Spanish actor Javier Bardem used his appearance at the 2026 Academy Awards to protest a new US-led war against Iran and express solidarity with Palestine, drawing parallels to the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
At the 2026 Academy Awards, Spanish cinema star Javier Bardem utilized his public platform to deliver a sharp anti-war message and show solidarity with Palestinians. According to the conservative Iranian daily Vatan-e Emrooz, Bardem stated from the Oscars podium, "No to war, to the hope of freedom for Palestine." The popular Iranian news aggregator Akharin Khabar similarly reported the actor declaring on stage, "No to war, long live Palestine."
On the sidelines of the ceremony, Bardem explicitly condemned recent military actions against Iran. This commentary arrives against the backdrop of a major escalation early Monday morning, when a series of severe explosions struck strategic infrastructure in western Tehran—an attack that local opposition sources have linked to the United States and Israel. Vatan-e Emrooz reported that Bardem reacted directly to the "US attack on Iran" by wearing an anti-war pin and stating: "I have a pin that I used in 2003 during the Iraq war, a war that was illegal, and now 23 years later we are here with another illegal war created by Trump and Netanyahu."
Akharin Khabar corroborated these remarks, highlighting Bardem's assertion that the US is currently embroiled in "another illegal war" orchestrated by Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu. The Iranian state-aligned press heavily emphasized this narrative, with Vatan-e Emrooz headlining Bardem's stance as a declaration that the world is "witnessing another illegal war by the US."Iranian state-aligned media heavily amplified Bardem's comments, specifically highlighting his condemnation of the US and Israel in the immediate aftermath of suspected US-Israeli strikes on Tehran.