Massachusetts Congressman Seth Moulton is offering a harsh assessment of the Trump Administration’s description of recent U.S. attacks on nuclear sites in Iran, saying in an interview on GBH’s “Boston Public Radio” that Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are not telling the truth when they state that U.S. bombing operations obliterated key Iranian nuclear-enrichment facilities.
“To say this administration is not on the same page is an understatement,” Moulton said. “What’s really going on is you’ve got several high officials — the president, the secretary of defense — outright lying about things that we just don’t know yet.”
Moulton, who served with the Marines in Iraq, credited the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Caine, for acknowledging that the amount of destruction wreaked on Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities still remains unclear in a press conference the next day, though he offered a damning assessment of Caine’s qualifications.
Caine is “the most unqualified chairman of the Joint Chiefs in history, in fact, to occupy that position…yet he seems like the most reasonable person there because at least he was speaking honestly about not knowing the results of the operation,” Moulton said.
However, Moulton had high praise for the troops who executed the mission itself, praising their “heroism” in what he called a “risky” and “dangerous” endeavor.
Moulton also criticized the Trump Administration for its lack of public clarity over what the ultimate objective of the military operation actually is, with Hegseth saying the goal is destroying Iran’s nuclear program and Trump suggesting that it’s actually regime change in Iran.
“What’s so dangerous about this situation with these characters is that they’re all over the map,” Moulton said. “They don’t clearly have a plan.”
Moulton offered a mixed assessment of the strikes themselves, saying the U.S. needs to avoid being drawn into another war in the Middle East but adding that the strikes may prove to be beneficial when it comes to putting pressure on Iran to enter into diplomatic negotiations over the future of its nuclear-enrichment program. Only a diplomatic solution that allows for intrusive inspections can effectively guarantee that Iran doesn’t develop offensive nuclear capability, Moulton said.
“In the long run, it’s the only way to keep tabs on Iran so they not only don’t have a program today but they aren’t developing one for tomorrow,” he said. “So whatever has happened, we’ve got to get back to the negotiating table.”
