Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and 2024 GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley is being criticized for her opinions regarding the U.S. war in Iran.
On Monday, Haley wrote: “The ship the U.S. seized in the Strait of Hormuz this weekend was headed from China to Iran and is linked to chemical shipments for missiles. It refused repeated orders to stop. Another reminder that China is helping prop up Iran’s regime — a reality that can’t be ignored.”
[NOTE: China has denied any connection to the seized vessel.]
The ship the U.S. seized in the Strait of Hormuz this weekend was headed from China to Iran and is linked to chemical shipments for missiles.
It refused repeated orders to stop.
Another reminder that China is helping prop up Iran’s regime—a reality that can’t be ignored.
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) April 20, 2026
Economic influencer Chris Martenson, author of The Crash Course: The Unsustainable Future of Our Economy, Energy, And Environment, replied to Haley: “Let me check…oh, would you look at that…China is a sovereign nation. They get to do the exact same things the US does, only they get to decide, not us.”
China-based American journalist Jason Smith also replied to Haley, with photos of her writing “Finish Them” on Israeli missiles: “Aren’t you the lady who signed missiles used in a genocide?”
And MAGA influencer Kim Iverson also sent a sarcastic reply to Haley: “Oh ok then let’s go to war with China.” [NOTE: A new war in the Middle East was not on MAGA’s wishlist when Trump ran in 2024, promising “no new wars.”]
— JanVDB (@Jan24450200) April 21, 2026
As seen below on CNN, Haley largely echoed Trump administration talking points on the U.S. Navy blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, saying: “This is about what do you do to make sure Iran is no longer a national security threat to America. The majority of the job has been done. This is the last bit.”
But then it was not the last bit: Haley also said she believes “it will probably come down to” the U.S. sending military special forces into Iran to extract the enriched uranium, a mission she estimated would take “about a week to ten days” to complete.
We need to make sure Iran is no longer a national security threat to the United States. This is how we make it happen. pic.twitter.com/6jpzCDa3Da
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) April 18, 2026
Alireza Nader, a former senior analyst on Iran and Middle East Policy at the Rand Corporation, and former officer at the U.S. Treasury, criticized Haley (and President Trump), by writing: “You won’t be able to do that by threatening to ‘destroy’ Iranian civilization,” a reference to Trump’s social media threat on Easter Sunday where he mused that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if Iran didn’t open the Strait.
Operation “free Iran” has been a disaster for all Iranians, especially those opposed to the regime. Stay out of our fight and stay out of our way, you’re only hurting us with your false promises. https://t.co/p5zqtmYQYF
— Alireza Nader علیرضا نادر (@AlirezaNader) April 19, 2026
Nader also criticized Mark Dubowitz, CEO of the American neoconservative Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), and wrote on social media: “Operation ‘free Iran’ has been a disaster for all Iranians, especially those opposed to the regime. Stay out of our fight and stay out of our way, you’re only hurting us with your false promises.”
[NOTE: In 2022, the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and the Intelligence Organization of the IRGC accused Dubowitz and FDD of playing “a key role in organizing the rebellions against the Islamic Republic of Iran.”]