Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, warned Iran against reviving its nuclear program, telling Newsmax on Tuesday it would be "very stupid."
Ernst joined "Newsline" to react to President Donald Trump's comments about Iran on Monday, when he told reporters that Iran has been sending "nasty signals" about restarting its nuclear enrichment after the U.S. and Israel bombed Iran last month. Trump said the U.S. would wipe out Iran's nuclear facilities even faster a second time.
Ernst, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, called the operation a "well-executed, highly orchestrated mission" after taking part in a closed-door hearing on the mission called "Operation Midnight Hammer."
"I agree 100% with the president that if Iran engages on enriching to nuclear capabilities, yes, it would be very, very stupid on Iran's part," Ernst said. "So I'm just grateful for these troops again, what a successful mission. And God bless the USA for being strong. Don't mess with the U.S."
Ernst also dismissed Iran's counter warnings to Trump and the U.S. about repeating the "aggression" against the Islamic republic.
"I think the leadership in Iran, they are shaken. And all they can do, though, is that saber rattling," Ernst said. "If you look at how our mission was executed going into Iran, if you look at other missions that have been successfully completed by the Israelis, the Iranians really don't have the capabilities to push back against Israel or the United States."
"And certainly, we have very strong Arab nation partners throughout the Middle East as well. Many of them are very, very happy that President Trump executed this mission because it makes the Middle East much more secure, much more safe," she added.
"The mullahs, they are running scared at this point."
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Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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