00:00You know, some of this is on the commercial traffickers, some of this is on, again, back to the main
00:07problem, and that's Iran holding the global economy hostage through the straits.
00:13Iranian-supported terror groups have attacked U.S. troops and diplomats more than 350 times, the equivalent of an attack
00:21more than every third day, killing four U.S. service members and wounding nearly 200 more.
00:25Most notably, we degraded Iran's ability to project power outside its borders and threaten the region and threaten our interests.
00:34As an example, we can all remember April and October of 2024, hundreds of Iranian ballistic missiles and drones raining
00:42down in the Middle East.
00:43Could you explain to the American people why, with the vast investment we've made in national defense and military, how
00:52Iran, after they've been attacked by us, is still capable of stopping the traffic in the Straits of Hormuz?
00:59Well, sir, it's a complex situation out there with a lot of different small boats that are out there and
01:06other capabilities.
01:09You know, I, some of this is on the commercial traffickers, some of this is on, again, back to the
01:16main problem, and that's Iran holding the global economy hostage through the Straits.
01:23I would encourage them to think wisely about their next moves and to take the opportunity to open the Straits.
01:29They have that choice to make.
01:31They certainly do.
01:32I guess the question in my mind is, as we talk about trillion-dollar-plus budgets for our military, it
01:38appears that a very small budget is holding us hostage in the Straits of Hormuz.
01:43U.S. Central Command was created in direct response to the threats posed by the Islamic Republic of Iran, and
01:50I am the 16th CENTCOM commander to deal with the Iranian problem set.
01:55For 47 years, the Iranian regime has terrorized the region and made hostility to the United States a core tenet
02:02of its rule.
02:03Their hostile, lethal track record against the United States is well documented, but I don't know that it is always
02:09well understood.
02:10Here's a data point.
02:12In just the last 30 months prior to the commencement of Epic Fury, Iranian-supported terror groups have attacked U
02:18.S. troops and diplomats more than 350 times.
02:22The equivalent of an attack more than every third day, killing four U.S. service members and wounding nearly 200
02:28more.
02:29After more than two years of Iranian attempts to leverage October 7th of 2023 to tear the region apart, at
02:36the direction of the president, United States Central Command initiated Operation Epic Fury.
02:41In less than 40 days, CENTCOM forces achieved our military objectives.
02:45Most notably, we degraded Iran's ability to project power outside its borders and threaten the region and threaten our interests.
02:53As an example, we can all remember April and October of 2024, hundreds of Iranian ballistic missiles and drones raining
03:01down in the Middle East.
03:03Today, Iran can no longer attack with that mass and scale.
03:06And further, with 90% of its defense industrial base destroyed, Iran won't be able to reconstitute those weapons for
03:14years.
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