Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton has called for retaliation against Iranian attacks on U.S. forces in the middle east.
Cotton also noted around 150 attacks against U.S. forces in the middle east have occurred under the Biden administration, 66 of which have happened since Oct. 17.
The Arkansas senator made his comments during an appearance on Fox News Sunday with host Shannon Bream.
“We’ve only hit back a few times. When we do hit back, it’s almost always at empty proxy warehouses or maybe proxy forces in Iraq and Syria,” Cotton said. “It seems like the president wants to go out of his way to avoid Iranian casualties. I would target Iranians who are operating in Iraq and in Syria. I would also send a clear message to Iran if these attacks don’t stop immediately, then we’ll begin to threaten their assets.”
Cotton referenced other instances of military reconciliation against foreign countries under previous administrations.
“What Reagan did when he sank half of Iran’s navy, it didn’t lead to an open, outright war,” he said. “After Donald Trump directed [the] killing of Qasem Soleimani in Iraq, Iran’s terrorist mastermind, Iran pulled in its horns for the rest of Trump’s era.”
The Arkansas senator reiterated the only way to stop the attacks on U.S. forces was to hold a "massive retaliation."
“The way to stop these attacks is not be fearful and hesitant and cautious in a response, but massive retaliation to make it clear we will not tolerate these attacks on Americans,” he added.
Cotton stressed Iran needed to be sent a "clear message" that the United States will "begin to threaten their assets" if attacks on U.S. forces don't stop.
Democratic Massachusetts Rep. Jake Auchincloss took an opposing position to Cotton and said the Biden administration has been "tough" on Iran.
"They have rolled out almost 50 new sets of sanctions that have helped lead to almost 50% inflation in the Iranian economy. Iran is desperate right now," said Auchincloss, who appeared on the program after Cotton.
Auchincloss referenced the Abraham Accords, a declaration signed between Israel and Arab countries under the Trump administration, and said Iran fears political isolation more than military or economic retaliation.
"If we were to follow the Republican Party's warpath in the Middle East, we would end up with is yet another failed forever war in that region," Auchincloss warned.
