McConnell On War With Iran, Aligned Adversaries, and Fallen Kentuckian

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor honoring the life of Staff Sergeant Benjamin N. Pennington and aligned allies and adversaries in the war with Iran:

This week, we learned that a seventh American had died in war with Iran. Staff Sergeant Benjamin N. Pennington, U.S. Army, was a native of Glendale, Kentucky, not far from Fort Knox. He was deployed with the 1st Space Battalion, 1st Space Brigade at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. And an Iranian strike mortally wounded him in the line of duty.

I'm confident that, today, Glendale and the rest of Hardin County are surrounding Sergeant Pennington's parents, Timothy and Carrie, with support.

Their son was, by all accounts, deeply admired by the neighbors, pastors, and coaches who helped him become the man he was. At his alma mater, Central Hardin High School, Benjamin Pennington was remembered as "the quintessential all-American".

Of course, there is no amount of praise for Sergeant Pennington's character, commitment, or bravery that can fill the hole left by his loss. The knowledge that he fell pursuing a noble calling is a small comfort. But it cannot obscure an empty seat at the dinner table.

And so my deepest sympathies are with the Pennington family - today, and in the difficult days to come.

***

Mr. President, the sacrifices of Sergeant Pennington and six other fallen comrades in war with Iran have not been in vain.

For nearly half a century, Iran has waged war on the United States. In fewer than two weeks, U.S. and partner operations have degraded Iran's military, its missile threat, and its capacity to spread violence and terror. And in doing so, they've delivered a small measure of justice for the hundreds of U.S. personnel killed by the Iranian regime.

There's been plenty of discussion about where this war fits among U.S. strategic priorities, and I hope the Administration will be more forthcoming on this front soon.

But some critics want to evaluate war with Iran without even acknowledging that wider context… As if combatting the rampant terror and violence from China's leading source of oil and Russia's leading source of attack drones has nothing to do with peace in Europe or deterrence in the Indo-Pacific.

I've called out this fiction before. I've urged colleagues and decisionmakers in successive administrations not to overlook the ways our adversaries' threats to America's interests are increasingly aligned.

The PRC is not a neutral observer in the Middle East. Beijing has an interest in the steady flow of cheap Iranian oil - to the tune of 1.4 million barrels last year. And as Iran's proxy wars, missile program, and nuclear ambitions taxed our attention and resources, the PRC benefited strategically and financially from the distraction.

Russia isn't a disinterested party, either. Moscow and Tehran, together, propped up the brutal Assad regime in Syria, allowing them to project power deeper into the Middle East and the Mediterranean. A shadow fleet has continued to help both regimes evade western sanctions. And needless to say, Russia's war of conquest in Ukraine would look quite different without a steady supply of Iranian attack drones.

Iranian drones in Ukrainian skies have already made the connections between America's adversaries crystal clear. But now, public reporting also indicates Russia may be providing intelligence for Iran's attacks across the Gulf.

The President's all-purpose emissary, Steve Witkoff, has downplayed these reports and relayed Russia's strenuous denial of any such intelligence sharing. And for the sake of U.S. servicemembers, I certainly hope that's true. But unlike Mr. Witkoff, I am not at all inclined to, quote, "take the Russians at their word".

Instead, I've warned successive presidents to take the Russian-Iranian axis more seriously. I urged President Biden to hold Iran to account for underwriting terror and killing Americans. But a disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan emboldened Tehran and Moscow, both.

I supported a national security supplemental even though I thought President Biden's approach to Russia and Iran was too weak. I did it not only because supporting Ukraine was in our strategic interests, but because these funds helped replenish American stockpiles and start restoring our own defense industrial base.

If the Senate receives a request for supplemental appropriations today, I hope our colleagues who oppose the president's use of force against Iran will still see an overdue opportunity to invest in urgent and strategic defense priorities.

Weakness invites challenge. But our adversaries have sought to weaken and undermine America regardless of who our Commander-in-Chief is.

***

Mr. President, I've underscored America's interest in a just and lasting end to Russia's war many times before. But let's say for the sake of argument that you're still inclined to treat the outcome of the largest land war in Europe since 1945 as someone else's concern…

Well, Russian support to Iran is not someone else's concern. If Russia is aiding Iranian attacks against Americans, that is very much our concern.

If you believe that the United States' role in the war in Ukraine is as a neutral mediator between equally culpable belligerents… this development might be tough to square. Likewise with the fact that Ukraine was the first foreign government to voice unequivocal support of U.S. and Israeli strikes against Iran.

And unlike Moscow, Kyiv is not asking that we just take its word. Look at its actions:

Right now, teams of Ukraine's top experts in drone warfare are on the ground in the Gulf, helping America's allies in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE defend against Iranian drone attacks.

Many of the Ukrainian systems that Gulf allies are eager to procure were first offered to the United States many months ago. Unfortunately, until death began to rain from the skies over U.S. facilities in the Gulf twelve days ago, it's my understanding that these discussions had gone nowhere fast.

Mr. President, administration officials were right to identify Ukraine as "the Silicon Valley of warfare". But other officials have slowed or paused assistance to these same brave innovators and have missed opportunities to apply Ukraine's technology and tactics to our own planning. The previous administration, too, failed to adapt and harvest Ukraine's lessons.

But the past is behind us. To learn from the world's foremost experts in drone warfare, we have to go beyond words. Our security assistance to Ukraine is a critical tool to help end Russia's war on terms favorable to the West. It's an investment in tapping cutting-edge technological and industrial capacity. And the return on investment is worth it.

America is stronger and more secure when we stand with our friends and stand up to our enemies. This is not murky or ambiguous. It's an opportunity for moral clarity and strategic wisdom.

No better friend… No worse enemy.

###

Permalink: https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2026/3/mcconnell-on-war-with-iran-aligned-adversaries-and-fallen-kentuckian