Dan Sullivan voted 15 times against Senate measures to end United States military action against Iran that Congress never authorized, starting with a June 27, 2025 vote after the first strikes and continuing through a September 24, 2026 vote that failed 49 to 50. Four of those votes failed by a single vote, so his vote alone would have changed each result. The war that began on February 28, 2026 has killed at least 21 service members and wounded 865.
Sullivan also cast one of the 50 votes that confirmed Pete Hegseth as secretary of defense, who then ran the war; the Pentagon put its cost at $43.6 billion as of September 2026. Sullivan said he supported both the June 2025 bombing and the February 2026 attack. In Alaska, heating fuel in rural communities rose to an average of $8 per gallon by August.
Dan Sullivan's Votes and Statements on the Iran War
- Sullivan Voted 14 Times in 2026 Against Ending the War With Iran. From March 4 to September 24, 2026, Dan Sullivan voted no 14 times on Senate measures directing the President to remove forces from hostilities with Iran that Congress had not authorized: on March 4, March 18, March 24, April 15, April 22, April 30, May 13, May 19, June 16, June 23, June 24, July 23, July 30 and September 24. The May 13, July 30 and September 24 measures each failed 49 to 50 and the June 16 measure failed 47 to 48, so a yes vote from Sullivan would have advanced each one. On June 24 the Senate voted 47 to 50 against taking up S.J.Res. 185, the one Iran resolution it had discharged from committee. Most of the war's 865 wounded were hurt after July 7, when fighting restarted, and about 50,000 troops remain in the region; Hegseth has estimated they will remain until at least early 2027.
- Sullivan Voted Against Limiting Military Action Against Iran After the June 2025 Strikes. On June 27, 2025, six days after bombers struck three Iranian nuclear sites without Congressional approval, Sullivan voted no on bringing up Senator Tim Kaine's resolution to remove forces from hostilities against Iran that Congress had not authorized. It failed 47 to 53. The Defense Intelligence Agency's early assessment said the strikes likely only set it back by months; eight months later the United States launched a major strike on Iran with Israel.
- Sullivan Cast One of the 50 Votes That Confirmed Pete Hegseth, Who Ran the War. On January 24, 2025, Sullivan voted to confirm Pete Hegseth as secretary of defense. The vote was 50 to 50 and the Vice President broke the tie, so Hegseth would not have been confirmed without Sullivan's vote. Sullivan also voted to confirm Stephen Feinberg as deputy secretary of defense and General Dan Caine as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. On the war's first day a Tomahawk missile hit a primary school in Minab: a military investigation preliminarily found the United States responsible for a Tomahawk missile strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh Primary School, using outdated data provided by the US Defense Intelligence Agency, and Iranian authorities said the attack killed at least 175 people, including scores of civilians. The Pentagon put the war's cost at $43.6 billion as of September 2026.
- Sullivan Voted to Confirm Kash Patel, Who Fired Iran Counterintelligence Staff Days Before the War. On February 20, 2025, Sullivan voted to confirm Kash Patel as FBI director, and he was confirmed 51 to 49. Days before the war began, Patel fired a dozen agents and staff members from a counterintelligence unit that monitored threats from Iran, CNN reported, citing two sources, and officials worried that investigations of threats inside the country could be hampered by a mass exodus of national security experts.
- Sullivan Voted Against a Plan to Protect Consumers From Iran-War Price Increases in April 2026. On April 22, 2026, Sullivan voted no on waiving budget rules for Senator John Hickenlooper's amendment "to establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to ensuring that consumers are protected from price increases associated with tariffs and the Iran war." It failed 47 to 51. By October 16 the national average for gasoline was $4.33 a gallon, or 45% above its prewar level, and Moody's economist Mark Zandi put the war's cost at about $2,000 per household, including $1,100 in higher energy prices, $540 in higher interest rates.
- Sullivan Backed the June 2025 Bombing and the February 2026 Attack on Iran. After the June 21, 2025 strikes on Iran's nuclear sites, the Alaska Beacon reported that Sullivan said he supported the decision. On February 28, 2026, the day the war began, Alaska Public Media reported that U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan said he supports the U.S. attack on Iran, and he said of Iran's leaders, "my belief is that they're less world leaders than terrorists, right?" The war he endorsed has killed 21 service members and injured 865 as of the Pentagon's October 15, 2026 report.
- Sullivan Called the Iran War "Temporary" Seven Months In. At a rally in Wasilla on October 13, 2026, Sullivan said, "Ladies and gentlemen, the conflict in the Middle East is temporary." The war was then in its eighth month, fighting had restarted in July, then paused in August, and Hegseth has estimated they will remain until at least early 2027, referring to the roughly 50,000 troops in the region.
What the Iran War Dan Sullivan Voted to Continue Has Cost Alaska
- Rural heating fuel. Heating fuel in rural Alaska climbed to an average of $8 per gallon by August, up from $6.49 per gallon in January, according to the state report cited by the Alaska Beacon.
- Gasoline. Regular gasoline in Alaska rose from $3.50 a gallon on February 18, 2026 to $4.83 on August 20, up 38.1 percent, according to AAA prices compiled by Visual Capitalist.
- Freight. Alaska Marine Lines said its fuel related surcharge will increase from 11 to 18.5 percent for Alaska customers effective April 5, 2026, one of three key Alaska shippers raising fuel charges during the war.
Frequently Asked Questions About Dan Sullivan on Iran war
What is Dan Sullivan's record on the Iran war under Trump?
Dan Sullivan voted 15 times against Senate measures to end military action against Iran that Congress never authorized, including four that failed by one vote, and he voted to confirm Pete Hegseth, whose department ran the war. The war has killed at least 21 service members and wounded 865 and cost the Pentagon $43.6 billion by September 2026. In Alaska, gasoline rose 38.1 percent in the war's first six months.
Did Dan Sullivan vote to let Congress stop the Iran war?
No. Dan Sullivan voted against every Senate war powers measure on Iran he voted on in 2026, 14 in all, including the June 24, 2026 vote against taking up the one Iran resolution the Senate had discharged from committee. The last of them, on September 24, failed in the Senate by a 49-50 vote.
Does Dan Sullivan think the Iran war is worth the cost?
Dan Sullivan and President Trump said America's war with Iran is worth the resulting increased cost of fuel and food at an October 13, 2026 rally in Wasilla, the Alaska Beacon reported. Trump said there that the cost, whatever it is, is a small price to pay for stopping them from having a nuclear weapon.
How many Americans have died in the Iran war?
Dan Sullivan voted to confirm the defense secretary who ran the Iran war, in which 21 service members have died and 865 have been injured since February 28, 2026, as of the Pentagon's October 15, 2026 report. The Congressional Budget Office estimated the war cost $38.1 billion through July.
Last updated: 2026-10-25