Debate among Republican lawmakers over how the U.S. should respond to recent Iranian provocations grew Tuesday, with Rep. Mike Turner asserting that the Trump administration would be unwise to pursue military strikes against the Islamic republic.

The Ohio Republican and longtime member of the House Armed Services Committee said that it is too early to conduct a retaliatory military strikes in response to Iran’s threat to ramp up uranium enrichment, as well as to attacks on oil tankers in the Persian Gulf region that the Trump administration has blamed on Tehran.

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“The actions of Iran need to be deterred and they need to be deterred short of military action, and that’s what we’re seeing from the administration,” Mr. Turner said during an appearance Tuesday morning on CNN.

His comments come days after Sen. Tom Cotton, Arkansas Republican and a member of the Senate intelligence and Armed Services committees, said retaliatory strikes against Iran would be warranted in response to attacks on two oil tankers near the Strait of Hormuz last week that administration officials claim involved the use of limpet mines by Iranian troops. . . .

Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican and long an outspoken GOP voice on foreign policy, said last week that the best course of action for the administration would be to increase economic sanctions against Iran. Mr. Graham suggested in a statement that the White House reach out to Capitol Hill and seek bipartisan support for authority to impose such sanctions. (Excerpt from The Washington Times, Tuesday, June 18, 2019)

The Trump administration says it is keeping all options on the table, including military strikes, in response to attacks on two oil tankers near the Strait of Hormuz last week that it claims were carried out by Iranian troops.

Speaking on “Fox News Sunday,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said it was “unmistakable” that Iran conducted the attacks “with the clear intent to deny transit through the strait,” through which about a fifth of the world’s oil is transported daily. (Excerpt from The Washington Times, Sunday, June 16, 2019)

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Iran will not wage war against any nation, President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday, a day after the United States announced the deployment of more troops to the Middle East amid rising tensions between Tehran and Washington. . . .

Acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan announced on Monday the deployment of about 1,000 more troops to the Middle East for what he said were defensive purposes citing concerns about a threat from Iran. (Excerpt from Reuters, Tuesday, June 18, 2019)

Weigh in! How do you think the U.S. should respond to Iranian provocations? Do you believe Rouhani? Leave a comment.