“It makes no logical sense why Iran would want to try and provoke and anger the United States,” said Rep. David Kustoff (R-TN) in a Friday interview on SiriusXM’s Breitbart News Daily with host Alex Marlow.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Thursday it had shot down a U.S. “spy drone” over its territory, sending “a clear message” to America in doing so. Later that day, a U.S. commanding general in the Middle East described Iran’s action as “an unprovoked attack.”
“Iran is clearly trying to provoke the United States,” Kustoff determined. “We look back at the attack on the two tankers — of course, what happened with the drone — and I encourage people listening, if you haven’t seen what that drone looks like that Iran shot down, you ought to look online. There are many different photos of the drone. This is a big drone. It’s large, and it was clearly meant to provoke us.”
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Kustoff added, “I think that based on what I understand, the president’s measured approach to respond to Iran is exactly the right move. Yesterday, President Trump met with leaders of both political parties in the White House Situation Room to lay everything out.”
Kustoff continued, “What I’ve heard from both Republicans and Democrats is he’s clearly in control. The intelligence that was provided is all good and accurate, and we need to be measured. Make no mistake, it was a clear provocation by Iran against the United States.”
“I think that [Iran is] very desperate here,” said Marlow, speculating that Iran’s government is seeking to distract its population from economic hardship by escalating tensions with the United States. “It seems very panicky to me, that they need to change things up, and I think they’re perhaps in fear that domestically, the sanctions that the president has put on Iran are going to be very devastating. I think they’re looking to change people’s focus.”
Kustoff replied, “Iran’s been antagonistic towards the United States for years, and we’ve seen different levels of antagonism. To me it’s unexplainable. It makes no logical sense why Iran would want to try and provoke and anger the United States. I’m not sure that it’s rational. I don’t think it’s well thought out, but we will have a measured response and it will be appropriate.”
Kustoff concluded, “I think there is a game plan. There’s nothing that’s going to be done that’s reactionary … There’s no predicting what Iran may or may not do during the next days or weeks, and we need to continue to monitor.
Breitbart News Daily broadcasts live on SiriusXM Patriot 125 weekdays from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Eastern.
Follow Robert Kraychik on Twitter @rkraychik.