Hasan Piker Says Iran Has a Right to a Nuclear Weapon, Cites Donald Trump

Hasan Piker, the left-wing Twitch streamer whose past appearances with Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed have become a Republican attack line, said Iran has a sovereign right to a nuclear deterrent and that the Middle East "would be more stable" with a bomb — while stressing he does not want Tehran to build one.

Piker made the remarks in an interview with Axios correspondent Alex Thompson that aired Thursday. In a follow-up stream, he played a clip of Donald Trump saying that if Iran had a nuclear weapon, the U.S. would be negotiating with the region rather than striking it, arguing the U.S. attack — not an Iranian bomb — is the bigger destabilizing force.

What Hasan Piker Said About Iran's Nuclear 'Right'

Thompson asked whether Iran should be free to build a nuclear weapon, noting "the Trump administration has used the fact of we can't let Iran have a nuclear weapon as justification for this war."

"I think Iran, much like any other sovereign nation, has a right to defend itself, regardless of its domestic policies," Piker said. "My opinion on the matter is not dissimilar to what John Mearsheimer has said, which is that in order to create regional stability in a world where mutually assured destruction is the only way for countries to have sovereignty."

Mearsheimer, a University of Chicago political scientist, has made similar deterrence arguments. Piker added: "Now, having said that, do I want Iran to have nuclear arms? No, but I also don't want America or Russia or China to have nuclear arms either."

Asked directly whether the region would be more stable with an Iranian bomb, Piker said: "I believe yes. I think that the Middle East would be more stable. Having said that, once again, I'm not advocating." He added, "But with respect to Iran, I think the nuclear conversation is a distraction," arguing Tehran uses enrichment as leverage for sanctions relief.

Piker Turns Trump's Own Words Against the War

Piker argued Trump had undercut his own rationale. "Donald Trump has admitted last week that if Iran had nukes, then he wouldn't have done the Iranian war," he said, before playing archival audio of the president: "Right now, you would have Iran with a nuclear weapon, and if they had a nuclear weapon, you would be calling everybody over there, sir, and you don't wanna do that."

"Which implies that Donald Trump's impact on the world is worse than Iran having nukes, okay? That's insane, but it's true," Piker said, adding "the entire crisis that we're currently existing in is a direct cause of Donald Trump attacking Iran at the behest of Israel."

Piker's Claims Versus the Record

Schumer and the JCPOA Record

"It was not only critically panned by the entirety of the right, but also even Democrats, including Chuck Schumer, were very critical of this deal," Piker said, "and yet, it was probably Obama's signature foreign policy accomplishment." Schumer's August 2015 statement said the deal "would allow Iran... to be a nuclear threshold state with the blessing of the world community," warning that the risk Iran would "use the agreement to pursue its nefarious goals is too great." Trump withdrew the U.S. from the deal in 2018.

Where the Public Stands on the Iran War

Polling suggests Piker's skepticism of the war is shared by most Americans. A Reuters/Ipsos survey conducted June 3–8 found 25 percent said the military action had been worth its costs while 53 percent said it had not, and 29 percent approved of Trump's handling of Iran, according to Ipsos. PolitiKool's polling average puts Trump's overall approval at 38.8 percent, with 58.2 percent disapproving.

The Michigan Fallout

The interview lands amid a Michigan Senate race where Piker has become an issue. Republican-aligned groups have run ads tying El-Sayed to the streamer, Axios reported. El-Sayed's campaign said in a statement: "I do not agree with this statement, nor do I give much weight to the statements made by a social media streamer. I am more concerned with the dangerous policies of Donald Trump and Mike Rogers that are raising the prices of gas, groceries and healthcare for Michiganders."

Piker acknowledged the timing, saying the interview functions as a distraction because "every moment that he has to like address something that I've said is a moment where he's not talking about Mike Rogers, where he's not talking about the gas price."

PolitiKool's polling average shows El-Sayed at 47.3 percent to Rogers' 45 percent, a 2.3-point edge in a race PolitiKool rates among the cycle's closest.

What Happens Next

Trump has said the war "will end immediately after our election," Al Jazeera reported. Whether Michigan voters weigh Piker's views or gas prices remains an open question with six weeks left until the midterms.