Iran has continued their acts of aggression in the Gulf of Oman. On Thursday, Iran shot down one of our High-Altitude Long Endurance unmanned drones while in international airspace. The drone was targeted and shot down over the Strait of Hormuz, a vital international shipping route linking the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. Iran remains at the top of the U.S. State Department’s list of state-sponsors of terrorism and their elite military unit behind the shoot-down was separately designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the Trump Administration last year. I applaud President Trump’s actions last year to pull out of the dangerous Iran nuclear deal and reinstate sanctions that President Obama unilaterally lifted. On Thursday, President Trump held a meeting in the Situation Room with a bipartisan group of House and Senate Leadership to discuss the Iranian hostilities, current threat information and U.S. response options to retaliate for the shoot down of a U.S. military aircraft operating in international airspace. Ultimately, the President decided not to respond to Iran with kinetic force at that time. He stated that his decision was based, in part, on wanting to ensure our response was proportionate as to not escalate the very volatile situation that currently exists. Monday, President Trump signed an Executive Order authorizing more sanctions on Iran.This order allows the Treasury place sanctions on three of the Iran Supreme Leader’s top leaders these individuals were all involved in the recent acts of aggression. We must defend our nation and our allies against the present Iranian threat and we have many options to do so. I am grateful to the men and women in our Armed Services and Intelligence Community for working to keep us safe and provide our Command in Chief with the best available information so that he can make the best decisions possible. I will continue to monitor Iran’s actions and the administration’s proposed responses.
Congressman Daniel Webster represents The Villages in the U.S. House of Representatives.
