(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says he opposes the use of U-S military force in Iran where massive anti-government demonstrations in recent days are being met with violence that’s reportedly left many hundreds of protesters dead. “We don’t want military action. I don’t think it’s necessary at this point,” Grassley says, “but maybe in three or four hours I could give you a more definitive answer, because over the weekend it was reported the president was meeting with his military and diplomatic and national security advisors on this very subject.” Grassley, a Republican, voted last week to oppose a war powers act vote that aims to restrict President Trump’s use of the military in Venezuela. Meanwhile in Iran, reports say more than 600 people have been killed and more than 10-thousand detained.

“The president drew a line in the sand. If there’s mass killings, there’s already been too many people killed, too many people arrested from my point of view,” Grassley says. “I don’t know what the description of a mass killing is, but the president set that red line in the sand and that there’s going to be consequences.” Grassley suggests there’s a fear of “crying wolf” and a loss of global credibility if an American president’s words aren’t followed by action. “We don’t want it to be like Obama did in Syria, drawing the line in the sand that if chemical weapons were used against Syrians and Kurds, that he’s going to intervene — and he didn’t intervene,” Grassley says. “So either the president shouldn’t make those statements, or if they do make those statements, then they should make sure that the consequences that they promised come about.”

Five Republicans joined Democrats in the Senate last week to advance the war powers act to block the president’s use of military force in Venezuela. A final Senate vote on the resolution may come this week, though it also needs to pass in the House, while it faces a certain Trump veto.