Sen. Angus King said Thursday he wants to know who is provoking whom as tensions heighten between the United States and Iran, as both sides are taking actions against each other.
“I can’t reveal what I have seen in a classified setting,” the Maine Independent senator told CNN’s “New Day,” after revealing he’s reviewed some of the intelligence that has been developed on Iran, but he said public reporting about heightened Iranian activity in the region is accurate.
“That’s what the administration is saying publicly,” said King. “The question, though, is what does it mean?”
The United States has declared the Islamic Republican Guard as a terrorist organization, said King, as well as ratcheting up sanctions on Iran and moving major military assets into the region.
“Are they reacting because they are concerned about what we are doing or are we reacting because we are concerned what they are doing?” said King.
He said he also is concerned that miscalculation may occur.
“‘The Guns of August’ is one of the great books written about the origin of World War II,” said King. “Nobody knew how it started. It started small and escalated. That’s what worries me.”
In Iraq, the Shia militia is not fully under the control of the Iraqi government, he continued and is partly affiliated with Iran.
“Say a group of people from the Shia militia attacks Americans,” said King. “Is that an Iranian attack or something could trigger an escalation by us versus Iran, and suddenly we are on the ladder. That’s worrying me.”
