Senate hawk Tom Cotton, R-Ark., on Sunday said Iran is ”steadily marching up” the “escalation ladder” in its provocative acts against the United States.
In an interview on “Fox News Sunday,” Cotton said there needs to boundaries set by the United States for Tehran.
Iran is “steadily marching up the the chain, attacking vessels at sea, unmanned American aircraft,” Cotton said. “I fear that if Iran doesn't have a firm set of boundaries drawn around this behavior, we are going to see an attack on a U.S. ship or U.S. manned aircraft.”
“I hope the statement on Friday and yesterday, that we will not tolerate any kind of attack on the American service member anywhere in the region, gets through to the leaders in Tehran,” he added.
“I worry that they have a long history of merging up this escalation ladder."
Cotton also said President Donald Trump should follow Ronald Reagan’s policy when it comes to nuclear negotiations with both Iran and North Korea.
“Going to turn to what Ronald Reagan once said: trust but verify,” he said. “Do you really think that repressive regimes like North Korea and Iran are going to give up their nuclear ambitions in return for the blessings of western capitalism? “
“Healthy skepticism is warranted any time you deal someone like [North Korean leader] Kim Jong Un,” he said.
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