BATON ROUGE — Louisiana congressmen are split on President Donald Trump's warning that "a whole civilization will die" if Iran does not agree to a ceasefire and to reopen the Straight of Hormuz. But for one Baton Rouge man, who immigrated from Iran, the latest tension is more than just political rhetoric.

Hamed Ghassemi was moved to the United States decades ago. In recent months, he protested and prayed for U.S. military intervention in Iran to help overthrow the current regime.

"This is a rescue mission. They're being rescued from a regime that has been oppressing them for 47 years," said Ghassemi.

With President Trump's most recent warning, Ghassemi hopes leadership in Iran will stand down. Ghassemi still has family and friends living in Iran, who could be at risk if escalation leads to the targeting of civilian areas.

"It's very unfortunate that we have to lose lives. Of course, everybody is worried about war. War is never good."

Whatever happens next, Ghassemi hopes for the fall of Iran's current regime. He wants leadership to be determined by the people.

"We want our Iran back. We want a country that is peaceful. We had that, and we want it back," said Ghassemi.

President Trump's new threats follow multiple deadlines that have now passed for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz. The Strait serves as a critical connection, a narrow passage where 20% of the world's oil passes through when the Strait is open. The war in Iran has kept the Strait closed to commercial shipping, driving up the worldwide price of oil.

Republican Louisiana congressman Clay Higgins, supports the president. In a statement on "X," Higgins said the US should "Wipe... them... out." The post went on to read "Hit them harder than ever, mister president."

This stance drew criticism from democratic congressman Cleo Fields. 

"Even if this is one of his negotiation tactics, it's not a good one. This is not a business deal. This is not a contract. These are people's lives," Fields told WBRZ.

Rep. Fields wants Congress to step in and reassert its constitutional authority to declare war, as well as authorize and fund the use of military force.

"This is not a republican or democratic talking point. If there ever was a time for Congress to speak, that time is now," said Fields.

WBRZ also reached out to republicans Julia Letlow, Mike Johnson, Steve Scalise, Bill Cassidy, and John N. Kennedy for reaction. We did not hear back from any of them.