Several senior US Senators, including pro-Israel lawmaker Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Tom Cotton (R-AR) and John Cornyn (R-TX) urged President Joe Biden on Sunday to authorize direct strikes on Iranian forces in response to a kamikaze drone attack that killed three American military personnel and injured dozens of others.
3 Dead, 34 American Service Members Hurt in Attack on Base in Jordan
The attack took place at the Tower 22 military site on the Jordanian border with Syria and Iraq, an attack to which President Joe Biden pledged a response. “Have no doubt — we will hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner our choosing,” Biden said.
My statement following the Iran-backed attacks in Jordan that killed three U.S. service members and injured 25: pic.twitter.com/L8ckks5ch4
— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) January 28, 2024
“Joe Biden emboldened Iran for years by tolerating attacks on our troops, bribing the ayatollahs with billions of dollars, and appeasing them to no end,” Cotton said. “He left our troops as sitting ducks and now three are dead and dozens wounded, sadly as I’ve predicted would happen for months.
“The only answer to these attacks must be devastating military retaliation against Iran’s terrorist forces, both in Iran and across the Middle East,” the senator warned.
Graham accused Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin of failing to deter aggression against American forces in the Middle East. “I’ve long since lost confidence in the Biden national security team to deter Iran. If they do not change their policies now, more American service members in the region will pay the price,” the senator warned in a statement posted on the X social media platform.
Cornyn was more direct. In a separate post on X, the Texas senator wrote simply: “Target Tehran.” When asked if that meant bombing Iran, he replied, “No. IRGC and Quds Force terrorist facilitators.”
The IRGC is Iran’s elite military force, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and the Quds Force is the IRGC’s special forces division, which connects with Iranian proxies and operates primarily abroad in Iraq and Syria.
