White House doubles down on Iran threats as Republican lawmakers retreat
Republican lawmakers emerging from a closed-door briefing on the Trump administration's war on Iran warned on Wednesday that they are not being given enough information to make informed decisions about the potential deployment of soldiers for ground combat.
"I will not support troops on the ground in Iran, even more so after this briefing," South Carolina Congresswoman Nancy Mace posted on X.
"The justifications presented to the American public for the war in Iran were not the same military objectives we were briefed on today in the House Armed Services Committee," she added. "This gap is deeply troubling. The longer this war continues, the faster it will lose the support of Congress and the American people."
Alabama Congressman Mike Rogers, who also chairs the House Armed Services Committee, told reporters on Capitol Hill that the administration is "not telling us substantive things".
"We want to know more about what's going on, what the options are, and why they're being considered... we're just not getting enough answers on those questions," he said.
"This is not just about Epic Fury," he added, referring to the administration's name for the war.
"This is a consistent pattern of tagging the base, saying, 'We came over and briefed you'."
Congress not needed
Speaking to reporters in the briefing room on Wednesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt described the classified briefings for lawmakers as "a courtesy... out of respect for them", and again insisted that congressional authorisation is not needed for President Donald Trump to mount a military operation he has deemed a necessity.
In theory, it is Congress that is meant to declare war, and not the executive branch. However, much of that authority has been clouded since lawmakers greenlit the 2001 "war on terror" declaration, which has since encompassed most US military operations overseas.
"Over the weekend, we dropped several 5,000-pound bombs on an underground facility used to store equipment, including anti-ship cruise missiles and mobile missile launchers positioned along the coastline of the Strait [of Hormuz]," Leavitt told reporters.
"This is the largest elimination of a navy on the face of the planet in a three-week period since World War Two."
The war's rationale has thus far shifted from destroying the nuclear programme to destroying the navy to assassinating senior Iranian leadership and beyond.
The war on Iran is likely to continue for another two weeks in order for the president's goals to be met, Leavitt said.
"We are very close to meeting the core objectives of the operation," she told reporters.
Pressed on what the objectives are, Leavitt said that Iran must have "someone in a leadership position... that will be much more favourable, and that will be willing to work with the United States [and] no longer chant Death to America".
To that end, Operation Epic Fury, on its 26th day, is well ahead of schedule, Leavitt said.
That's despite Iran's assertions to the contrary, and the governance protected by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) remaining in place.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told the state broadcaster on Wednesday that his government is reviewing Washington's proposal to end the war, but added that just because there has been an exchange of messages doesn't mean that there are "negotiations", as Trump himself declared on Saturday.
Tehran has no intention of holding talks with the US, Araghchi said.
Leavitt pushed back.
"Talks continue. They were productive on Monday and continue to be," she said.
"President Trump is willing to listen," she continued, but "President Trump does not bluff."
"He is prepared to unleash hell. Iran should not miscalculate again. Their last miscalculation costs them their senior leadership, their navy, their air force and their air defence system. Any violence beyond this point will be because the Iranian regime refused to understand they have already been defeated and refused to come to a deal."
Majid Mousavi, commander of the IRGC, wrote on X on Wednesday that "Trump must learn that any threat or ultimatum against Iran is considered as part of the act of war itself".
This article was sourced from Middle East Eye.
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