Sen. Roger Marshall said Sunday that the conflict between the U.S. and Iran has moved into a phase he referred to as a “mop-up operation,” hours after the U.S. launched strikes on the Islamic republic.
“The major war is over and think of this as almost just a mop-up operation,” Mr. Marshall, Kansas Republican, said on NBC News’ “Meet the Press.”
“We have to press them if they strike us. We have to strike them back by 10,” he said.
Mr. Marshall’s comments come after the U.S. launched retaliatory strikes on Iran for the second time in two days. The first came after Iran attacked a ship moving through the Strait of Hormuz. The second round of strikes came after the Pentagon said Iran struck “targets linked to the American aggressor forces” in the region.
When pressed on whether the war is actually over, Mr. Marshall urged patience.
“I’m asking America to hang in there. This is a, this is a detente. This is a ceasefire and yeah they broke the ceasefire. We have to answer that as well,” he said.
Mr. Marshall also pointed to the framework agreement for peace between Israel and Lebanon that was brokered by Secretary of State Marco Rubio as evidence the U.S. is moving toward reaching its goals, which he described as “No nukes for Iran, no forever wars, bring the cost of gas and groceries down.”
“Let’s root for the Trump team for once, rather than try to tear them down. So I think we’re doing what we need to do, making great progress here, and again working toward those goals,” Mr. Marshall said.
