he conceded was a mistake."

Ingraham added, "But there has been an attempt after attempt and flub after flub, but Trump said I'm not gonna kick this can down the road, I'm gonna try to deal with this. And whatever anyone says, that is super bold."

US–Israel strikes against Iran

The comments from Ingraham and Bongino came after US and Israeli forces launched strikes against Iranian military infrastructure and leadership targets. 

US officials said the operation was aimed at degrading Iran’s military capabilities and limiting its ability to project force through regional proxies.

Iranian authorities confirmed significant damage and casualties among senior leadership figures, including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iran retaliated with missile and drone launches toward Israeli territory and US positions in the region, escalating tensions across the Middle East.