BILOXI, Miss. (WLOX) – The U.S. and Israel launched a military campaign against Iran last week.
Former 4th District Congressman Steven Palazzo, also a reservist with the Mississippi Army National Guard, said the U.S. military action against Iran follows a pattern he has seen before — including during the first Persian Gulf War and as a congressman during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Palazzo said Iran has spent 47 years pursuing what he described as “death and destruction” rather than peace, and that the country’s nuclear ambitions have driven repeated confrontations.
“This should not be surprising to anyone,” Palazzo said. “It feels like every 5 to 10 years, they kind of raise their scimitars and start going crazy, advancing their nuclear program. So this is nothing new.”
He also cited a history of Iranian-linked attacks on Americans, including the 1983 Marine barracks bombing in Beirut, the deadly 1996 Khobar Towers attack, and the thousands of U.S. service members killed during the global war on terror.
“I don’t think the regime can get any worse. But the one thing that’s kind of becoming obvious is if you want to go down the same path as the prior regime, you’re probably going to end up dead,” Palazzo said.
Palazzo said he believes the goal of recent U.S. strikes was to eliminate Iran’s nuclear weapons program.
“Make it to where they can never have a nuclear arsenal,” Palazzo said. “And at the same time, remove their ballistic missiles so they can’t be a threat to the theater, and they can’t be a threat to the U.S. in years to come.”
He said the regime’s decision to launch drones and missiles at Qatar, Israel, and Saudi Arabia following the U.S. strikes reflected desperation and was an attempt to draw other countries into the conflict — a move he said ultimately worked against Iran.
“I think they knew something was going to happen. And for them to escalate it to the point where what few adversaries they had are no longer on their side, it speaks volumes.”
Palazzo said he does not expect a large-scale ground troop deployment, but suggested the U.S. may establish special advisors, a forward operating base, or renew diplomatic ties and recreate an embassy.
“We’re just not going to hit them and walk away,” Palazzo said.
Palazzo acknowledged that Iran’s closed society makes it difficult to assess conditions on the ground. He said estimates suggest the regime killed 36,000 protesters in recent months — people he described as potential allies in a post-regime transition.
“People that would be out in the streets today, taking the weapons probably from the Revolutionary Guard if they weren’t murdered by the regime a couple of months ago,” Palazzo said.
He believes international and foreign aid would be available to help Iran reintegrate if its people choose that path.
“All the people in the region, the Middle Eastern, Europe, America, we want to see a peaceful, prosperous, and productive Iran,” Palazzo said.
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