“The Air Force is gone, the Navy is gone, many, many ships have been sunk. … Anti-aircraft is decimated. Their radar is gone, and their leaders are gone,” he said.
Will Iran close the Strait of Hormuz?
Gabbard was pressed by Democrats on the possible effects of striking Iran, including the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which has caused a major disruption to the global trade of oil and liquified natural gas.
Since the conflict began on Feb. 28, the price of crude oil has jumped to above $100 per barrel on several occasions, up from around $67 before the first U.S.-Israeli strikes.
Critics have accused Trump of failing to plan for the closure of the Strait.
“They had no plan to address the crisis in the strait,” said Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat, who received a classified briefing with administration officials about the operation last week. “The fact that these guys didn’t have a plan ahead of time, and a week into the war still didn’t have a plan, was pretty shocking.”