GOP Rep Mast says US military objective in Iran is to ‘eliminate’ threat to Americans

Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., president of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told Fox News Digital successful an interrogation the United States present has a wide and defined subject nonsubjective successful Iran: dismantle the regime’s quality to onslaught Americans.

He said the U.S. ngo is "to virtually destruct each azygous portion of subject hardware that exists successful Iran that tin scope retired and interaction an American determination passim the Middle East."

"That is what we are conducting close present truthful that we bash not get deed with something, a surface-to-surface rocket oregon a surface-to-air rocket oregon thing else, surely with a atomic tip, but with immoderate different extremity arsenic well."

A screengrab from a video released by U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), which accompanied a property merchandise describing the cognition dubbed "Epic Fury", an onslaught by the United States and Israel connected Iran, shows fume and particulate rising pursuing an detonation astatine an chartless location, successful this representation obtained from societal media released connected Feb. 28, 2026. Verification lines: The determination and the day erstwhile the video was filmed could not beryllium verified. The U.S. confirmed the onslaught connected Iran connected Saturday. (US CENTCOM via X via REUTERS )

Mast paid tribute to the 3 Americans killed successful the operation. "These work members understood the hazards of their profession. They went retired there, conducted their work to support the United States of America, and I could not beryllium much arrogant than to convey them for their service, and I’m arrogant to beryllium their member successful arms."

He stressed that the scope and duration of the cognition volition beryllium decided by the administration. "The ending of this militarily for the United States is connected our terms," helium said.

Mast pushed backmost forcefully against claims that Israel dragged the United States into warfare with Iran, saying the Trump medication archetypal pursued diplomacy and acceptable a deadline earlier shifting to subject action.

"Israel has not dragged the United States of America anywhere," helium said successful the interview. "The United States, fig one, started retired with diplomatic negotiations with Iran to say, extremity your atomic program, extremity your ballistic rocket programme and your enactment of these proxies that are continually attacking the United States of America."

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The world's largest craft bearer USS Gerald R. Ford steams alongside USNS Laramie. (U.S. Naval Forces Central Command / U.S. 6th Fleet / Handout via Reuters)

"Everything is simply a portion of that statement and that conversation. When should thing beryllium done? How should thing beryllium done? Obviously, the United States of America and President Trump, Secretary Hegseth, Secretary Rubio, our Director of Intelligence, our manager of our CIA, John Radcliffe, moving to get each of the assets successful spot truthful that the negotiating instrumentality of ending the literal menace of Iran. Was a portion of that."

"It didn't conscionable hap connected mishap that we snapped our fingers and we had the Ford bearer radical there, the Lincoln bearer group. That is thing that took time," helium added. "Now, the diplomatic attack was the preferred approach. That's wherefore it began with that alternatively of opening with a subject strike. And what I tin archer you astir those negotiations, speaking straight to those individuals that I conscionable mentioned, is that Iran came into this highly egotistical. Unwilling to truly sermon thing relating to ending their atomic program," helium said.

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Smoke rises implicit the metropolis aft the Israeli service launched a 2nd question of airstrikes connected Iran successful Tehran connected Feb. 28, 2026. (Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu via Getty Images)

"Even aft the United States offered to money atomic materials for a civilian vigor programme if Iran agreed not to prosecute weaponization, they didn't privation that. They didn't wanna speech astir ending their ballistic rocket program."

Looking ahead, Mast suggested the struggle could reshape Iran’s governmental future. He described the regime’s ceremonial succession process, which "begins with this three-person body, yet moves to this 88-person assembly that would spell retired determination and take the adjacent leader," and noted imaginable contenders including "the lad of the Ayatollah, grandson of the ayatollah" and "a precise hard-line cleric named Arafi, who's precise intimately aligned with the IRGC."

But helium besides raised the anticipation of broader upheaval.

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Chairman U.S. Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) connected Capitol Hill successful Washington, D.C., U.S., May 21, 2025. (Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters)

"That assumes that determination is not uprising, wherever the people, the millions and millions of radical crossed Iran who person been conscionable brutally tortured and suppressed don't determine that determination is different path," Mast said.

"We privation to spot a change, a turning of the leafage for what Iran has been undertaking."

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