'We've seen this playbook before': Mark Kelly questions Trump administration over Iran conflict

In fresh criticism against the Trump administration's military campaign, Operation Epic Fury, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly questioned the President's justification of the attack and slammed the Department of War for starting a conflict that, he and a section of other lawmakers believe, was unnecessary. "If Iran's nuclear missile program was 'obliterated,' as Donald Trump claimed, why is it being used as part of the justification for this war?" Kelly wrote on X, sharing a video of him questioning Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby during a Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) hearing.

Kelly, a retired Navy combat pilot, questioned Colby on what the United States considered a threat posed by Iran after the President claimed to "oblitera" Iran's Nuclear Program during Operation Midnight Hammer in June, last year. As Colby was explaining the administration's view about the Iranian missile program being a "very serious threat to be dealt with," Kelly interjected, saying, "None of us here heard about Iran having missile technology that was that advanced, being able to range the United States, or being close to obtaining a nuclear weapon."

Recalling President Trump's statement on Iran's nuclear program being "obliterated", Kelly said, "That means completely eliminated. Gone for good. That's what obliterated means," adding, "And then on Saturday, this administration started a war on that basis, inconsistent with a document that I think you're responsible for. And now, at least six U.S. service members have paid the ultimate price based on this notion that Iran posed an imminent threat to the United States, to the homeland, and to our military." 

In his response, Colby said that the department "fully anticipated providing the president with credible military options to deal with the Iranian threat." Kelly, seemingly unsatisfied with the answer, used the rest of his time to recall the U.S.-aided conflict in Iraq. "I think it's important to say that we've seen this playbook before. It's what dragged us into a war decades ago. A bloody war in Iraq. And, Secretary Colby, I think if you intend to avoid this mistake again, I think we got to rethink about how we need to be really straight with the American people about what's going on," he said.

As Operation Epic Fury prepares to enter its second week, the regional situation remains volatile, with Iran having shut down the Strait of Hormuz. The blockade has caused a significant disruption to global trade and energy shipments. In response, President Trump has assured that the U.S. will offer naval escorts and political risk insurance for oil and gas tankers traversing the trade chokepoint. 

"Effective IMMEDIATELY, I have ordered the United States Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to provide, at a very reasonable price, political risk insurance and guarantees for the Financial Security of ALL Maritime Trade, especially Energy, traveling through the Gulf," Trump wrote in a social media post.