US Senator Warner calls Iran conflict a ‘war of choice’

Washington, June 26 (IANS) US Democratic Senator Mark Warner sharply criticised President Donald Trump’s handling of the conflict with Iran, calling it “a war of choice” that has left the United States worse off economically and strategically while failing to achieve its stated objectives.

Speaking during his weekly media availability, the Virginia Senator said that Congress was still waiting for a comprehensive briefing from the administration on the agreement reached by Trump to end the conflict.

“We continued to wait to get a full briefing from the administration on the deal that President Trump cut to try to end the war with Iran,” Warner added.

“Let’s remember, this was a war of choice.”

Warner said that the conflict had imposed significant costs on American consumers.

“It has cost the American people just an increased gas prices, $60 billion,” he said, adding that the figure did not include higher food prices resulting from fertiliser costs, increased airline fares, higher diesel prices or the administration’s request for “$67 billion for additional military spending because of the munitions that we expended during this war of choice”.

The Senator disputed the administration’s claim that the campaign had achieved its strategic objectives.

“America is unfortunately worse off after this war of choice and none of the strategic goals that the President aspired to have been accomplished,” Warner said.

He added that the Iranian leadership had become more hardline, adding that “the IRGC was much more radical. They have greater control now than before”.

He also said estimates suggested that “about 60 per cent of Iran’s missile capacity is still intact”.

Warner criticised the agreement for failing to address Iran’s support for regional armed groups.

“We wanted to make sure that Iran didn’t continue to support proxies in the region. Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen. This agreement says nothing about that,” he said.

He also objected to provisions allowing Iran to resume oil sales.

“Iran gets immediate relief in terms of being able to sell its oil in American dollars,” Warner said, adding that the measure would provide “tens of billions of dollars to the Iranian coffers”.

On Iran’s nuclear programme, the Virginia Senator said the proposed negotiations appeared unlikely to produce significant changes.

“There’ll be a 60-day discussion, but it appears the best we’re gonna get is the status quo,” he said, recalling that international inspectors had been present in Iran under the 2015 nuclear agreement before Trump withdrew the US from it during his first term.

Although the Strait of Hormuz was expected to reopen, Warner warned that Iran retained the capability to disrupt one of the world’s most important energy shipping lanes.

“Iran now knows it has the ability at any moment in time to close the strait,” he said.

Summing up his assessment, Warner said: “This is what happens when you start a war of choice without a plan.”

He added that the United States had “accomplished none of our strategic goals” and still lacked “a fulsome briefing on where we go from here”.

–IANS

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