- The Washington Times - Wednesday, May 15, 2019

Sen. Chris Coons said Wednesday he is concerned about escalating tensions with Iran, adding one wrong step by the U.S. could lead to the stakes being raised.

“We are now in a quite dangerous situation where a miscalculation by either side could lead us into conflict. The Iranians are saying today that it was not their intention to strike four oil tankers in the gulf. That was either the United States trying to set them up or radical elements within their own country,” the Delaware Democrat said on CNN’s “New Day” show.

“It’s just a small but real reminder, Alisyn, that when you project force into a very volatile region and you’ve got real tensions between Iran and the Saudis, we need to be careful,” he said, referring to “New Day” host Alisyn Camerota.

Mr. Coons said he and other senators, both Republican and Democrat, have yet to receive a briefing on the “intelligence” that led the Trump administration to both deploy additional military to the Persian Gulf and order U.S. Embassy personnel in Iraq to vacate amid the Iranian tensions.

“We don’t have the briefing yet to justify these actions and many of us are concerned,” he said.

The New York Times reported Monday night that the Trump administration is planning to send 120,000 troops to the region.

President Trump denied planning for it right now, but he said a land invasion would require him to “send a hell of a lot more troops than” 120,000.

• Bailey Vogt can be reached at bvogt@washingtontimes.com.

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