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By Suzanne Blake
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Some U.S. military veterans have sharply criticized President Donald Trump's handling of the Iran War as the country marks Veterans Day today.
So far, the Iran War has cost the lives of 23 U.S. service members and wounded hundreds more, according to the latest Pentagon figures. As the country marks the federal holiday, some veterans have voiced their anger at Trump's comments last year when he said November 11 would also be recognized as "Victory Day for World War I." The holiday has not been officially renamed.
Adam Dunigan, a Marine Corps combat veteran who served from 2008 to 2013 in Afghanistan and later worked as a CIA operations officer, told Newsweek that Trump's effort to put his personal stamp on military traditions was distracting attention from what he called "the disaster he made in Iran."
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"Trump can try and put his tacky, jingoistic branding on whatever he likes," Dunigan, who ran in a Democratic congressional primary in Virginia earlier this year, said.
"He’s got two more years. But the renamings, the Trump Arch (and) the gold-plated everything, it's all an amateurish distraction from his failures here at home and the disaster he made in Iran.
"The man knows he and MAGA are on borrowed time now. November 3rd was step one, and as soon as the American people finish the job in November 2028, America's veterans are going to be at the vanguard of restoring sanity back to the Republic, respect back to the military and dignity for vets receiving care through the VA."
The VA refers to the Department of Veterans Affairs, a federal agency which provides lifelong care and support to eligible military veterans and their families.
Why It Matters
Veterans Day traditionally focuses on Americans who have served in the Armed Forces. This year's holiday comes with U.S. troops involved in an overseas war and with some veterans questioning both the conflict itself and Trump's approach.
As well as the deaths, more than 860 American service members have been wounded in operations connected to the conflict, according to the Pentagon.
Americans’ perspectives on the war are mixed. Pew Research Center found the share of Americans who approved of Trump's handling of military action against Iran declined from 37 percent shortly after the conflict began in February to 33 percent by late September and early October. In total, 52 percent of respondents said they were either "not too" or "not at all" confident that the administration would achieve its goals.
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What to Know
Nick Paro, a disabled Army combat veteran who served in Afghanistan in 2014 as a human intelligence collector, told Newsweek the actions of the Trump administration surrounding the Iran War have "broken the trust of the American people."
"The war with Iran is built on a lie, and all it has done is hurt all of us in the U.S. with inflated prices, (and) shortages of needed resources and supplies," Paro said.
He also claimed the conflict had "weakened our alliances and ability to defend ourselves."
"This war, which Congress has yet to authorize, is a disaster and the leadership must be held accountable for those failures."
In an October Pew Research Center survey, 65 percent of Americans disapproved of Trump's handling of U.S. military action against Iran and 33 percent approved. Just 34 percent said the original decision to use military force had been the right one, down from 38 percent in March.
Trump Administration Recognizes Veterans Day With Arlington Cemetery Visit
The official 2026 Veterans Day commemoration will be held at Arlington National Cemetery. Trump previously attracted controversy over his treatment of the holiday last year.
During the 2025 Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, after laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Trump said November 11 would also be recognized as "Victory Day for World War I."
"We're the one that won the wars," Trump said. "From now on, we're going to say Victory Day for World War I."
The administration did not formally rename Veterans Day, but the symbolism behind Trump’s statement has drawn criticism from some veterans.
"That history matters here. We honor veterans for their service, whether or not a conflict ended in victory, and whether or not they saw combat," Todd Connor, co-founder of Veterans for All Voters, told Newsweek. "The cook, the mechanic, the medic and the infantryman all raised their hand and accepted the same risk."
How Do Veterans Feel About Trump's Iran War?
While veterans differ broadly in how they feel about the U.S.’s current military conflict, some are vehemently against the Trump administration’s recent actions, specifically around the lack of authorization from Congress.
"The more clearly Congress has authorized a mission, the stronger the mission is," Connor said. "Failure to articulate why we go to war hurts our standing with the active duty military, risks creating moral injury from those who serve and weakens (the) active duty commanders' ability to operate without understanding the ultimate commander's intent."
A YouGov survey also found 43 percent of Americans opposed the war and 31 percent supported it. Sixty percent opposed deploying U.S. ground forces to Iran, while 55 percent said the military operations should have received congressional authorization.
How Many U.S. Service Personnel Have Died in the Iran War?
The Pentagon's latest tally is 23 U.S. service members dead and 865 wounded in operations connected with the war against Iran.
Not all 23 fatalities were classified as hostile deaths. According to Stars and Stripes, the Pentagon divides the casualties between two operational categories. Operation Epic Fury, which began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, accounted for 15 deaths and left 417 wounded.
Subsequent "overseas operations," covering casualties following renewed fighting from July 7, accounted for another eight deaths and left 448 wounded as of the Pentagon's late-October update.
How Veterans Affairs Has Changed Under the Trump Administration
While Trump's foreign policy has drawn criticism, his administration has also implemented a number of significant changes at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The administration's fiscal 2026 VA budget called for $441.2 billion in total funding, including mandatory spending. This is roughly a $40.3 billion increase over the 2025 level. That included $248.1 billion for mandatory veteran benefits.
The VA has said more than 300,000 new veterans enrolled in VA health care in 2026, while the disability claims backlog has fallen by more than two-thirds since Trump took office. The department also says it has opened dozens of new health care clinics and expanded early-morning, evening and weekend appointments.
Homelessness has been another focus. In September, the VA announced a record $1.17 billion in grants to 680 organizations serving veterans who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
Of the total, $855 million was directed through the Supportive Services for Veteran Families program and $318 million through the Grant and Per Diem program.
"Under President Trump, VA is making historic progress getting our most vulnerable Veterans off the streets and back on the path to self-sufficiency," said VA Secretary Doug Collins in a statement.
"These grants underscore our commitment to expanding critical services that prevent Veteran homelessness, connecting those who have worn the uniform to permanent housing and providing the resources necessary for long‑term stability."
In July, the VA and Department of Health and Human Services also announced a partnership to expand research into psychedelic treatments. So far, the VA is involved in 20 active clinical trials examining psychedelic therapies for mental health conditions.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Jenna deJong and Oliver Pritchard.
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