Indiana Republican Sen. Todd Young is aligning himself with President Donald Trump on the president’s Iran war strategy, even as some other conservatives have been critical.
“I believe President Trump is trying to apply maximum leverage,” Young told reporters after an event in Carmel on the early afternoon of April 7. “I hope the Iranians listen. I hope that we can bring this conflict to a close very quickly and that they reopen the Strait of Hormuz.”
Young’s comments come after a strongly-worded Easter threat from the president to blow up Iranian infrastructure. Trump issued another dire warning about what could be coming for Iran in an April 7 social media post.
“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” Trump wrote. “I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will.”
The president gave Tehran a deadline of 8 p.m. on April 7 to open the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran has blocked oil from flowing out of the Middle East, or face a dramatic escalation in U.S. attacks.
Trump’s social media posts have been criticized by former GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who even suggested Trump should be removed from office under the 25th Amendment to the U.S.
Sen. Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican and staunch Trump ally, on April 6 expressed concerns about attacking Iranian bridges and power plants.
Prominent conservative commentator Tucker Carlson said Trump’s post is “vile” on “every level.”
“It begins with a promise to use the U.S. military, our military, to destroy civilian infrastructure in another country,” Carlson said April 6 on The Tucker Carlson Show. “Which is to say to commit a war crime, a moral crime, against the people of the country.”
Young, who has become known for his willingness to break from the president on issues, previously indicated he would not vote to restrain the president’s military action in Iran.
“The United States and our allies are now in conflict with a brutal, hostile and dangerous regime,” Young said in a March 4 statement. “I believe that danger will only grow if we limit the President’s military options at this critical moment.”
Since the Trump administration launched early morning strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, thousands of people have been killed across the Middle East, including the Supreme Leader of Iran, thirteen U.S. service members and 165 children and staff at an Iranian primary school as of early afternoon April 7.
Young, during his comments to reporters on April 7, said the U.S. is dealing with “the leading state sponsor of international terrorism” with the Iran war. Young said he supports the targeting of civilian infrastructure, such as power plants or bridges, if they have military use.
“The president wants to bring this to a close as quickly as possible and he’s employing language to try and make that happen,” Young told reporters.
USA Today reporter Zac Anderson and IndyStar reporter Marissa Meador contributed to this article.
Contact Jake Allen at jake.allen@indystar.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @Jake_Allen19.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: ‘I hope the Iranians listen’: Young aligns with Trump on Iran war strategy
Reporting by Jake Allen, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
