Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO) claimed Iran’s recent attack on Israel was a repercussion of President Joe Biden’s policies and leadership.
Iran’s Saturday attack saw the country’s forces launch over 200 UAVs, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles at Israel, though nearly all of them were intercepted. Smith, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, argued that former President Donald Trump was more strict with Iran, whereas Biden has reversed several “strict” policies during his presidency.
“Under President Trump, he imposed the strict standards of the sanctions on the Iranians, and allowed them where they didn’t grow billions of dollars in profits in oil exports,” Smith said. “But unfortunately, the Biden administration has reversed course on that, and they have been very lax on those sanctions, allowing the Iranians to grow in more power, more economic growth. And now they’re attacking their neighbors.”
Smith’s comments mirror what Trump’s campaign press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, stated on Sunday, claiming that Iran was “emboldened” by Biden’s reversal of the former president’s sanctions against Iran. Trump is the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party for the 2024 election, setting the stage for a rematch between him and Biden, who is the presumptive Democratic nominee.
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While Biden released a statement praising Israel’s “remarkable capacity to defend against and defeat even unprecedented attacks,” a senior Biden administration official has stated that the United States currently has no plans to partake in a counterattack against Iran. Instead, any decision on a counterattack will be left up to Israel.
In the wake of Iran’s attack, the House of Representatives is seeking to adjust its previously determined schedule to include votes on legislation “that supports our ally Israel and holds Iran and its terrorist proxies accountable,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) said in a statement.
