Senate Majority Leader Thune warns Iran should return to the negotiating table

FIRST ON FOX: Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., doesn’t envision, nor want, the U.S. military becoming directly involved in the conflict between Israel and Iran, but that hinges on whether the Islamic Republic rejoins the negotiating table.

“Dismantling Iran’s nuclear program is what this is all about,” Thune told Fox News Digital from his office in the Capitol. “And that can happen one of two ways. It can happen diplomatically — voluntarily — or can happen via force.”

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Thune’s comments come as questions and concerns swirl on Capitol Hill among lawmakers about whether the U.S. will take a bigger, more direct role in the burgeoning conflict in the Middle East. There are active conversations among senators about what role Congress should play in whether to thrust the U.S. into an armed conflict or if that power should be ceded to the president. 

“The Israelis may not have the military capability to do everything that’s necessary,” he continued. “If the Iranians are smart, they’ll come to the table and negotiate this in a way in which they choose to end or disavow their nuclear program.”

Israel and Iran traded missile strikes for a fifth day following the Jewish State’s late-night strike last Thursday, where critical infrastructure that would aid Iran in its pursuit of creating a nuclear weapon was damaged or destroyed. Notably, Israel has been unable to damage the heavily fortified Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. 

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President Donald Trump speaks with reporters on Air Force One en route from Calgary, Canada, to Joint Base Andrews, Md., late Monday. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Bipartisan resolutions requiring that Congress gets to weigh in and take a vote on going to war with Iran and disavowing an armed conflict entirely have circulated this week, while some lawmakers believe that the U.S. should go all in to snuff out Iran’s nuclear capabilities and back up Israel as fighting rages.

President Donald Trump has so far refused to say whether the U.S. would use direct military force to prevent Iran from creating or obtaining a nuclear weapon, and he has continued to urge Iranian…