Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., voiced his support for President Donald Trump's decision to strike Iran, telling Newsmax on Saturday that the move was a decisive step to end what he described as decades of aggression by the regime.
On "Saturday Agenda," Lawler said he is "grateful that President Trump made the decision to strike Iran and to, once and for all, end this reign of terror that has brought death and destruction around the globe for 47 years."
The House Foreign Affairs Committee member cited Iran's ballistic missile program, nuclear ambitions, support of terrorism, and treatment of its own citizens as justification for the strike.
"The fact is that Iran's ballistic missiles program, their nuclear ambitions, their funding of terrorism, their oppression of their own people, in which they were slaughtering tens of thousands of them just a few weeks ago, it all has to come to an end," Lawler said.
"I think the president made a very courageous decision," he added.
Lawler framed the operation as part of a broader effort to bring stability to the region.
"Ultimately, this is about ensuring peace and stability in the Middle East and ending the threats posed by the ayatollah and this regime," he said.
Asked about reports from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggesting there was a "strong likelihood" that Iran's ayatollah, Ali Khamenei, was killed, Lawler cautioned that the operation was still unfolding.
"I think this operation is well underway. It is not complete yet," he said. "This was obviously the initial phase here."
Lawler said Congress expects a briefing from the administration in the coming days outlining next steps and the broader strategy.
"I think we will see when the administration briefs Congress in the coming days what the next steps are that they intend to take and the path forward," he said.
He added that several key targets had already been hit.
"Obviously, a number of IRGC leadership and sites were in fact taken out," Lawler said, referring to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. "A number of ballistic missile launchers were taken out, so the full scale of what occurred over these last 12 hours or so, we will learn in short order."
Lawler also defended Trump's diplomatic posture leading up to the strike, saying the president had given Iran opportunities to change course.
"Like last summer, he gave the ayatollah the opportunity to negotiate. He gave the ayatollah the opportunity to end his ambitions, to end his funding of terrorism, to end the ballistic missiles program. He chose otherwise," Lawler said.
"President Trump, unlike previous presidents, has followed through on his red lines," he added. "I think our adversaries should understand that if the president is giving them the opportunity to negotiate, they should take it."
Lawler described the strike as the culmination of decades of tension.
"I think it's important to note the road to diplomacy has been going on for 47 years, that this regime has acted belligerently, terrorizing the Middle East, killing Americans," he said. "And today we finally said, enough."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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