Iran, not the United States, is to blame for escalating tensions between the two countries, Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., said Wednesday, predicting it will not be "that long" until Iran is out of the nuclear deal and rushing "toward nukes."
"When they talk about enriching uranium, that wasn't too far into the future on the deal," Rep. Kinzinger told Fox News' "America's Newsroom." "If you look at Yemen, the supplying of the Houthi rebels, not food aid but weapons, and they put them where there are civilians. Look at what they've done in Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq. A quarter of American troops were killed in Iraq because of a direct result of Iran in the first place, and they're still there."
President Donald Trump is doing the right thing by holding a "strong posture" against Iran, Kinzinger added, but he has no doubt Iran wants to escalate "to the extent they can."
"They don't want to face the U.S. military," he said. "It will be a quick and one-sided fight but [they will] push back against President Trump as best as they can."
Kinzinger also commented it "makes sense" for the Pentagon to have a plan for Iran involving 120,000 troops.
"The president followed that by saying if we actually get in a conflict 'I'll send a hell of a lot more than 120,000,'" Kinzinger said. "If Iran wants to play this game that they've been playing in the Middle East for as long as they have, then the U.S. can come in and end it pretty quickly. We don't want to do that but we're able to."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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