After the United States and Israel launched massive strikes early Saturday against Iran in an operation called “Epic Fury,” Utah Sen. John Curtis released a statement calling Iran a “destabilizing force,” and saying peace “is preserved through strength and resolve.”
Curtis has taken a special interest in the Middle East, having lived briefly in Israel and traveled to the region while serving in Congress.
“For decades, Iran’s regime has acted as a destabilizing force—arming terrorist proxies, mass slaughtering its own people, and pursuing nuclear capabilities with explicit intent to destroy Israel and America," Curtis said in his statement released Saturday after the attacks began. “They have targeted and killed Americans abroad and are actively attempting to assassinate Iranians and Americans on U.S. soil, and even the President.”
He continued, “Peace is preserved through strength and resolve. Our Commander-in-Chief is taking planned, targeted action to protect the American people, stand with our allies, and promote stability in an increasingly dangerous world. I look forward to robust engagement between the Administration and Congress as this situation unfolds. May God bless and protect our troops.”
Last week, Curtis met with the Deseret News editorial board and said senators had not been recently briefed by the Trump administration about plans for an attack.
On Saturday, President Donald Trump’s press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Secretary of State Marco Rubio notified the “Gang of Eight,” who include Republican and Democratic leaders in the House and Senate, ahead of the strikes, reaching seven of the eight leaders.
Curtis, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on democracy, human rights and global women’s issues, told the Deseret News he did not want to try to “outguess” the president’s strategy but said he is watching the buildup “very carefully.”
“It’s really impossible for all of us to know, or tell, if the buildup is a leverage point, or exactly what his plans are,” Curtis said. “I think there has been, and will continue to be pressure from Congress to say, like, ‘There’s clearly places where we should be notified.’”
Curtis supported Trump’s strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities in June last year, operation “Midnight Hammer,” but said if future campaigns in Iran are “broader” Trump will have “less support.”