Senator Chris Murphy said
A Democratic lawmaker from Connecticut has challenged the assessment by Republicans on intelligence allegedly proving Iran had taken aggressive steps against U. S. interests in the region.
Senator Chris Murphy, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, wrote on Twitter Monday that he was «listening to Republicans twist the Iran intel to make it sound like Iran is taking unprovoked, offensive measures against the U. S. and our allies. Like it just came out of nowhere.»
He added: «I’ve read the intel too. And let me be clear—that’s not what the intel says.»
The tweet came as President Donald Trump’s administration gradually briefed lawmakers on what it claimed was evidence that Iran presented a heightened threat. The allegations have been used to justify the early deployment of the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group to the Persian Gulf and a pullout of U. S. Embassy staff in Iraq, amid other warnings at a particularly tense time in relations between Washington and Tehran. Under mounting U. S. sanctions, Iraq has dismissed the charges.
«No one should defend the actions Iran has taken—they’ve been out of control for years—but dumb wars start when each party mistakenly believes that the other party’s defensive or reactive actions are actually offensive and proactive,» Murphy added.
The USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group sails in the Arabian Sea in this photo shared May 19 by the Navy. The group was deployed to the region ahead of schedule in response to what national security adviser John Bolton claimed were «troubling and escalatory indications and warnings» involving Iran.
