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Rogan blasts Trump’s Iran strategy after extending ceasefire: ‘Doesn’t make sense’

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by Sophie Brams - 04/23/26 7:26 PM ET

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by Sophie Brams - 04/23/26 7:26 PM ET

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Podcaster Joe Rogan said Thursday that President Trump’s strategy in Iran “doesn’t make sense,” renewing his criticism of the conflict days after appearing alongside the president for an executive order signing at the White House.

The comment came as Rogan was discussing the current situation in the Middle East on his podcast, “The Joe Rogan Experience,” with Australian comedian James McCann.

“No one f—ing knows,” Rogan said, responding to a question from McCann about whether it was “going to be OK.”

“I mean, what’s going on with the Iran’s — the ceasefire? Supposedly, they extended, but then they’re shooting at ships,” he added, with a sigh.

Trump indefinitely extended a ceasefire with Iran at Pakistan’s request on Tuesday, hours before the previous two-week truce was set to expire. He also declared that the U.S. would maintain its naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz.

McCann questioned the rationale behind the conflict, including whether it was aimed at regime change, to which Rogan responded that he was unsure why the Trump administration chose to launch the initial strikes when it did.

“People have wanted people of out of Iran, the people that are running Iran, for 47 years, but no one has actually gone and done it the way this administration did,” he said. “And it doesn’t make sense they choose to do it when they did.”

“I think the idea is that they’re trying to negotiate about something, you know, and I don’t know how this is ever going to work out. I really don’t know,” he added a few minutes later.

McCann mentioned the U.S. military operation in Venezuela that led to the capture of Nicolás Maduro, and Rogan said that was “a totally different experience.”

Rogan, who endorsed Trump a day before the 2024 presidential election, has become more critical of the president since the start of his second term, often pushing back against the joint U.S. and Israeli operation in Iran.

On Thursday, he suggested Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s influence played a role in Trump’s decision to enter the war.

“Why did we do it? I don’t know, I think because of Israel, if I had to guess,” Rogan said.

He also seemed skeptical over whether the U.S. had a solid exit strategy for when hostilities eventually end.

“You got to wonder like, how do you get out of this and what does the exit look like?” he said. “Do we have troops over there forever now? Do we subsidize them if we blow up their power grid and infrastructure?”

Rogan joined Trump in the Oval Office on Saturday as he signed an executive order accelerating research for certain psychedelic drugs used to treat mental health disorders.

The podcaster recalled on Tuesday that Trump called him a “liberal” during the event. Rogan has previously described himself as “politically homeless.”

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