Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of long seeking to “drag” the United States into conflict with Iran as lawmakers scramble to respond to the Trump administration’s handling of the Middle East conflict.
The Maryland Democrat, who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was asked during a CNN appearance Friday about a comment he made this week that Netanyahu had “outsmarted” President Trump on Iran.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu has always wanted to drag the United States into a war with Iran. Remember, Prime Minister Netanyahu was a big cheerleader for the war in Iraq. And many people believed that would be ‘a cakewalk,’” Van Hollen said.
“This is also why Prime Minister Netanyahu tried to sabotage the JCPOA when President Obama was in office,” Van Hollen added, referencing the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, which imposed restrictions on the country’s nuclear program in exchange for relief from sanctions. “[Netanyahu’s] goals have always been to take military action against Iran.”
“So, my view is that Prime Minister Netanyahu was on the verge, anyway, of getting Donald Trump to do what he’s wanted to do all along, which is drag the United States into a war with Iran.”
Van Hollen and a number of other Senate Democrats have raised concerns that Trump might join Israel in carrying out a strike targeting Tehran’s nuclear program, without securing congressional approval.
A group of Senate Democrats led by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) is seeking a vote on a resolution that would require Congress to authorize any military force against Iran. A parallel resolution has been introduced in the house by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and a dozen Democratic cosponsors.
Other prominent Senate Democrats, including Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.), however, have avoided signing onto the Senate resolution, saying Iran should not be permitted to have a nuclear weapon.
Trump has weighed using an American “bunker-buster” bomb on Fordow, an Iranian nuclear site located deep underground that Israel seeks to destroy.
While The New York Times reported on Tuesday that Trump has been increasingly persuaded by entreaties from Netanyahu, the president announced Thursday he could take up to two weeks to decide whether to plunge the United States into the conflict.