Ilhan Omar claims no one has 'attacked Americans,' but Iran's deadly history tells different story
As lawmakers debate what role, if any, the United States should play in the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, progressive "Squad" member Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., made the curious claim that no one has "attacked" the United States.
"No one is attacking or has attacked Americans. It's time to stop dragging Americans into war and letting Israel once again get America involved in their chosen war. Stand up for the Americans who believed you wanted peace and don't commit another generation of Americans into a costly war," Omar said in response to President Donald Trump.
Trump called for Iran's "UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!" on Truth Social on Tuesday, and said the United States won't strike Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei "at least not for now," but signaled America's "patience is wearing thin."
A Fox News Digital report published Wednesday morning refutes Omar's claim that Americans have not been attacked, including extensive examples of Iran's direct and proxy strikes on U.S. forces, support for terror groups and assassination efforts.
Omar's office did not respond to Fox News Digital's inquiry about the validity of her claim.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox News' Bret Baier on Monday that Trump remains an Islamic Republic target. "They want to kill him. He's enemy No. 1."
The Department of Justice announced charges against an Iranian citizen and two New Yorkers in November for their role in a murder-for-hire plot targeting multiple American citizens, including Trump.
Iran bears responsibility for the deaths of 603 U.S. service members in Iraq between 2003 and 2011, according to a 2019 Pentagon report cited by the Military Times. That figure accounted for 17% of U.S. deaths in the country during the period.
In 2022, surviving family members and victims won a case against the Islamic Republic of Iran, using the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act to hold the regime accountable for its support of terror actors who killed or injured 30 U.S. personnel in Afghanistan.
Bill Roggio, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and editor of the Long War Journal who testified in support of the victims, told Fox News Digital that "Iran's support for the Taliban and al Qaeda and the impact it had on the deaths and injuries to American soldiers and civilians is incalculable."
"Iran provided money, weapons, training, intelligence, and safe haven to Taliban subgroups across Afghanistan, including in the heart of the country in Kabul," Roggio said.
By Roggio's estimation, "Iran's support for the Taliban was only rivaled by that of Pakistan. I would argue that Iran's extensive support facilitated nearly every Taliban attack on U.S. personnel."
In 2020, in attempted retribution for the murder of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani, Iran targeted two U.S. bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq with surface-to-surface missiles.
In 2022, the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., found that Iran likewise owed damages to the families and victims of 40 U.S. service members who were injured or killed in Iraq due to Iran's support of terrorism in the country.
In 2023, Sayyed Issa Tabatabai, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's representative in Lebanon, admitted during an interview with the state-controlled Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) that the Islamic Republic was involved in two 1983 bombings that killed Americans in Lebanon.
The bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut resulted in the deaths of 63 victims, including 17 Americans. When two suicide truck bombs exploded at the barracks of multinational forces in Lebanon, 220 Marines, 18 U.S. Navy sailors and three U.S. Army soldiers were killed, and 58 French troops were murdered.
Between October 2023 and August 2024, Iranian-backed Islamic Resistance in Iraq militias launched 180 attacks against U.S. forces in Syria, Iraq and Jordan. Throughout their "decades of experience," Roggio said, Iraqi militias "are estimated to have killed more than 600 U.S. service members."
In January 2024, three Americans were killed, and 25 others were wounded in a drone attack on an outpost in Jordan near the border with Syria. Two Iranians, one of whom had dual U.S. citizenship, were charged in connection with the attack.
At the time of the attack, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said Iranian proxies had "launched over 150 attacks on U.S. troops" following Hamas' Oct. 7 attacks on Israel.
Roggio reported that on June 14, Iranian-backed militias "launched three drones" at Ain al Assad, a U.S. base in western Iraq. The drones were shot down before reaching their target.
He said that the drone attack appeared to be an "unsanctioned strike by an unnamed Iranian militia. Unlike past attacks, no group has claimed credit, and there have been no follow-on strikes." He believes Iran "wants to keep the U.S. out of the fight, as the U.S. military has the capability to hit the underground nuclear facility at Fordow."
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