Newt Gingrich: ‘The Iranian Dictatorship Has Been at War With Us Since 1979’

As tensions between the United States and Iran continue to worsen, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich weighed in on Fox & Friends on Monday. The Republican made the extraordinary claim that the U.S. is already at war with Iran and has been for decades.

Gingrich was asked about the administration’s claim that an attack was imminent and whether information proving that claim should be released. The justification for killing Iranian General Qassem Soleimani – that it was preventative – appears to be thin. Democrats want the reasoning to be declassified.

“I don’t know in that material to what degree it reveals our sources and to what degree it reveals our methods,” Gingrich said.

“But I can tell you, look, the Iranian dictatorship has been at war with us since 1979. Their seizure of the embassy, which was illegal, was a deliberate act by the dictatorship.”

Gingrich appears to be referring to the seizure of the U.S. embassy in Tehran in 1979.

“Last year, their congress, the Majles, went into session chanting death to America,” Gingrich went on. “Literally all their politicians in the congress are chanting death to America in session. So I start with the idea, when they chant death to America maybe what they mean is death to America.”

Gingrich’s claim may be hyperbolic or he may genuinely interpret the U.S.-Iran relationship as a war. In purely legal and diplomatic terms, the U.S. has not been at war with Iran at any point since 1979 and despite recent events, the U.S. is not currently at war with that country.

Watch the video above, via Fox News.