WASHINGTON — First District Congressman Rick Crawford of Jonesboro is weighing in on the ongoing conflict between the United States and Iran in his role overseeing congressional intelligence.
Crawford serves as chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, which oversees U.S. intelligence agencies including the CIA and NSA.
In his weekly press briefing, Crawford said U.S. strikes against Iran are being carried out in response to what he described as violations of a ceasefire agreement.
“Any strikes that are taking place by the U.S. right now against Iran are done basically in response to Iran’s lack of adherence to the ceasefire,” Crawford said. “Whether that be a drone strike, or whether that be mining in the strait, whatever it is, these strikes… are done in a defensive posture.”
He said the U.S. is dealing with “bad faith actors” and argued that regional allies are also being affected.
“Because they’re not only striking U.S. targets, they’re now striking countries like Kuwait, and the Emirates, and Qatar, and Bahrain, and others, and so they continue to be a problem in the region, to say the least,” he said. “As long as they are, and they’re not being respectful of a ceasefire, then you can probably expect that we’ll continue to retaliate in kind.”
