by Boaz Bismuth and Erez Linn
Senator Ted Cruz warns of new US administration's attempts to appease Iran as it renegotiates a nuclear deal with the ayatollah's regime, pledges "America will continue to stand alongside Israel."
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| Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) | File photo: AP/Jose Luis Magana |
As the United States enters the Biden era, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), one of the most pro-Israel senators in the US, warns that the relationship between Washington and Jerusalem is poised to become particularly fragile, mainly because he believes the policies that the new administration will pursue with regard to Iran will pose significant security challenges for Israel.
Joe Biden, who will be sworn in is the 46th American president later on Wednesday, has already stated that he plans to negotiate a nuclear deal with Iran, in lieu of the 2015 accord from which outgoing President Donald Trump withdrew in 2018. Following the Nov. 3 elections, Tehran has been growing brazen in its violations of the accord, in what experts believe is an attempt to produce leverage for future talks with Washington.
The situation with Iran, Cruz told Israel Hayom, could prove precarious.
"I think the greatest national security threat to Israel that will be posed by the Biden-Harris administration, will be their attempt to reestablish the disastrous Iran nuclear deal.
"Under President Obama, the signature so-called foreign policy achievement of his second term was sending hundreds of billions of dollars to [Iranian Supreme Leader] Ayatollah [Ali] Khamenei [as part of the 2015 nuclear deal] who regularly chants 'Death to America' and 'Death to Israel.'
"The Biden Harris administration will set as their top foreign policy objectives, restoring that failed agreement. The single most important national security victory of the last four years was pulling out that disastrous deal," he asserted. "There was a vigorous debate in the administration of whether to do so. Both the State Department and the Pentagon advocated staying in the deal. I argued vigorously multiple times that we should pull out of the deal, and President Trump agreed with me and overruled his own defense department and state department withdrawing from the deal.
"I fear we are headed into a dangerous chapter with the Biden-Harris administration, working actively to undermine the national security gains made in the last four years, and to reinvigorate the ayatollahs in Iran, which poses an existential threat to Israel," he warned.
Cruz further said be believed that the Democratic Party has been overrun by the radical forces within it.
"Unfortunately, the Democratic party today is being driven by the extreme and angry Left. The voices who are setting the agenda are Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez. They are unapologetic socialists, they are advocating abolishing the police, packing the US Supreme Court and ushering in a fundamental transformation of American society. I don't believe the voters want that. I don't believe that is consistent with the views and values of the American people."
Still, even with the Democrats essentially in control of both chambers of Congress, Cruz said the US will continue to stand by Israel, a strategic ally in the Middle East.
"I believe America will continue to stand alongside Israel. There is to be sure, an anti-Israel and an anti-Semitic far Left in the Democratic party. And with Democratic majorities, that extreme faction will have greater influence. That being said, for eight years, I have endeavored to be the leading defender of Israel, in the United States Senate, and I intend to continue to do so. And I am hopeful that there will remain a significant bipartisan coalition to stand alongside Israel.
"I am reminded of a little over a year ago when several members of the extreme anti-Israel Left in the House made ugly anti-Semitic comments and the House of Representatives tried to find a resolution condemning anti-Semitism. Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi tried to pass it. She discovered that the resolution could not pass in the Democratic conference, that the anti-Israel Left blocked it so instead the House passed a watered-down resolution` condemning bigotry of all kinds, rather than clearly and specifically condemning anti-Semitism."
Touching on the Capitol riots and their aftermath, Cruz told Israel Hayom that while he believes "the president's language and rhetoric were reckless and irresponsible," the backlash and expedited impeachment proceedings were extreme.
"The Democrats and the media are overreaching. This vindictive, impeachment action, combined with a social media purge by big tech of conservative voices, is reminiscent of the final scene of every one of the Godfather movies. They are trying to settle their debts and eliminate their enemies. It is transparently political, it is not being honest with the American people, and I believe the people are smart enough to understand that the angry partisan politics being carried out by the Democrats is not good for our country.
"We are deeply divided, and we need to come together and unify. We can and should have vigorous debates on policies, but the angry emotional hatred, the rage, that today's Democrats are manifesting is not helping for the nation," he said.
Boaz Bismuth and Erez Linn
Source: https://www.israelhayom.com/2021/01/20/bidens-policy-on-iran-could-pose-existential-threat-to-israel/
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