Democratic Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) angered progressives again Wednesday with his attempt to mock Muslim journalist Mehdi Hasan, founder of Zeteo, telling a reporter he wanted to offer his "condolences" because Hasan was "all broke up about the Ayatollah."
Zeteo, a progressive independent media outlet and Substack newsletter, shared a clip on X in which reporter Prem Thakker asked Fetterman his thoughts on a U.S. attack submarine sinking an Iranian Navy frigate off the coast of Sri Lanka using a torpedo. It marked the first time since World War II that a U.S. submarine had sunk an enemy vessel in combat.
"Oh, I want to offer condolences to your boss. I know he’s all broke up about the Ayatollah," Fetterman retorted.
Hasan, who has Pakistani and British roots and is now a naturalized U.S. citizen, has repeatedly condemned Israel's military actions in Gaza, calling them "genocide."
After a brief exchange, Thakker, taken aback by the remark, asked, "You're offering your condolences to my boss?"
Fetterman replied, "I know who you work for."
"It's very anti-Israel," he said. "It is very anti-Israel, and I'm very pro-Israel. So we can agree to disagree on things."
When asked again his thoughts on the attack on the naval ship in international waters, Fetterman replied he thinks the "world is better" now that Ali Khamenei is dead.
As Fetterman continued to ignore the question, the senator became agitated.
"I support killing the Iranian leadership! Why wasn't he upset about the way they killed all the Iranians? He wasn't angry about the killing of thousands and thousands of young Iranians! He didn't seem bothered by that," Fetterman railed.
The senator's remarks left progressives aghast.
Briahna Joy Gray, former national press secretary for Bernie Sanders's 2020 campaign, wrote on X, "This man is welcomed in the Democratic Party but Rashida Tlaib gets censured."
Sean Kitchen, Pennsylvania political correspondent with The Keystone, wrote on X, "This a great example of how petty and thin skinned Fetterman has always been. He's never been able to handle criticism by people."
Zaid Jilani, author ofThe American Saga substack, wrote on X, "Fetterman seems like a wicked man."
Julian Andreone of Drop Site wrote on X, "Very unstable."
Pulitzer finalist Ted Rall wrote on X, "I hope Fetterman will dress up properly for his war crimes trial," referring to the senator's choice to wear a hooded sweatshirt in the clip.
Meanwhile, the right cheered Fetterman.
Will Chamberlain, senior counsel of the right-wing Article III Project, wrote on X, "Can we just bring Fetterman into the GOP? This is incredibly based."
Senator John Fetterman’s response to @prem_thakker when asked about the illegal US strike on an Iranian Naval ship in international waters:
“I want to offer condolences to your boss [Mehdi]. I know he’s all broke up about the Ayatollah.” pic.twitter.com/dulSmb2jIl
— Zeteo (@zeteo_news) March 4, 2026