Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) praised President Donald Trump and the U.S. military Thursday during a press conference following a classified briefing on Iran, declaring the joint U.S. Israeli mission a historic blow to Tehran’s nuclear ambitions while slamming media and Democrat efforts to downplay the operation’s success.
“I want to commend President Trump and his national security team and our brave and skilled pilots and their crews for a brilliantly executed mission,” Cotton said. “We have struck a major blow alongside our friends in Israel against Iran’s nuclear program, one that is going to make America safer, our friends in the region safer, and protect the world from the risk of an Iranian nuclear weapon for years.”
Cotton also condemned the leak of a preliminary Defense Intelligence Agency report that critics have used to cast doubt on the strike’s effectiveness.
“That report was preliminary, was done with low confidence, and was done with numerous intelligence gaps,” he stated. “It assumed a worst case scenario with perfect conditions for Iran.”
He cited assessments from across the political spectrum, including U.N. atomic watchdog chief Rafael Grossi, former weapons inspector David Albright, and Obama era intelligence veteran Norm Roule, who all described the operation as causing “catastrophic damage” and setting Iran’s nuclear program back “for years.”
In an exclusive statement to – News, Cotton added: “The media is more focused on undermining President Trump than accepting the reality that this strike was a success. It was devastating to the terrorist Iranian regime, and President Trump’s leadership has made us all safer.”
Cotton asserted the ceasefire will hold only if Iran upholds its end of the deal.
“If Iran starts trying to attack Israel again or to attack U.S. interests in the region again, then both the President and Prime Minister have said, rightly, that we will have to go back and we will have to show Iran once again that we mean business.”
Asked about reported frustrations inside the administration over the leak, Cotton acknowledged he had not spoken to officials about excluding press from future briefings but understood their concern.
“That report was leaked just hours after being sent to Congress, obviously by someone who wanted to put our pilots and their crews and the President and his national security team in the worst light,” he remarked. “I don’t know if it came from Congress. I don’t know if it came from someone inside the administration opposed to the President’s policy.”
Asked whether both parties were “satisfied” with the damage inflicted, Cotton replied, “I think you’ll have to ask some of our Democratic colleagues. I suspect those who are satisfied won’t say much. Those who are dissatisfied will keep talking.”
Cotton noted that Democrats were given extensive access to top officials, including Secretary of State and National Security Adviser Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Caine.
“Some Democrats—some in the media—seem to have such a case of Trump derangement syndrome that they’re rooting for the survival of Iran’s nuclear programs versus celebrating the success of our pilots and their crews, but I think the answers they got in there should be totally satisfying.”
When asked about the location of Iran’s enriched uranium, Cotton responded, “I don’t have a comment on that. I will say it was not part of the mission to destroy all their enriched uranium or to seize it for anything else. Again, it’s not a Mission Impossible movie.”
