Secretary of State Marco Rubio briefed the ‘Gang of Eight’ about Operation Epic Fury yesterday afternoon. Well, some are calling it ‘Gang of Eight-plus.’ Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, spoke with NewsNation’s Katie Pavlich about what he heard. He told the former Townhall editor the following:
I just got off the phone with House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman @RepBrianMast, who was in the Gang of 8 briefing on Operation Epic Fury on Capitol Hill this evening. What he told me:
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) March 3, 2026
-"The mission set for this operation is literally seek and destroy. Any piece of…
"The mission set for this operation is literally seek and destroy. Any piece of military hardware that can reach out and touch Americans or our interests in our region. That is a perfect mission set to respond to the imminent threat that Iran has been."
-"I could not be more happy with the mission set. It is a very pinpointed mission set that goes very directly to addressing what is this threat that has been allowed to metastasis from administrations going back to when I was born - which is allowing Iran to pursue ballistic missiles, missiles, nukes and terrorists."
-On forever war claims: "This is a very specific operation to end the imminent threat that Iran has been against the United States for my lifetime."
-The clandestine activities of China, Russia and North Korea in the region are a question and concern. What is it that they are working on and preparing to prevent regime change?
-Ultimately, regime change is up to the Iranian people
-Re: oil - "Two things can be true at once. This [the operation] was never about China, this absolutely affects China."
-U.S. forces are in the region because of the danger and instability of Iran: "There is an imminent threat against the United States of America every single day that the most radical regime for the last 47 years has existed. They existed to destroy Israel, 100%, but existed to destroy the United States of American just as much and worked every single day to accomplish that...this is an operation to protect all of the forces of the United States of America in the region...The danger, the largest source of instability, why our forces are there is for Iran. It's why our forces exist there."
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This isn’t a neoconservative project in the way Iraq and Afghanistan were vis-à-vis Bush’s ‘Vulcans’ and the Project for the New American Century. Ground troops aren’t being considered, we’re not going to occupy Iran, and the mission objectives are clear and military-based. This isn’t about spreading Democracy or exporting the principles of the American Revolution here.
The next wave of attacks is expected to be even bigger. Stay tuned.
New: House Foreign Affairs Chairman Brian Mast tells me after the "Gang of 8+" briefing on Iran today that he does not believe operation is moving in a direction where Trump admin will need congressional approval:
— Liz Elkind (@liz_elkind) March 2, 2026
"I don't think the administration feels as though that will be…
Editor's Note: For decades, former presidents have been all talk and no action. Now, Donald Trump is eliminating the threat from Iran once and for all.
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