Operation Epic Fury is aiming to disable Iran’s ability to project power in the Middle East, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby said Thursday.
He reaffirmed to members of the House Armed Services Committee that victory will be achieved once Iran’s missile and drone production capacity is sufficiently destroyed, and he made a clear distinction between the current operation and previous interventions in the region.
“Iran was building a conventional shield to enable the recovery of its nuclear ambitions. And so part of the end state is to prevent an outcome where they don’t have an incentive,” Mr. Colby said. “I think there’s a realistic sense that we have learned the lessons of Iraq and not being overly ambitious.”
Mr. Colby also pointed to the “Venezuelan model” as one potential outcome of the Iran War.
However, he insisted that the U.S.’ goals in Iran are not focused on regime change.
Democratic lawmakers were unconvinced that simply targeting Iran’s ballistic missile and drone production infrastructure would eliminate the threat posed by the Islamic republic or prevent a similar war in the future.
“We’ve done this before, we did it a year ago, Israel did it over the course of two years and significantly degraded Iran at a much lower cost than the regional war,” Rep. Adam Smith, Washington Democrat, said. “But when that’s done, and the Islamic republic is still there, they will simply rebuild.”
Mr. Colby’s comments were in line with statements he made in front of lawmakers earlier this week, when he declared that strikes that killed senior political and military leaders in Iran were launched by Israel, not the U.S.
The Trump administration is facing significant domestic pressure from lawmakers and media outlets to outline the Pentagon’s objectives in its war with Iran, which has entered its sixth day.
While senior officials have insisted that the U.S. is not interested in nation-building and regime change in Iran, President Trump made it clear that the administration compiled a list of potential candidates to take over if the Islamic republic falls.
However, Mr. Trump told reporters earlier this week that most of the candidates were killed in initial strikes.
The debate in Washington over what victory in the Middle East looks like comes as Iran has worked to widen the war in the past few days, launching missiles and drones at Gulf nations and beyond.
The strikes forced Saudi Arabia and Qatar to pause production on oil and natural gas, causing energy prices to soar. The attacks have also strained international shipping as Iran declared that the Strait of Hormuz would be closed until further notice.
