Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) grilled officials this week during a hearing about why President Joe Biden was not targeting an Iranian spy ship that is providing intelligence to a terrorist group that is trying to sink American ships in the Red Sea.
Sullivan made the remarks during a hearing in the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) about the Iranian-backed Houthis, who have launched numerous attacks over the last five months, including this week.
He noted that the commander of U.S. Central Command said recently that he believed that Iran was not paying any cost for the terrorism that its proxies facilitate in the region.
Sullivan noted that Iran has facilitated the attacks in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden by providing targeting information to the Houthis.
“Why are we not sinking Iranian warships, intel ships that are providing targeting intel to kill Marines and sailors from Alaska or North Dakota?” he asked. “I mean, I find this outrageous. Why are we not doing that? Why are we not telling the Iranians, overtly or covertly, next time you send intel to target an American warship through the Houthis, we will sink your ships? Why are we not doing that? That’s so basic to me.”
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin acknowledged that “Iran needs to be held accountable for what it’s doing, continues to do” but also said, “attacking Iran is a different issue.”
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General C.Q. Brown said that the U.S. Military was working to hold Iran accountable for what they were doing and that he could share more in a classified setting.
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Sullivan championed Operation Praying Mantis, an operation during the Reagan administration in which the U.S. Military sank several Iranian ships for laying sea mines that damaged a U.S. destroyer.
WATCH:
Iranian spy ships have been providing the Houthis with intelligence used to target American warships in the Red Sea.
I asked the @SecDef and @GenCQBrownJr, why are we not sinking those ships? pic.twitter.com/Zw5SD0Bfqm
— Sen. Dan Sullivan (@SenDanSullivan) April 10, 2024