Washington – Before Iran missile attack in Israel at the beginning of October to avenge the killing of Hamas, Hezbollah and Iranian officials, Vice President Kamala Harris already had to convey the division in the Democratic Party because of the US support for Israel. The conflict between Israel and Iran may not have the same impact on the presidential election as domestic issues inflation again reproductive rightsbut the next president will have to handle the crisis in the region as a threat of a heavy war is escalating.
Republicans have pressured the Biden administration to send more security aid to Israel and threatened Tehran and its proxies with military consequences. President Biden said last week that he does not support a possible attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities by Israel.
Former President Donald Trump blames the growing conflict on what he says is the weak leadership of Mr. Biden and Mr. Harris. Mr. Biden’s response to the nuclear issue, Trump said, was to “strike the nukes first and worry about the rest later.”
Here are the positions taken by Harris and Trump on Israel and Iran.
Israel-Gaza war
Harris praised the efforts of the Biden administration to broker a compromise Israel and Hamas as the war in Gaza reaches the one-year mark. He has repeatedly said that Israel has the right to defend itself but has also acknowledged the suffering of the Palestinian people.
“We must chart a course for a two-state solution. And in that solution, there must be security for the Israeli people and Israelis and equally for the Palestinians,” he said in a September presidential debate. “But one thing I will always assure you, I will always give Israel the power to defend itself, especially as it relates to Iran and any threat that Iran and its proxies pose to Israel. But we must have a two-state solution. where we can rebuild Gaza, where the people Palestinians are safe, with independence and the dignity they deserve.”
Harris has not laid out a plan for a two-state solution.
Earlier this year he called on the Israeli government to do more to increase the flow of aid to the Palestinian people. Harris’ national security adviser said in August that the Democratic nominee does not support an arms embargo on Israel. Harris said in September that he supports the decision of Mr. Biden in May withheld the shipment of 2,000 bombs to Israel out of concern that they would be used in Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians have taken refuge after fleeing their homes.
In an interview that aired Monday on “60 Minutes“, Harris was asked if the US would consider Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a close friend, in the face of resistance to a cease-fire and his bombing of Lebanon to target Hezbollah, although the US has warned Israel against starting a full-scale war .and its neighbor to the north.
“I think, with all due respect, the better question is: do we have a significant relationship between the American people and the Israeli people? And the answer to that question is yes,” Harris said.
Trump said the October 7, 2023 terrorist attack by Hamas would not have happened if he had been president. But the former president, who has portrayed himself as a staunch defender of Israel, has criticized the Israeli government’s handling of the war. In November, he said that “Israel has to do a better job of public relations, frankly, because the other side is beating them in the area of public relations.” He also called on Israel to “finish.”
Trump was asked during June’s presidential debate whether he would support an independent Palestinian state, to which he replied, “I’ll have to see.”
As president, Trump moved the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and ended decades of US opposition to Israeli settlements in the West Bank. (The Biden administration rejected the resolution.)
Iran
“In 60 Minutes” interviewHarris was asked which country he considered the biggest enemy of the US
“I think there’s an obvious one in mind, which is Iran,” he said. “Iran has American blood on their hands.”
He added that it was one of his “most important” things to ensure that Iran “does not reach the potential of becoming a nuclear power.” Harris did not answer whether the US would take military action if there was evidence that Iran was developing a nuclear weapon.
It is not clear whether Harris would seek to terminate the new nuclear deal with Iran if he wins the election. In the 2020 campaign, Harris, the embattled Democratic presidential candidate, said he would seek to rejoin the Iran nuclear deal, “provided Iran also returns to compliance and verification.”
Trump has strongly criticized the Obama-era agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, and withdrew the US from the international agreement in 2018. He called the 2015 deal a “disaster” and “a huge shame.”
After Iran’s missile attack on Israel last week, Harris called Iran a “misleading, dangerous force in the Middle East” and said he supported Mr Biden’s order for the US military to shoot down Iranian missiles aimed at Israel.
“Iran is not only a threat to Israel, Iran is also a threat to American personnel in the region, to American interests, and to innocent citizens throughout the region who are suffering at the end of the terrorists supported by Iran,” he said. “We will not hesitate to take any action necessary to protect US forces and their interests from Iran and Iran-backed terrorists and we will continue to work with our allies and partners to disrupt Iran’s aggressive behavior and hold them accountable.”
Trump shared similar sentiments, accusing Iran of “sending terror around the world.” But he also blamed the leadership of the Biden administration for the missile launch, again making the argument that it would not have happened if he were in the White House.
He also suggested that Iran may have been linked to two assassination attempts. He said the US must threaten to strike a country to “attack” if it attacks a presidential candidate.
So far there is no indication from the FBI or the Secret Service that Iran was involved in the assassination attempt. However, Iran appears to threaten Trump’s security. A Pakistani nation with alleged ties to Iran you are arrested in August and has been charged with conspiring to assassinate current and former government officials across the political spectrum, including Trump, according to multiple sources familiar with the investigation.
Iran has also been accused of trying to interfere in the presidential election. The Department of Justice recently the case three Iranian criminals who allegedly targeted members of the Trump campaign.
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