By Gabriella Muñoz - The Washington Times - Monday, July 23, 2018

Democrat Rep. Jim Himes suggested Monday that President Trump was going after Iran in order to rack up political points, after the president directed a fiery tweet at Iranian leader Hassan Rouhani.

During an interview on CNN’s “New Day,” the Connecticut congressman said Mr. Trump accused former President Barack Obama several times of wanting to use a war with Iran to rack up political points.

In November 2011, Mr. Trump did argue that Mr. Obama would start a war in order to get re-elected.

“I think it’s an overstatement to say we’re at the brink of war,” Mr. Himes said.

However, the Democrat argued that Mr. Trump’s comments were geared to rally political support.

“We need to be very sensitive to the fact that this president, who doesn’t have a very sophisticated sense of international relations, regards war was a way to solve political problems,” he said.

Mr. Himes said the U.S. should avoid getting into a war with Iran like it did with Iraq. He argued it has been a “long time” since Americans were “really revulsed” by the effects of the Iraq war.

“So most people have forgotten what it’s like to open the newspaper every day and see four or five or six American names, who were killed in a Middle Eastern war,” he said, “and if Iraq was tough, wait until you try Iran.”

The president threatened Iran with “consequences, the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered before.”

The tweet came in response to Mr. Rouhani warning Mr. Trump that hostility toward his country would incite “the mother of all wars,” according to a Reuters report.

• Gabriella Muñoz can be reached at gmunoz@washingtontimes.com.

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