Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, issued the below statement following the U.S. military and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF)’s joint strikes on Iran, known as “Operation Epic Fury”:

              “For far too long, Iran has held the world hostage with its nuclear threats and state-sponsored terrorism. As today’s strikes have exemplified, all diplomatic endeavors to secure peace with the  Iranian dictatorship have been exhausted.

              “President Trump is a man of his word. He pledged U.S. military action if Iran did not immediately halt its nuclear weapons program and cease its bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protests. Despite ample warnings and admonishments to negotiate seriously, Iran has defied U.S. diplomacy to end its decades-long quest to procure nuclear weapons and cease its despicable violence against Americans, Israelis, and the Iranians themselves.

              “Among the many egregious concessions in 2015 by President Obama to the Iranians to get a deal included the removal of a treaty obligation that would have ended Iran’s missile program and prevented the mass production of the ballistic missiles that are today raining down on American military in the region, Israeli civilians and neighboring countries,” he said.

              In debate on the House floor in 2015, Smith said: “Iranian Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei criticized the call for Iran to end its ballistic missile program, characterizing it as ‘a stupid, idiotic expectation’ and claiming ‘the Revolutionary Guards should definitely carry out their program and not be satisfied with the present level. They should mass produce.’”

              “And mass produce they have, killing thousands and putting millions at risk!”

              Smith continued, “The Trump administration has refused to allow the United States to be bullied by Iran and its terrorist proxies, including Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis. And with the support of our strong ally and friend, Israel—who, for decades, has been the target of an unimaginable violence and terror campaign by Iran—I am confident that we will be able to disarm and immobilize the credible, global threat of Iran.

              “May God bless our courageous servicemembers, as well as the IDF soldiers, who have been tasked with undertaking this critical mission to dismantle Iran’s reign of terror.”

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