Republican senators claim Iran military capabilities significantly degraded

PALM BEACH, FLA. – One week into the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran, two Republican senators on the Senate Armed Services Committee say the military operation has “degraded” Tehran’s ability to strike back.

But in exclusive interviews with Fox News Digital, Sens. Rick Scott of Florida and Ted Budd of North Carolina emphasized that the fighting will not lead to U.S. involvement in “forever wars” in the volatile Middle East.

“Our military is doing a great job,” Scott said. And pointing to Iran, he said, “They want to destroy America. We’ve got to stop them.”

Budd highlighted that “we have significantly degraded Iran’s ability to shoot back at us… their capacities are degraded. We’ve had great success.”

Budd and Scott were interviewed as they attended an economic conference in Florida hosted by the Club for Growth, an influential and politically potent conservative group that pushes for fiscal responsibility.

President Donald Trump, who called for Iran’s “unconditional surrender,” said on Saturday that Tehran will be “hit very hard” and warned the U.S. is considering “areas and groups” not previously considered to target.

Over the past week, “Operation Epic Fury” has widened in scope as Iran has retaliated against a growing number of nations in the region. This week, the Republican-controlled House and Senate, in separate votes nearly entirely along party lines, rejected moves by Democrats to restrict the president’s ability to steer the fighting.

WHAT COULD COME NEXT IN THE ATTACKS ON IRAN

The president said on Thursday, in an interview with Axios, that he should be involved in choosing Iran’s next leader. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the initial strikes against Iran a week ago.

And there are concerns among many on the right that the strikes against Iran could lead to prolonged American military involvement in the region, which Trump has repeatedly campaigned against during his three runs for the presidency.

“Trump doesn’t want to be in forever wars. Every time I’ve talked to him, he doesn’t want that,” Scott said. “But I think what we do want to make sure we don’t have another Ayatollah that wants to… chant Death to America and death to our allies and try to destroy us.”

Budd added that “we’re not up for forever wars. We want to get in, get this thing done, get out and have peace for our country and the rest of the region.”

The latest Fox News national poll indicated that American voters are divided on the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, even as a majority sees the country as a security risk. 

Sixty-one percent of those questioned viewed Iran as a danger to the U.S., according to the survey conducted Feb. 28-March 2. But that concern did not translate into majority support for the current U.S. military action, as 50% approved and 50% disapproved.

Support for the attacks was lower in national polling from other news organizations.

But the Fox News poll and the other surveys indicated widespread support among Republicans.

“Trump’s doing the right thing. He’s saving American lives by making sure that Iran does not have a nuclear weapon or ballistic missile. So he’s doing the right thing,” Scott emphasized.

Budd added, “I’m very excited [about] what President Trump’s done… The goal is American prosperity and American safety, and that’s what President Trump wants.”

Oil prices have shot up since the start of the fighting, instantly resulting in higher costs for gasoline across America. That’s a major concern for Republicans as they aim to keep control of the House and Senate majorities in this year’s midterm elections.

“Hopefully it’s all going to be short term. Hopefully… the demolition of the Iranian military will happen quickly and actually will get lower oil prices,” Scott said.

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Budd acknowledged that “we are going to have some short-term disruptions.”

But the senator was optimistic that “very soon we’ll have gas prices much cheaper than ever before. We were already on that pathway. President Trump is all about stability. He’s all about the price of oil.”