Despite relentless pressure, President Donald Trump has thus far resisted the push for a regime-change war with Iran, thanks in large part to the growing influence of America First realists fighting to reclaim U.S. foreign policy from the permanent war machine.

But that influence is under siege, as evidenced by the shake-ups within the Pentagon as well as external forces in the media targeting administration officials who have preached realism and restraint over escalation.

Starting from within the Pentagon, Dan Caldwell, a former senior adviser to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, recently appeared on the Tucker Carlson show to discuss the circumstances surrounding his firing for allegedly leaking classified information, an allegation he vehemently denies.

Caldwell was one of three staffers who were recently terminated from their positions at the Pentagon. All three staffers, coincidentally, but perhaps not, were voices who had either opposed a regime-change war with Iran (Caldwell) or threatened other “established interests” within the Pentagon, leading Tucker to conclude during the interview that it was not leaks, but rather their opposition to war with Iran that led to their firings.