WASHINGTON — James Carafano, vice president of The Heritage Foundation's Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy and E.W. Richardson fellow, responded Friday to the latest developments in Iran:

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of 176 lives aboard Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752. Such loss of life is horrendous – at any time, in any situation – and we are thinking of and praying for those grieving at this time.

 

“The Iranian regime must be held to account for this careless act of violence, carried out in the midst of an assault on Iraq’s sovereign territory and the U.S. forces positioned there. The evidence is incontrovertible. This regime is responsible for the deaths of thousands of American troops and innocent civilians in the past 40 years, a fact demonstrated again in the most tragic way possible.

 

“The extremists in Tehran have long enabled the killing of innocent civilians across the Middle East and around the world, but its actions in recent weeks have highlighted to an even greater extent its recklessness, its callousness and its complete disregard for basic international norms.

 

“The Trump administration must continue to increase the pressure on the regime, while actively supporting the bold, vibrant people of Iran who have bravely marched in the streets and long for the basic freedoms denied them for decades.”