Amna Nawaz
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WATCH: 'This is war,' Republican Sen. Mullin says, then walks it back
Posted
March 4, 2026
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March 4, 2026
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1:24Now PlayingSen. Markwayne Mullin said he "misspoke" when he called the United States operation in Iran a "war."
While speaking to reporters at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, Mullin, R-Okla., said, "This is war, and we’re taking out the threat," when asked if measures are being taken not to eliminate more Iranian leadership officials.
Later, after he was pressed on his phrasing and, specifically, his use of the word "war," Mullin said that it "was a misspoke."
"What I was saying [was] that they've declared war on us, but war is ugly," he said. "It always has been ugly."
"We haven't declared war," Mullin later added. "So if we haven't declared war, then I don't see that. The president hasn't asked us to declare war yet, but they have declared war on us."
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump told tech leaders shortly before he left a roundtable event that he had to "go back and look at the war."
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