"Iran continues to take steps to counter U.S. influences in the region by supporting international terrorism and expanding its nuclear program and ballistic arsenal," Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., the ranking Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, said in a statement Wednesday.

"It is these actions that disrupt regional stability and require the United States to ensure it is postured to deter and defeat any aggression against U.S. interests," Hunter said.

Tensions between the United States and Iran remain high over Tehran's continued refusal to adhere to U.N. Security Council resolutions demanding that it rein in its nuclear development program. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has repeatedly pledged to annihilate the state of Israel.

U.S. officials also say Iran has been supplying weapons and weapons-making training to insurgents in Iraq that has resulted in the deaths of more U.S. soldiers there.