The chief of U.S. Central Command put Iranian leaders on notice Wednesday, warning: “If a fight is to be had … it won’t be a fair fight.”
Marine Corps Gen. Kenneth “Frank” McKenzie’s warning followed the military’s recent deployment of a carrier strike group and bomber task force to the Middle East. This deployment, according to the general, sends a clear message to adversaries and allies alike.
“First, it sends a clear and unmistakable message to the Iranian regime that any attack on U.S. interests will be met with unrelenting force,” said McKenzie, speaking at a Foundation for Defense of Democracies conference in D.C. “If a fight is to be had, we will be fully prepared to respond and defend our interests. And it won’t be a fair fight.”
The U.S. does not seek war with Iran, McKenzie added, but he noted: “Iran should not confuse our deliberate approach with an unwillingness to act.” He said that the military’s ability to quickly move the carrier strike group from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf exhibited the the Trump administration’s National Defense Strategy.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps was designated as a terrorist organization in April. Its paramilitary wing is said by the Pentagon to have been responsible for the deaths of 600 U.S. troops through its financing and support of insurgent groups during the invasion and occupation of Iraq.
“Today, as I am speaking to you, the Iranian regime is providing support to many designated terrorist groups, including Hezbollah, Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine general command, Qutb Hezbollah in Iraq and the al-Ashtar brigades in Bahrain,” McKenzie said.
He blamed Iran’s meddling for the humanitarian crisis plaguing Yemen, claiming it was “the child of Iranian ambition and their support for the Houthis in trying to create a Hezbollah-like state in Yemen.”
McKenzie’s speech followed Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s Wednesday announcement that Iran would resume uranium enrichment activities — a violation of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal — unless the deal’s remaining signatories agree to new terms within 60 days. The announcement came a year to the day of President Trump’s withdrawal of the U.S. from the deal.
Hours after Rouhani’s statement, the White House issued new sanctions against the Iranian iron, steel, aluminum, and copper sectors.
