Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, said it's "absolutely unacceptable" for the Biden administration to have approved any sort of strike on Israel, as some reporting has suggested happened before Saturday's thwarted attack by Iran.
"Israel is our ally," Ernst said on Newsmax's "Newsline." "We should be defending them with our heart and soul, so the Biden administration needs to step up and always represent our best interests in the Middle East and that is by standing with our friend Israel.
"We have seen a number of other Arab nations that have stepped up as well. I want to say thanks so much to Jordan, to Saudi [Arabia], to our other partners across the Middle East that have also stood with Israel in downing these drones and these ballistic missiles.
"I will remind everyone it was the Biden administration that has continued to try and engage in the Iran nuclear deal, which frees up money for the Iranians. They also refused to enforce oil sanctions against Iran.
"We're at a five-year high of oil exports from Iran totaling $80 billion. Those funds go to buy drones and ballistic missiles, which target Israel and our American men and women on the ground throughout the Middle East. Shame on you, President Biden."
Ernst said that before Tehran's weekend attack, a number of Israeli allies were beginning to pull back their support for the Jewish state's ongoing retaliatory war in the Gaza Strip against Iranian proxy group Hamas.
"We have seen the tide turn now with opinion when it comes to Israel," she said. "So many partners around the world were very concerned about Israel, and started really backing off, but after these weekend attacks, you see a renewed interest in allowing Israel to defend herself.
"She has every right to do that and, in the short term, they should be riding that wave of increased support and finding a way to provide those repercussions to Iran. As they do that, whatever they decide to do, the United States of America should be right there, backing them up, whether it's logistically, whether it is targeting, providing munitions and platforms.
"In the long term, the United States of America again needs to get serious about enforcing sanctions against Iran. I have a bipartisan bill that would do that, would force the administration to enforce those sanctions and then enriching our own investigative capabilities to interdict illicit oil coming out of Iran.
"This is incredibly important that we do this. We need to choke them off where it matters the most, and that is the funds that continue to allow them to buy those missiles, buy those drones and fund terrorist proxies."
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Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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