Rep. Andy Barr: Iran-Israel war 'tremendous opportunity' to denuclearize Iran

Austin Horn and Piper Hansen, Lexington Herald-Leader on Jun 18, 2025

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U.S. Rep. Andy Barr said Wednesday he would support giving President Donald Trump “whatever authorities that he seeks” as the president weighs direct involvement in the intensifying war between Israel and Iran.

Israel, a longtime ally of the United States, has for nearly a week bombarded targets in Iran, focusing many strikes on sites related to the country’s development of nuclear weapons. Iran’s continued attempts to develop nuclear weapons have been a long-standing point of contention between the country of more than 80 million and the U.S.

The Iranian government, which has long threatened Israel in statements and through its proxies like Hezbollah, has responded to Israel’s attacks with a barrage of attempted missile strikes. Many of those attempts have been intercepted.

Trump left open the possibility Wednesday of direct U.S. intervention, including strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.

“I may do it,” Trump said. “I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do.”

Barr said he’s on board if Trump decides to go that route. He also praised the work of the Israeli Defense Forces in “protecting Israel and stability in the region.”

“President Trump has given warnings to Iran that they have to abandon their nuclear aspirations, and they didn’t heed the warning. And so, I do think that Congress should give this president, this commander-in-chief, whatever authorities that he seeks to assist in the defense of our most strategic ally, the state of Israel,” Barr said at an event in Lexington.

Barr didn’t fully commit to supporting “U.S. military involvement,” but said that he would support “congressional authorization to the president to assist Israel.”

Barr, a supporter of Israel during his 12-plus-year tenure in the House, said a nuclear Iran threatens not only Israel but the U.S.

Only nine countries are known to possess nuclear weapons: the U.S., Israel, Russia, France, Great Britain, India, China, Pakistan and North Korea.

“This is a tremendous opportunity to once and for all denuclearize Iran, stop their support of terrorist proxies like Hamas, like Hezbollah, like the Houthis in Yemen and give the people of Iran the opportunity to create the path for regime change,” Barr said.

“So, the president needs to have all of the options available to him. That doesn’t necessarily mean that there would be U.S. military involvement, but we need to give the president maximum negotiating leverage, and that’s why I would support congressional authorization to the president to assist Israel.”

The longtime Central Kentucky congressman is running for the U.S. Senate seat that will be left open by Sen. Mitch McConnell, who is not seeking reelection in 2026 after decades in his post.

Former attorney general Daniel Cameron, who has the early lead in publicly available polling in the race, also expressed support for the Trump administration’s stance in the conflict on Tuesday.

Before Cameron weighed in, Barr tried to draw a contrast between his campaign and Cameron’s as well as potential contender Nate Morris, a Lexington tech entrepreneur. He wrote in a statement that their silence was “deafening.”

On the other end of the spectrum from Barr, Northern Kentucky U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie has stood against U.S. involvement in the conflict.

Yesterday, Massie, generally a non-interventionist in foreign policy matters, filed a resolution to ban the U.S. from involvement in the Israel-Iran war. The resolution has received some support from Democrats in the U.S. House.

“This is not our war,” Massie said in a post about the resolution. “Even if it were, Congress must decide such matters according to our Constitution.”

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