Former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall III and former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Sunday questioned the strategy and duration of the ongoing U.S. war with Iran. The conflict, which entered its seventh month this weekend, has reached what Panetta described as a "terrible stalemate" following the collapse of a preliminary ceasefire plan and the breakdown of negotiations in June 2026.
The war began in February 2026 with a joint U.S.-Israeli operation that resulted in the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He has since been succeeded by his son, Mojtaba Khamenei. Kendall, speaking on ABC's "This Week," questioned the advice President Trump received prior to starting the conflict, noting that the president did not seek congressional authorization for the war.
Military activity continued through the weekend, with U.S. Central Command reporting strikes on three Iranian oil tankers on Saturday after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched ballistic missiles at two U.S. Navy vessels. The conflict has resulted in the deaths of 18 U.S. service members—including six killed in a refueling aircraft crash in Iraq in March—and thousands of Iranian civilians. Additionally, the Pentagon has recently signed deals with defense contractors to increase production of missile interceptors as inventories have depleted.
The scale of the military effort has placed a strain on U.S. defense resources. The Pentagon has signed new production deals to replenish missile interceptor stocks. While Energy Secretary Chris Wright reported on Sunday that the U.S. Navy is maintaining flows through the Strait of Hormuz at approximately 9 million barrels a day—roughly two-thirds of pre-conflict levels—the maritime strikes create volatility in global energy markets.
The precedent of a conflict initiated without congressional authorization has drawn criticism from Kendall, who argued the expectation of a rapid regime collapse was an "illusion." Panetta projected that the war is likely to continue for at least another six months. Iranian officials, including parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, stated on Sunday that any further attacks on Iranian interests would meet with "faster, heavier and more painful" responses. Future developments depend on whether diplomatic channels, largely inactive since June, can be reopened.