Russian Senator Says US Iran Campaign Poorly Prepared, Cites Venezuela Example

MOSCOW, April 27. /TASS/. The US military campaign against Iran was poorly prepared, as it was based on the mistaken belief that results could be achieved quickly through the use of force, Chairman of the Federation Council Commission on Information Policy and Media Relations Alexey Pushkov said in an interview with TASS. "From a military standpoint, the current campaign was clearly poorly prepared," Pushkov said. In his view, the US approach may have been influenced by its experience in Venezuela, which Washington may have perceived as an example of the effectiveness of "precise and surgical" operations. "The abduction of [Venezuelan President Nicolas] Maduro and the very weak reaction to it from the Venezuelans, who chose to accept US conditions regarding control over Venezuelan oil exports, convinced him (US President Donald Trump - TASS) that a precision surgical military operation is a good tool for forcing a foreign regime to behave as the US wishes. After that, Trump apparently decided that something similar could be done in Iran," the senator noted.