Trump’s Iran Strikes Target ‘World’s Largest State Sponsor of Terrorism,’ GOP Congressman States

President Donald Trump’s weekend military strikes against Iran mark a decisive shift in U.S. policy, Rep. Derrick Van Orden stated Sunday. The actions, which the congressman said were long overdue, aimed at dismantling what Trump described as the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism.

“It’s going to change the world,” Van Orden said. “His bold leadership is doing something that should have been done for the last 47 years—getting rid of the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism that is responsible for killing thousands of American citizens, closing international shipping, costing billions of dollars for the world economy, and just destabilizing a region.”

Van Orden emphasized the goal was peace and prosperity for Iran: “We want the Persian people to live in peace with their neighbors, be able to prosper and have freedom within their own country.” He pushed back against criticism from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and other Democrats. “These people are going to say anything they possibly can to counter Trump,” he said. “If Donald Trump came out today and said oxygen was good for you, there’d be thousands of people—包括 Chuck Schumer and Adam Schiff—walking around with plastic bags over their heads.”

Van Orden stressed the issue transcends party politics: “At some point, you have to put aside this crazy partisan politics stuff and realize what we’re doing is not just good for America—it’s good for the world.” He added, “If any elected member of the United States government is cheering for these mullahs, they need to resign in shame. Right now, this is an American issue. It’s not a Democrat issue. It’s not a Republican issue.”

The congressman described the administration’s approach as a doctrine of “peace through strength.” “For 47 years, no one tried,” he said. “We did this tit-for-tat sort of stuff and just kept things at a slow burn. Well, that’s not peace. Peace comes through strength.”

Van Orden noted Trump sought negotiations before military action: “Donald Trump didn’t jump right into this bombing campaign with Israel. He’s been trying for months and months and months to negotiate with these guys. They refused to do so.” He concluded the strikes fulfill promises to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and projecting regional power: “We need to remove the ability of these mullahs and the IRGC to project power within the region. We have to set conditions for the Persian people to rise up and have their own government that will give them peace and prosperity.” “What you saw is him fulfilling a promise—these guys won’t have nuclear weapons, and they won’t be able to project power throughout the region,” he added.