As the United States enters the Biden era, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) warns that the relationship between Washington and Jerusalem is poised to become particularly fragile, mainly because he believes the policies the new administration will pursue with respect to Iran will pose significant security challenges for Israel.
Incoming U.S. President Joe Biden has already stated that he plans to negotiate a nuclear deal with Iran, in lieu of the 2015 accord from which outgoing President Donald Trump withdrew in 2018. Following the Nov. 3 elections, Tehran has been growing brazen in its violations of the accord, in what experts believe is an attempt to produce leverage for future talks with Washington.
“I think the greatest national security threat to Israel that will be posed by the Biden-Harris administration will be their attempt to reestablish the disastrous Iran nuclear deal,” said Cruz.
“The Biden-Harris administration will set as their top foreign policy objective restoring that failed agreement. The single most important national security victory of the last four years was pulling out that disastrous deal,” he said.
“There was a vigorous debate in the administration [about] whether to do so. Both the State Department and the Pentagon advocated staying in the deal. I argued vigorously, multiple times, that we should pull out of the deal, and President Trump agreed with me and overruled his own defense department and state department,” said Cruz.
“I fear we are headed into a dangerous chapter with the Biden-Harris administration, working actively to undermine the national security gains made in the last four years, and to reinvigorate the ayatollahs in Iran, which poses an existential threat to Israel,” he added.
Cruz further said he believes that the Democratic Party has been overrun by the radical forces within it.
“Unfortunately, the Democratic Party today is being driven by the extreme and angry left. The voices who are setting the agenda are Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez. They are unapologetic socialists, they are advocating abolishing the police, packing the U.S. Supreme Court and ushering in a fundamental transformation of American society. I don’t believe the voters want that. I don’t believe that is consistent with the views and values of the American people.”
Still, even with the Democrats essentially in control of both chambers of Congress, “I believe America will continue to stand alongside Israel,” said Cruz.
“There is to be sure an anti-Israel and an anti-Semitic far left in the Democratic Party. And with Democratic majorities, that extreme faction will have greater influence. That being said, for eight years, I have endeavored to be the leading defender of Israel in the United States Senate, and I intend to continue to do so. And I am hopeful that there will remain a significant bipartisan coalition to stand alongside Israel,” he added.
Touching on the Capitol riots and their aftermath, Cruz told Israel Hayom that while he believes “the president’s language and rhetoric were reckless and irresponsible,” the backlash and expedited impeachment proceedings were extreme.
“The Democrats and the media are overreaching. This vindictive impeachment action, combined with a social media purge by big tech of conservative voices, is reminiscent of the final scene of every one of the Godfather movies. They are trying to settle their debts and eliminate their enemies. It is transparently political, it is not being honest with the American people, and I believe the people are smart enough to understand that the angry partisan politics being carried out by the Democrats is not good for our country,” he said.
“We are deeply divided, and we need to come together and unify. We can and should have vigorous debates on policies, but the angry, emotional hatred, the rage, that today’s Democrats are manifesting is not helping for the nation.”
This article first appeared in Israel Hayom.