WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today issued the following statement:

“Today, our commander-in-chief took decisive action against the threat posed by the world’s leading proliferator of terrorism, the Iranian regime. This is a pivotal and necessary operation to protect Americans and American interests. The President has stated the operation’s goals clearly: thwart permanently the ayatollahs’ desire to create a nuclear weapon, degrade their ballistic missile force and their production capacity, and destroy their naval and terrorism capabilities.

These are the hardest decisions that face any American commander-in-chief, and I appreciate that President Trump and his team conducted a comprehensive strategy using all tools of national power and a well-orchestrated military planning process.

The Iranian regime has never been weaker. Without the use of military force against them, Iran’s ayatollahs would simply continue to grow their ability to threaten Americans and our interests, working in concert with the Chinese Communist Party, the Russian dictator Putin, North Korea, and other terrorist allies. The ayatollahs have mortgaged the economic future of ordinary Iranians to engage in their obsessive and apocalyptic vision.   

Most importantly, I commend the brave men and women of our armed forces, who continue to demonstrate a level of operational proficiency unrivaled the world over. That fact will be evident in the coming days. Thanks to them, Americans are safer – not just today, but for generations to come.

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