Iran's interception of a cargo ship from the Marshall Islands was intended to antagonize the United States and its allies over actions taken by the United States to keep Iran from arming the Houthis in Yemen, says Sen. James Risch.
"We're dealing with the most dangerous and antagonistic government on the face of the planet," Risch said Tuesday on Fox News Channel's
"Your World with Neil Cavuto." "This is obviously a response to the president of the United States last week dispatching naval power to the Strait of Hormuz."
The Pentagon on Tuesday said the action appeared to be "provocative," but Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren added that "we don't have all the facts yet."
Iran took the action to "antagonize us" and "antagonize the world," Risch, an Idaho Republican, said. "Every problem we have in the Middle East has Iran's fingerprints on it. It just keeps getting worse instead of getting better."