Democratic Senator Michael Bennet said both sides of the political aisle in Washington, DC, are responsible for emboldening Iran. Speaking to Bret Baier on Fox News, Bennet said the Islamic regime has been able to build influence in the region over the past decade that is “more substantial” than before, and both Democrat and Republican Presidents are to blame. The Senator added that Iran’s proxy groups, including Hamas and Hezbollah, have had more successes in recent years.
Senator Bennet furthermore argued that America’s approach to Iran should not change from President to President. Comparing modern world politics to the Cold War between the US and Russia, Bennet said, “Every President knew what their job was with respect to the Cold War.”
On Twitter, Bennet criticized House Speaker Mike Johnson for failing to bring funding legislation to the House floor, preventing an aid boost for Israel and Ukraine. He said Iran is sowing chaos across the Middle East, and US funding delays are emboldening America’s enemies.
The Colorado Senator furthermore controversially declared that Iran was closer to obtaining nuclear weapons under Donald Trump’s leadership and that elections in November are crucial in determining how the Middle East will move forward. Bennet told Fox in February that Trump will add more volatility to an already volatile region.
In 2018, President Trump revoked a deal put in place by Barack Obama in 2013, which lifted some sanctions on Iran in exchange for agreeing to curb its nuclear weapons programs. Iran would also permit weapons inspectors to review its activities to ensure it did not develop weapons secretly. Trump ended the arrangement, saying it had not prevented the Iranian regime from developing nuclear components.
Imposing new sanctions that limited Iran’s ability to trade on global markets, Trump said the Obama deal was “defective at its core” and did not deal with Iranian missile ambitions. Some commentators suggested his motivation was to demonstrate increased US support for Israel.
