Santorum: North Dakota could be terrorist target

Rick Santorum warned a crowd in North Dakota that terrorists could target the state's oil industry.

"Folks, you've got energy here. They're going to bother you. They'll bother you, because you are a very key and strategic resource for this country," the former Pennsylvania senator said, according to CNN. "No one is safe. No one is safe from asymmetric threats of terrorism."

Santorum implied that Iran could be responsible for future attacks, emboldened by obtaining a nuclear weapon.

"That's what Iran will be all about unless we stop them from getting that nuclear weapon," Santorum said.

Santorum has hammered the potential threat of a nuclear Iran in recent weeks on the campaign trail, telling a crowd in Missouri earlier this month that they would not be safe from a nuclear attack.

“Once they have a nuclear weapon, let me assure you, you will not be safe, even here in Missouri,” Santorum said. “These are folks who have been and are at war with us since 1979. This is a country that has killed more troops in Afghanistan and Iraq than the Iraqis and Afghans.”

Santorum has said in the past that he would bomb Iranian nuclear facilities if the country did not agree to weapons inspections.

The former senator has surged to the front of Republican polls on the heels of upset victories in Colorado, Missouri and Minnesota last week. Polls now show Santorum with the lead in Michigan — rival Mitt Romney's home state.

---