Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) predicted that the fighting between Israel and Iran will continue, saying he sees “more war and more carnage” ahead in the conflict that has already featured barrages of missile strikes from both sides.
Paul cast the grim outlook for the conflict in an appearance on NBC News’s Meet the Press on Sunday, doubting the fruitfulness of any possible peace negotiations while simultaneously urging the United States not to get involved.
“I think it’s going to be very hard to come out of this and have a negotiated settlement. I see more war and more carnage, and it’s not the U.S.’s job to be involved in this war. Iraq was a mess, Afghanistan was a mess,” the Kentucky senator said.
Paul’s comments on the state of the conflict come after a slightly different assessment from President Donald Trump over the weekend.
While missile strikes have continued, resulting in at least 13 Israeli deaths and 78 Iranian deaths, Trump suggested on Sunday that a peace deal would be made “soon,” adding that “calls and meetings” are “now taking place.”
Paul was, however, hopeful that Trump’s “instincts” are to avoid getting involved in the fighting, pointing to his “restraint” while one of Paul’s Senate colleagues, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), calls for the president “to go all in” to destroy the Iranian regime’s nuclear program.
“One of the things I like about President Trump is he has showed restraint. So I think his instincts are to not be involved in this war. But there will be a lot of pressure from Lindsey Graham and others to get involved in this war. And I hope that his instincts will prevail,” Paul said.
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Israel has been decimating Iran’s military leadership, with two commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps killed in the initial strikes, while an intelligence chief for the regime and his deputy were killed on Sunday. Iran has responded with strikes of its own, but has largely targeted civilians.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently suggested that “regime change” is one of the goals of their military campaign in Iran. But in an apparent show of restraint, Trump reportedly struck down a “credible” plan from Israel to kill Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
