Conflicting reports out of the Middle East. For those keeping track:

Meanwhile Israel is threatening to launch attacks without the help of the U.S. and calls for all-out “regime change” are becoming all too common from the usual suspects.

That’s why last night, ZeroHedge hosted a debate: Should Trump support yet another Regime Change war in the Middle East?

Hosted by former Congressman Matt Gaetz, libertarian Dave Smith and author Robert Spencer engaged in fiery debate. Here were the highlights for those short on time:

Watch debaters react to Netanyahu’s decades-long claim that Iran is on the cusp of acquiring a nuclear weapon:

Smith dissected the pro-regime change argument to its roots, first starting with the fact that intelligence has shown little evidence of pursuit of nukes, followed by proper policy if they were, and ending with Israel’s glaring hypocrisy on the topic of secret nukes:

The claim that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons is unproven:

Historical precedent shows restraint is possible even with hostile nuclear development:

Launching a war over nuclear development is unjustified and a war of aggression:

Israel’s own secret nuclear arsenal makes its position hypocritical:

“This is their justification for launching a war that they want to drag America into? I mean wake up people!”

1. Support Doesn’t Require Direct War (Historical Analogy):
   Spencer compares the current situation to U.S. aid to Britain before entering World War II:
   “There was the Lend-Lease program. There was the propaganda war. There were all kinds of ways in which [Roosevelt] was aiding the side of freedom against the Nazis before Pearl Harbor.”
   He implies the U.S. could support Israel similarly—providing material, strategic, and diplomatic support—without direct military involvement.
2. Support for Regime Change Aligns with Trump’s Doctrine:
   Spencer argues that it is consistent with the “America First” or MAGA agenda to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power:
   “Trump... in his first political speech announcing he was going to run for president in 2015, he says, ‘Not going to allow Iran to get nuclear weapons.’”
3. Iran's Anti-American Hostility is Not Just Rhetorical:
   He emphasizes that Iran’s hostility is not empty sloganeering:
   “The Ayatollah Khamenei actually said not long ago… ‘When you chant death to America, it's not just a slogan, it's a policy.’”
   Spencer then lists decades of Iranian-sponsored attacks:
   • 1979: Embassy seizure and hostage crisis.
   • 1980s: Torture and murder of CIA agent William Buckley.
   • 1983: Marine barracks bombing in Beirut.
   • Recent years:
     “Tom Cotton asked Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin… has Iran attacked any American interests… and Austin says eighty-three times… and [the U.S.] responded four.”
4. Failure to Respond Projects Weakness:
   By not retaliating to repeated Iranian attacks:
   “That projects weakness if… you just let that keep happening and never respond.”

Be sure to check out the full debate and subscribe to ZeroHedge Spotify, Rumble, and YouTube channels for more debates and our podcast on those channels hosted by comedian Rob Bernstein for weekly recaps on our most crucial articles.