Reschenthaler, Waltz Demand Biden Administration Deter Iranian Attacks on U.S. Interests in Iraq
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Representatives Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA) and Mike Waltz (R-FL) led a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging the Biden Administration to respond to Iran’s recent attacks in Iraq to deter future aggression and protect U.S. personnel operating in the region.
Since March 2022, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have launched several coordinated armed drone and missile attacks into northern Iraq, killing and injuring dozens of Iraqis and killing one American citizen. These attacks demonstrated that the Iranian regime has the capabilities to target U.S. and partner interests in Iraq without consequences from the Biden Administration.
Under the Trump Administration, the United States designated the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization. In January 2020, following an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, U.S. forces took kinetic action against the IRGC and killed Major General Qasem Soleimani, a sanctioned terrorist and the former IRGC Quds Force Commander.
In the letter, the members wrote:
“As Iran continues to sow chaos and destruction in the Middle East, these continued attacks have assaulted Iraq’s sovereignty, threatened U.S forces and ongoing counterterrorism efforts, and killed innocent American and Iraqi civilians. It is deeply concerning that these attacks have not been met with a strong U.S. response, and we believe this will only increase the IRGC’s ongoing terror campaign across the region.
To that end, we urge the Administration to respond against these Iranian threats to deter future attacks and protect our regional interests. Without responding to these provocations, we risk additional threats to our warfighters, diplomats, and civilians in the region.”
Reschenthaler and Waltz have served in the U.S. Armed Forces and deployed to the Middle East during their military careers.
Read the full letter here.