Ilhan Omar says Trump can't be trusted on Iran 'because he lies about the weather'
President Trump has said it 'looks like' Iran was behind the strikes on Saudi oil facilities, but outspoken Democrat Congresswoman Ilhan Omar says he can't be trusted.
2 min read
The Trump administration "can't be trusted", Omar says [Getty]
US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has said that President Donald Trump can't be trusted to make decisions on Iran as tensions escalate over this weekend's attacks on Saudi oil facilities - because his administration has "lied about weather maps".
Fears of conflict with Iran over Saturday's strikes on two key Saudi oil facilities, claimed by Yemen's Houthi rebels, have risen as Trump administration officials increasingly point to Iran as a launchpad and perpetrator.
Trump explicitly said on Monday that it "looked like" Iran was behind the attacks, adding that he was "not looking to get into new conflict, but sometimes you have to".
Omar spoke out against the claims on Monday, dismissing the president's ability to determine an appropriate course of action.
Intelligence allegedly pointing towards Iran's role in the attacks cannot be trusted by the American people, the outspoken Democrat said, as the Trump administration has lied frequently in the past.
Most recently, the Muslim-American congresswoman noted, the government has lied about "weather maps".
Earlier this month, Trump made multiple claims - using old and reportedly altered maps as evidence - that Hurricane Dorian was likely to hit the state of Alabama.
In reality, forecasts showed that only a minute section of the state was 5 to 10 percent likely to be hit by storm-force winds.
"I think we need to make sure that the American people understand that this administration - that lies about weather maps or crowd sizes - cannot be trusted to give us the full information we need to be able to make a decision whether we should be going to war or not with Iran," Omar told CNN, referencing disproven 2017 claims by administration figures that Trump's inauguration crowd was the largest ever.
"Congress has the constitutional right to declare war. The President doesn't have it," she explained.
"The secretary of state doesn't it have and Saudi Arabia certainly doesn't have it."
The president had on Sunday tweeted that the US was "locked and loaded" to respond to the attacks "upon verification".
While administration figures have denied "locked and loaded" definitively refers to military action, opposition figures in the US have been quick to speak out against the possibility of war.
The EU on Monday urged "maximum restraint" in response to the strikes on two key Saudi oil facilities.
Russia also called for countries involved to avoid taking "hasty steps" that would escalate the crisis.
Fears of conflict with Iran over Saturday's strikes on two key Saudi oil facilities, claimed by Yemen's Houthi rebels, have risen as Trump administration officials increasingly point to Iran as a launchpad and perpetrator.
Trump explicitly said on Monday that it "looked like" Iran was behind the attacks, adding that he was "not looking to get into new conflict, but sometimes you have to".
Omar spoke out against the claims on Monday, dismissing the president's ability to determine an appropriate course of action.
Intelligence allegedly pointing towards Iran's role in the attacks cannot be trusted by the American people, the outspoken Democrat said, as the Trump administration has lied frequently in the past.
Most recently, the Muslim-American congresswoman noted, the government has lied about "weather maps".
Earlier this month, Trump made multiple claims - using old and reportedly altered maps as evidence - that Hurricane Dorian was likely to hit the state of Alabama.
In reality, forecasts showed that only a minute section of the state was 5 to 10 percent likely to be hit by storm-force winds.
"I think we need to make sure that the American people understand that this administration - that lies about weather maps or crowd sizes - cannot be trusted to give us the full information we need to be able to make a decision whether we should be going to war or not with Iran," Omar told CNN, referencing disproven 2017 claims by administration figures that Trump's inauguration crowd was the largest ever.
"Congress has the constitutional right to declare war. The President doesn't have it," she explained.
"The secretary of state doesn't it have and Saudi Arabia certainly doesn't have it."
The president had on Sunday tweeted that the US was "locked and loaded" to respond to the attacks "upon verification".
While administration figures have denied "locked and loaded" definitively refers to military action, opposition figures in the US have been quick to speak out against the possibility of war.
The EU on Monday urged "maximum restraint" in response to the strikes on two key Saudi oil facilities.
Russia also called for countries involved to avoid taking "hasty steps" that would escalate the crisis.
Follow the Middle East's top stories in English at The New Arab on Google News
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