Reps. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) said Sunday that President Donald Trump is fixing the threat posed by Iran following a sweeping series of coordinated strikes, calling the operation devastating and long overdue.
In an interview, Perry addressed reports of roughly 900 simultaneous strikes carried out by multiple forces, stating Iran is “just lashing out any way it can.”
Perry added: “Thoughts and prayers to our lost service members, we’re with them. Look, Iran is just lashing out any way it can. Obviously, they really don’t have a plan. And of course, it sounds like a lot of the leadership has been decapitated.”
The congressman said that the apparent loss of top Iranian leaders has likely left lower-level military operators making targeting decisions in an effort to maintain control.
“You probably have lower-tier operators, military operators pushing buttons and making selections, target selections, etc., in some kind of attempt to maintain their position in control,” Perry said. “I don’t think it’s going to work.”
He compared the scale of the recent operation to World War II bombing campaigns: “You talk about the level and magnitude of the strike over the last couple of days. It kind of makes me think of World War II, where we literally sent thousands of bombers into Germany at one time. The sky was dark with Allied aircraft.”
Perry noted that “the technology, the strikes, the precision strikes are devastating and are going to continue to be devastating.”
The congressman stated that the broader goal is to empower the Iranian people to reclaim their country and end what he described as decades of extremism: “This is all to set up the Iranian people to take control of their country. And [to end] this 47-year reign of Islamic terror, not only just in the region but around the globe.”
Perry also pushed back on criticism from Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), who suggested Trump lacked a plan and bore responsibility for escalating tensions.
“It’s breathtaking,” Perry said. He pointed to past Democratic administrations: “Don’t leave out the Barack Obama Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which allowed nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles to be produced. That’s literally what it did.”
He also referenced Iranian-supplied weapons used against U.S. troops in Iraq: “The explosive form penetrators that came out of Iran killed thousands of our uniformed service members.”
Perry continued: “Unfortunately, Mark Kelly, the Democrat Party, the left is going to assign blame to the people that are trying to fix this situation as opposed to assigning appropriate blame to the Islamist extremists that have taken over a country and tried to impose their will on the entire world.”
“Thank God that somebody has had the guts to finally solve this equation,” Perry added. “And that person is Donald J. Trump.”
Addressing calls from some lawmakers for a congressional vote on military action, Perry said Trump is acting within his authority: “Of course, the president is fully within his legal rights to do what he’s doing right now. We have to make decisions based on reality, not what we wish were true.”
