Oct. 16, 2023
Last week, tragedy struck in Israel. The Iran-backed terrorist group Hamas brutally attacked men, women, and children in a hateful act of war. The butchering of babies, the burning of human bodies, the kidnapping, rape, beating, and murder of Israelis is despicable and shocking to the core.
This news was saddening and horrifying for us all. Israel has the right — and the responsibility — to defend itself against this aggression. The United States will stand with Israel. As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and Senate Appropriations Committee, I am working with my colleagues and the administration to ensure that the United States is able to provide them with the support and resources they need to address this threat.
Both our allies and partners, but also our adversaries, are closely watching how the United States responds to the atrocious Hamas attack on Israel. Allies and partners should be encouraged to follow our actions in supporting Israel and denouncing terrorism. Adversaries must be deterred from taking advantage of this situation and further destabilizing the region.
One way allies and partners can support Israel is by withdrawing support from the Iranian regime, which gives money and resources to terrorist groups like Hamas. This week, I joined several of my Senate Republican colleagues in a letter calling on the Biden Administration to take action against Iran. We urged President Biden to immediately convene the G7 nations — which include several close allied nations — and take coordinated action to isolate Iran using severe sanctions. These sanctions restrict Iran’s ability to fund regional terrorist groups.
Our letter also called on the president to reverse a decision to allow Iran to access $6 billion — which had previously been frozen under sanctions — that the administration announced in August. Instead, we urged President Biden, as the leader of the free world, to lead America’s partners and allies in securing agreements from as many nations as possible to take the most severe economic and diplomatic action against Iran possible under the law.
In response to this letter, reports emerged that the White House had agreed to deny Iran further access to that $6 billion. This is a first step; however, I’m introducing legislation with Senators Cotton and McConnell this week to make this policy law. We must prevent funds from flowing to a regime that bankrolls terrorist activity throughout the Middle East.
As Americans, we must come together in a bipartisan way to keep terrorism in check and stand with our ally Israel. I call on my colleagues in the Senate, as well as the administration and people across our country, to unequivocally condemn the evil acts committed by Hamas and their primary sponsor Iran. We must work together to support Israel and protect both Americans and Israelis who are being affected by the instability in the Middle East.
Thank you for participating in the democratic process. I look forward to visiting with you again next week.