Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Pa., told Newsmax that the radical Islamic leadership of Iran seems to be seeking martyrdom in the standoff with President Donald Trump.
Meuser told "Bianca Across the Nation" on Tuesday that the radical Islamist leaders of Iran still want to hold on to power or go down in flames.
"They're a terrorist organization, and all they care about … their goal is martyrdom. … and let's face it, that's in their own mind. That's martyrdom in your own mind."
Meuser said it's a twisted ideology.
"That is a self-imposed idea," he said, "that somehow you're going to get martyrdom. This is not a normal group. They're very sick."
Trump is right to give the Iranian leadership a final ultimatum, "and we need to correct it," said Meuser, "because it won't stop."
He accused the Iranian regime of killing tens of thousands of Iranian people who earlier protested against oppression in the country.
"That's why they were out protesting," said Meuser. "That's exactly why this terrorist regime murdered 45,000 — I've had reports that it's as many as 85,000."
He said some Americans may be unaware of the regime's brutality.
"The American people have got to understand that," Meuser continued. "100,000 people went out and protested, and the regime that we are opposing and looking to replace murdered nearly 80,000 of them."
Meuser said the best outcome would be for a levelheaded leader to step up and take control of Iran.
"We need a new leader there that has a completely different mental outlook on society and civilization and life itself," he added, "and what's best for Iran in the long term, to be able to step up, hopefully, lead the people."
Meuser admitted that hope in the face of wartime struggles can be difficult.
"I know," he said, "hope is not a strategy and all that, but that's what it's coming down to."
Meuser's comments come ahead of a surrender-or-die threat set by Trump with a Tuesday evening deadline as his apparent final word on the conflict.
Trump took many off guard when he posted on Truth Social, "A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don't want that to happen, but it probably will."
Trump has repeatedly told the regime leadership, which has changed hands many times after Islamic leaders were killed in military strikes, that Iran must surrender to end the conflict. He added, "We will find out tonight."
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Jim Mishler ✉
Jim Mishler, a seasoned reporter, anchor and news director, has decades of experience covering crime, politics and environmental issues.
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