Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.), who is Iranian American, said President Trump needs to find an off-ramp for the ongoing U.S. conflict with Iran soon.
“We’re already in this war, so what can be done? And I’ve been thinking a lot about that. Ultimately, I do think we need an off-ramp, quickly, to the war. We need to de-escalate,” Ansari told ABC News’s Jonathan Karl in an interview that aired Sunday on “This Week.”
“I, you know, just want to see the best for Iranian people who have had to live under this regime for the last 47 years,” she added.
Ansari discussed divisions among Iranian Americans about how the conflict should be handled, saying the fighting “has actually caused a lot of internal strife within the community.”
“I will say there are many people who are, you know, who feel that there was no other way to weaken this regime than outside military intervention. You know, the people don’t have the weapons, the regime has the weapons, and they will happily massacre as many people as they can to stay in power,” she added.
“Then I think there’s another camp, and I think that camp of folks, you know, feels that — they really actually do believe that Donald Trump has a good plan here and has positive intentions, and that’s real. I don’t agree with that,” she added.
“There’s another camp that I think is very anti-war and believes that bombs are not going to free people. You know, there is people who are within the diaspora and Iranians who just — who want something hopeful to hold on to and are trying to now steer this in the right direction.”
The U.S.-Israeli conflict against Iran, which has now gone on for more than a month, has not been popular with most Americans. In a recent Fox News poll, 58 percent of registered voters were against the conflict in Iran.
President Trump is reportedly weighing a ground operation in Iran, as he seeks to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and bring about a swift resolution to the war.
However, such a move would likely mean intense fighting against Iran’s large army and could open new fronts in the war.
The Houthis in Yemen made a first step toward entering the war this weekend, firing missiles into Israel. The rebel group could move to close the key Bab el-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea, which would compound the world’s energy crisis.
The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.
