Iran targeted short and medium-range missiles at the largest us military base in the Middle East on Monday.
These attacks come after the United States struck three key Iranian nuclear sites on Saturday.
“That's impressive,” said State Sen, Ken Bogner, R-Miles City. “We really do have the best military in the world.”
State Senator and Professor talk about Iran:
Bogner served in the U.S. Marine Corps for four years and was deployed to the Iraq-Syria border in 2006 when Iran supplied weapons to Iraq.
“I've seen firsthand them wanting to smuggle weapons into foreign adversaries to kill Americans, so they deserve this, yes,” Bogner said about Iran.
Even so, Bogner does not agree with the U.S. decision to attack Iranian nuclear sites.
“Retaliation, escalation, and when we have troops stationed abroad, it puts them at risk, it puts our assets at risk,” Bogner said.
Mehrad Kia also has a unique perspective.
Kia grew up in Iran and is the director of the Central and Southwest Asian Studies Center at the University of Montana.
Despite his Iranian upbringing, he supports the U.S. attacks on Iran's nuclear sites.
“I don't think the United States and Israel had any other choice,” Kia said.
Kia, a U.S. citizen since 1986, predicted as early as last fall that Israel would launch an attack on Iran.
“The majority of Iranians don't even see the logic of having nuclear energy, let alone nuclear bomb,” Kia said.“This kind of confrontation becomes a necessity because one side is refusing to negotiate.”
President Trump on Monday stated that Israel and Iran had agreed to a complete and total ceasefire.
This just hours after Iran fired missiles at the U.S. base in Qatar, an attack Kia describes as symbolic.
Iran alerted the U.S. the attack was coming hours before it happened.
“I think they are on the defensive,” Kia said. “They are tethering on the verge of collapse.”
“They felt like they needed to do something, but they don't want this to escalate with U.S. involvement,” Bogner said.“I think that's a good sign.”
