Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg Pete ButtigiegBillionaire who donated to Trump in 2016 donates to Biden The Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by Facebook - GOP closes ranks to fill SCOTUS vacancy by November Buttigieg stands in as Pence for Harris's debate practice MORE said in an interview that aired Sunday that U.S. tensions with Iran are "disturbingly reminiscent" of the lead-up to the Iraq War.

"There's no question that Iran has a pattern of malign activities. There's also no question that there is a pattern that is disturbingly reminiscent of the run-up to the war in Iraq in some cases being driven by the same people," Buttigieg said on CNN's "State of the Union."

"I mean, the fact that one of the architects of the Iraq war is the President's national security adviser right now, when the President himself has pretended that he was against the Iraq War all along. This is shocking," the South Bend, Indiana, mayor said referring to national security adviser John Bolton John BoltonJudge appears skeptical of Bolton's defense of publishing book without White House approval Maximum pressure is keeping US troops in Iraq and Syria Woodward book trails Bolton, Mary Trump in first-week sales MORE.

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Buttigieg has previously made similar comments, although tensions with Iran have heightened in recent days. The U.S. blamed Iran on attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman Thursday, accusing the country of using limpet mines on the tankers. Iran has denied involvement.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Michael (Mike) Richard PompeoPutin nominated for Nobel Peace Prize The Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by Facebook - Trump previews SCOTUS nominee as 'totally brilliant' Pompeo accused of stumping for Trump ahead of election MORE doubled down on blaming Iran on Sunday, saying in a "Fox News Sunday" appearance that it is "unmistakable what happened here."

Buttigieg is among two dozen people running for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination.