The United States should not strike Iran and risk a broader Mideast war, says Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley.
As speculation swells over whether President Trump will order a strike, particularly on Iran’s most impenetrable nuclear facility, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has threatened “irreparable damage” on the U.S. should it take direct military action against the country in its war with Israel.
“I don’t think we ought to get involved directly. I don’t think we ought to do strikes or certainly put troops on the ground or any of that,” Hawley said in an exclusive interview with The Heartlander on Wednesday.
Backing Israel is one thing, he says. Having American pilots striking Iran is quite another – even to use the so-called bunker-busting bombs on the key Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant, said to be underground far enough to avoid any munitions at Israel’s disposal.
“It’s a very different thing for the United States to be engaging in military action,” Hawley explains. “I’m opposed to that. The president hasn’t done that. I’d be very skeptical of that. I don’t think we want a Mideast war. We don’t want to be involved in another Mideast war.
“But standing by our ally Israel and saying, hey, we support your right to self-defense and telling Iran, you ought to get rid of your nuclear program.”
“I think the president is doing the right thing at this point, which is to say to Iran, ‘Listen, you’re not going to get a nuke, so you can either give up your nuclear weapons program peacefully and the U.S. will help you with that, or you’re going to be on your own to face Israel.’
“The United States is not going to protect Iran and stand in between Iran and Israel. And Iran’s attacked Israel, like, a billion times. So, they’re on their own. …
“I think we can say to Iran, ‘Listen, if you think the U.S. is going to bail you out, you’re very wrong. You’ve created this problem. You shouldn’t have a nuke. We’re not going to allow you to get one. And so, either give us your nukes peacefully, or else you’re going to have to face Israel on your own.”
If Iran refuses to give up its nuclear ambitions, Hawley says the country’s ruling clerics need to understand that “this isn’t Obama. We’re not going to give you pallets of cash. This isn’t Joe Biden. We’re not going to come on our knees and beg you to sign some agreement.
“This is America First. So, if Iran will peacefully give up its nuclear program, great. If not, we’re not going to protect them. So, they’ve got some choices to make.”
