Republicans rush to extinguish Iran war talk
GOP lawmakers insist that Trump’s show of force is the best way to prevent an immediate Iranian attack, even as a long-term solution to tensions remains elusive.
Republicans are scrambling to tamp down talk of war with Iran amid increasing concerns that the Donald Trump administration’s maximum pressure campaign could inadvertently provoke a conflagration.
With Democrats and right-wing pundits alike warning of a disastrous repeat of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, GOP lawmakers are defending the president as a cool-headed statesman whose show of resolve is the best guarantee against further escalation.
Trump himself has sought to cool tensions, asking Iran’s leaders to call him to make a deal. “I hope not,” he told reporters today when asked if war was coming.
“It’s close to inconceivable that the president, the administration would consider a war with Iran,” Senate Middle East panel Chairman Mitt Romney, R-Utah, told reporters on Wednesday, while also insisting that Trump “is showing strength to suggest that’s not something we will accept.”
