Republican Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) has called for America to respond to Iranian-backed terrorist attacks on U.S. military forces with a “massive retaliation” against Iran.
Speaking during an interview over the weekend, Cotton responded to the Iranian attacks against U.S. forces in the Middle East.
He told “Fox News Sunday” anchor Shannon Bream the only way to stop the attacks would be to launch a “massive retaliation” against Iran.
Cotton warned that under Democrat President Joe Biden, Iran and its proxies have launched approximately 150 attacks against U.S. forces in the Middle East.
He noted that those attacks include at least 66 since October 17.
“We’ve only hit back a few times,” Cotton said.
“When we do hit back, it’s almost always at empty proxy warehouses or maybe proxy forces in Iraq and Syria.
“It seems like the president wants to go out of his way to avoid Iranian casualties.
“I would target Iranians who are operating in Iraq and in Syria.
“I would also send a clear message to Iran if these attacks don’t stop immediately, then we’ll begin to threaten their assets.”
Cotton dismissed concerns from politicians who fear escalating militarily against Iran.
“What Reagan did when he sank half of Iran’s navy, it didn’t lead to an open, outright war,” he said.
“After Donald Trump directed [the] killing of Qasem Soleimani in Iraq, Iran’s terrorist mastermind, Iran pulled in its horns for the rest of Trump’s era.”
“The way to stop these attacks is not be fearful and hesitant and cautious in a response, but massive retaliation to make it clear we will not tolerate these attacks on Americans,” he added.
The senator asserted that a “clear message” needs to be sent to Iran that if the threats do not stop immediately, the U.S. “will begin to threaten their assets.”
WATCH:
WATCH: @SenTomCotton reacts to the temporary cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war. pic.twitter.com/i0hAeDw3Jt
— Fox News Sunday (@FoxNewsSunday) November 26, 2023
The comments from Cotton come after the New York Times reported that Biden has “rejected more aggressive bombing options proposed by the Pentagon.”
According to the report, Biden is afraid of “provoking” Iran.
READ MORE: Iraq Leader Declares Allegiance to Iran, Praises Hamas Just One Day after Meeting Blinken
