Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, who recently returned from leading a congressional delegation to Saudi Arabia and Israel, told Newsmax on Thursday that the reason Iran is the foremost sponsor of terrorism around the world is because it fears peace in the Middle East.
"This was an incredible delegation — bipartisan, bicameral," Ernst said during an appearance on Newsmax's "The Record with Greta Van Susteren." "We left on this trip to visit many of those Arab nations across the Middle East and Israel to express our support of the Abraham Accords and to further press on a peace agreement between Saudi Arabia and Israel.
"So, we left as a delegation promoting peace and, unfortunately, towards the end of our trip, we were faced with a nation at war. I do believe that we can continue on this pathway to peace.
"Hamas is a terrorist organization," she continued. "What Iran fears the most is peace in the Middle East, and I believe that is why they continue to fund these proxies, these terrorists, like Hamas, Hezbollah. ... They're trying to disrupt wherever they can so we really have to hold Iran accountable and then help the Israelis."
Ernst agreed with host Van Susteren's assessment that the United States needs to crack down on Iran, which is widely believed to have funded and helped plan Saturday's devastating attack on Israel that killed 1,300 Israelis and left hundreds more dead or taken hostage.
"This administration under President [Joe] Biden and his leadership has really led the way into all-out appeasement on Iran, which enables them to support these terrorist proxies all around the globe," Ernst said. "For heaven's sakes, Hamas gets 93% of their funding directly from Iran and to the point of sanctions on Iranian oil, you're right.
"We have seen a significant increase in funding from exported Iranian oil that should have been interdicted by the United States Department of Justice, but this administration, they won't step up to the plate.
"I don't want to point the finger and say that these are nefarious actions by our own government but even the Arab nations in the Middle East do not want this nuclear agreement with Iran," she continued. "They do not want to see Iran funding terrorism in a region where they really need stability to enable prosperity for their citizens.
"So, everything that President Biden and his administration is doing runs counter to what the Abraham Accords is attempting to do."
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Nicole Wells ✉
Nicole Wells, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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