have a great day. julie: senior defense official sounding the alarm on a significant escalation in the middle east. u.s. navy using an anti-ship ballistic missile for the first time to stop incoming missile fire from houthis in the red sea. iran problem front and center stoking major fears of a wider war. good afternoon, everyone. the faulkner focus , i m julie banderas in for harris. thank you for joining us today. a lot of news to cover for you. we ll begin with more than 100 attacks on u.s. troops in the middle east since october 17th. iran proxies going after our men and women overseas. one top senate republican not happy with president biden s lack of action. listen. weakness. is there a red line? would you tell our enemies publicly if we tell an american we re coming after you? the houthis are completely backed by iran. i ve been saying for six months now hit iran. they have oil fields in the open. they have the revolutionary guard headquarters you can see from spa