GOP hawks in Congress are pressuring President Biden to go after Iran directly after a drone strike that killed three US troops in Jordan on Saturday night and injured several more, purportedly by a terrorist group with support from Iran. Axios and ABC News enumerate other instances, such as Lindsey Graham's assertion that "targets of importance within Iran" should be targeted in order to discourage aggression, and that targeting Iranian proxies outside of Iran is ineffective and would not be effective.
Likewise, Mitch McConnell demanded that strikes be made "not merely against Iranian patrons who wear American blood as a badge of honor, but also against front-line terrorist proxies."
Similar calls were made by other senators, but according to Axios, Democrats would probably be unhappy with Biden if he complies with them. In fact, "more dovish" lawmakers are already upset that the administration's strikes on groups backed by Iran in Yemen and Iraq were carried out without prior congressional authorization.
The website also points out that attacking Iran would force the US to get even more involved in the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Middle East. Since Hamas struck Israel on October 7, they are the first US soldiers to die in combat. Iran has denied any complicity in the assault, according to the Guardian.
Likewise, Mitch McConnell demanded that strikes be made "not merely against Iranian patrons who wear American blood as a badge of honor, but also against front-line terrorist proxies."
Similar calls were made by other senators, but according to Axios, Democrats would probably be unhappy with Biden if he complies with them. In fact, "more dovish" lawmakers are already upset that the administration's strikes on groups backed by Iran in Yemen and Iraq were carried out without prior congressional authorization.
The website also points out that attacking Iran would force the US to get even more involved in the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Middle East. Since Hamas struck Israel on October 7, they are the first US soldiers to die in combat. Iran has denied any complicity in the assault, according to the Guardian.
