During an interview broadcast on Thursday’s “Special Report” on the Fox News Channel, Defense Secretary Ash Carter stated that Iran “is still involved in malign activity. It threatens its region.”
Carter said [relevant remarks begin around 8:10] “[T]here was a nuclear deal done with Iran, which was good in the sense that it took away, if it’s implemented verifiably, which it is being so far, the nuclear weapons danger from Iran. But Iran is still involved in malign activity. It threatens its region. It threatens our neighbors. And that’s one of the reasons why we have a big presence in that part of the world. ISIL is one reason, but deterring Iranian aggression, countering Iranian malign influence in the region is the other reason we have forces there.”
He added, in response to a question on whether Iran’s behavior had changed since the nuclear deal, “I think they continue to do things that are dangerous. That’s why we need to protect ourselves. That’s why we need missile defense. That’s why we need aircraft carriers and other ships in the Gulf. That’s why we do all these things.”
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