Arizona Democratic Senator Mark Kelly has criticised US President Donald Trump over Washington’s involvement in the Iran conflict, accusing the administration of entering the war without a “strategic goal, plan or timeline” and rapidly depleting key US military stockpiles.
Speaking to CBS on Sunday, Kelly said briefings from the Pentagon on munitions inventories, including Tomahawk missiles, ATACMS, SM-3 interceptors, THAAD rounds and Patriot missiles, revealed alarming levels of expenditure triggered by the conflict.
“It's shocking the how deep we have gone into these magazines, because this president got our country into this without a strategic goal, without a plan, without a timeline, and because of that, we've expended a lot of munitions, and that means the American people are less safe, whether it's a conflict in the western Pacific with China or somewhere else in the world, the munitions are depleted. You may have seen me ask the Secretary of Defence this question about how long it's going to take to replenish. We're talking about years,” he said.
Kelly also questioned the broader benefits of the conflict for Americans, accusing Trump of failing to deliver on campaign promises related to peace and lowering costs.
“What are the American people getting out of this? This president said he wasn't going to start any new wars. He was going to bring down costs. He's done exactly the opposite. War against Iran. Costs on everything are up,” Senator Kelly said.
Meanwhile, Iranian state broadcaster Press TV reported comments from IRGC commander Brigadier General Ahmad Zolghadr, who claimed the United States could no longer “instill panic” by deploying aircraft carriers in international waters.
Later on Sunday, United States Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces had redirected 61 commercial vessels amid the continuing maritime blockade in the Strait of Hormuz.
As tensions escalated across West Asia and the Gulf region, Trump also lashed out at Iran over Tehran’s response to efforts aimed at ending hostilities and restoring peace, calling the reaction “completely unacceptable.”
The remarks followed his criticism of previous US administrations, which he accused of being overly lenient toward Iran and helping sustain its financial stability.
(With inputs from ANI)