FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Caroline Tabler (202) 224-2353
November 14, 2023

Washington, D.C. — Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) today spoke on the Senate floor to condemn the Biden administration’s inadequate response to attacks by Iran and its proxies on American troops. Additionally, Senator Cotton announced he is introducing legislation to strengthen sanctions against Iran’s transfer of missile and drone technologies. The bill will also prevent Iran from developing a long-range missile.

In part, Senator Cotton said:

“Lloyd Austin and Joe Biden may not want to seek conflict, but Iran does, and it will continue to try to kill our troops until they face real consequences, until they’re scared straight.”

Senator Cotton’s full speech may be found here and below.

Since Joe Biden took office, Iran and its proxies have attacked American troops in the Middle East at least one hundred and thirty-five times. Let me say that again: one hundred and thirty-five attacks on American troops since January 2021.  

What’s worse is that fifty-two of those attacks have happened in the last month, since Hamas conducted its murderous rampage and its ongoing war against Israel. 

These rocket and drone attacks against American bases in Iraq and Syria caused at least fifty-six service member injuries, with twenty-five traumatic brain injuries. And two Americans have died because of these attacks. 

Just like they have been for years, these attacks are financed by Iran, Israel’s greatest enemy. These attacks—let’s be clear—are meant to kill Americans and to increase the conflict and violence in the Middle East. 

What’s President Biden done in response to these attacks? Has he punished Iran and its proxies for killing Americans? Has he made clear the United States will not tolerate these attacks in the future?  

No, not even close. 

Consider the Biden administration has also failed to enforce oil sanctions on Iran, giving them over 90 billion dollars. And now, President Biden is reportedly again considering the release of the remaining 10 billion dollars Iran is owed as part of his hostage exchange. What kind of message does it send to the people attacking your troops another 10 billion dollars more to fund their activities against the United States and Israel? In fact, since the terrible atrocity of October 7th, Joe Biden has not changed his Iran policy in a single way.  

Of those 135 attacks on Americans, the Biden administration has hit back fewer than 10 times. Think about that: 135 times they hit us, fewer than 10 times do we hit them back. And when attacks against Americans increased in October, President Biden didn’t even authorize a response for nine days. It took at least thirteen attacks on Americans for President Biden to finally react. And what did he do? The bare minimum, striking empty weapons storage facilities in eastern Syria.

After these strikes, Secretary Blinken said, “My warning to the Ayatollah was that if they continue to move against those troops, we will respond, and he should be prepared.”  

Well, it’s not surprising that shooting a bunch of warehouses doesn’t scare Iran. It actually emboldened them—in the form for 22 more attacks. Proxies attacked American troops’ positions twenty-two more times after that initial, pathetic response.  

When Secretary Austin announced those strikes, he said “The United States does not seek conflict and has no intention nor desire to engage in further hostilities.” 

Well, Lloyd Austin and Joe Biden may not want to seek conflict, but Iran does, and it will continue to try to kill our troops until they face real consequences, until they’re scared straight. 

On Sunday, we finally did hit back again—but again, we didn’t even try to hold the real bad guys accountable. Instead, the administration, once again, shot only on expendable proxies. Iran obviously was not deterred by this latest, pathetic response. How do we know that? Once again, their proxies have committed four more attacks against Americans since Sunday. Iran has had a proxy strategy for decades. It uses groups like Hamas and Hezbollah, and militias in Iraq and Syria, to deny responsibility for its campaign of terror against Israel and the United States. When we kill their proxies, all we do is validate their proxy strategy.

Iran will fight until the last Arab. But Iran will not fight if we hold the things at risk that that they hold most dear: their shock troops in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Quds force, or, if necessary, sites and facilities in Iran itself.

The United States needs Iran to know we won’t tolerate these attacks. We need to make sure Iran knows that we will not tolerate these attacks and that any attacks by Iran’s proxies will be treated as an attack by Iran on the United States and will be met with devastating consequences. That’s one reason I will be introducing legislation later this week that would strengthen sanctions against Iranian transfer of missile and drone technologies to terrorists and even other nations like Russia that use them in its war against Ukraine. It will also prevent Iran from developing the kind of long-range missiles that can threaten the United States’ homeland.

Because again, if we let Iran continue to shoot at American troops in the Middle East without shooting back at the Iranians who are directing those attacks, what will they do if they get their hands on missiles that could target America? What will they do if they get their hands on a nuclear weapon? It is time today to make Iran once again fear the United States before more American die.