Group brings Iranian drone to Capitol Hill as sign of Tehran’s threat

The ominous-looking aircraft on display Thursday inside a congressional caucus room on Capitol Hill wasn’t there just to spark conversations by tourists or others passing by.

The Shahed-136, an Iranian-designed and manufactured kamikaze drone, was a tangible symbol of Tehran’s threat against the West, said officials from the advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran.

“This is the face of the Iranian regime,” said former U.N. Ambassador Mark Wallace, the group’s CEO. “This is the most ubiquitous terror weapon of mass destruction in the world today.”

Iran provided Russia with 6,000 Shahed-136 drones in the Russians’ war against Ukraine. Others were used in the Jan. 28, 2024, attack on a logistics base in Jordan that killed three U.S. soldiers and wounded several others.

The Shahed-136 is designed to attack ground targets from a distance. It is typically fired in multiples from a launch rack.

The drone on display at the Cannon House Office Building had been fired at Ukraine but was forced down without any kind of detonation. It was later taken into neighboring Poland and flown to the United States. 

Sen. Ted Cruz was one of a handful of lawmakers who spoke at Thursday’s event. The Texas Republican said the Iranian government represents “an acute and imminent threat to America and our allies.”

“When the ayatollah chants ‘death to America,’ he means it,” Mr. Cruz said. 

“There’s no doubt that China represents the most significant long-term threat to the United States [but] the prospect of an Iranian regime acquiring nuclear weapons presents the most acute and immediate threat to America and our allies,” Mr. Cruz said. “They are developing missiles capable of detonating nuclear warheads above American cities because they intend to detonate nuclear warheads above American cities.”

The Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, was an early agreement to limit Iran’s nuclear ambitions in exchange for sanctions relief. However, the deal also meant Iran could sell its oil in the international market and terminate all U.N. sanctions against it.

“It was the most disastrous and deranged deal in modern times,” Mr. Cruz said.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, Louisiana Republican, said loitering attack drones like the Shahed-136, which use off-the-shelf technology, are changing the economics of war, and not in America’s favor.

“They’re with every terrorist group because they’re cheap. Iran can build one of these things for about $20,000,” Mr. Johnson said. “We have to make sure that we keep maximum pressure on Iran. Nothing less will do.”