Mike Lawler: “For decades, Presidents and Members of Congress of both parties have talked about peace in the Middle East. Stability in…”

“For decades, Presidents and Members of Congress of both parties have talked about peace in the Middle East. Stability in the Middle East and freedoms for all who live there is something that all of us should be able to agree on, and almost everyone also agrees that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon and that Iran is the greatest state sponsor of terrorism. Unfortunately, 53 of my colleagues from across the aisle last week chose not to support that belief by voting against a resolution that declared Iran the greatest state sponsor of terrorism. For the first year of this term, President Trump has prioritized putting in place maximum pressure on the Iranian regime and prioritizing negotiations to stop their uranium enrichment, to stop their nuclear ambitions, to stop their ballistic missiles program, and to stop their financing of terrorism. Unfortunately, the regime refused to negotiate in good faith. Two weeks ago, President Trump executed Operation Epic Fury to take their ballistic missiles program off the table for them. This offensive also destroyed their air defense system and their naval capabilities. Look where our partners and allies in the region are. They are opposed to a nuclear Iran. They are opposed to an Iranian regime that possesses dangerous intercontinental ballistic missiles, and they support the United States maximum pressure campaign. That is because they know this military engagement did not happen in silo. This was not a war of choice.”