U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, wants President Biden to impose “crushing” sanctions on Iran following its recent drone attack on Israel.
“Iran ought to be absolutely, totally, completely isolated. I mean, this is their choice. They have brought it on themselves, but they’re a terrorist state. So, we’ve got to isolate them,” Hawley told Missourinet. “We’ve got to make sure that our allies aren’t selling to them. They shouldn’t be able to use their dirty profits from oil to fund their nuclear program. We’ve got to turn the screws down on them.”
Last Thursday, the Biden Administration did impose sanctions on Iran’s drone and missile programs. Hawley is also calling on the president to provide more support for Israel.
“Israel needs our support as they fight and win this war,” he said. “They don’t need us to fight it for them – they don’t want us to fight it for them – but we’ve got to support them as they keep their own border safe and for the security of the whole region, we need them to succeed.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. House has passed a $95.3 billion package that will provide military aid to Israel and to Taiwan, which Hawley has also called for as China threatens to invade the island nation. But the bill also contains military aid to Ukraine, which Hawley opposes.
He said in a social media post Sunday: “Another $60 billion for Ukraine. Not a penny for Missouri. And they’re waiving Ukraine flags on the floor of the House. The politicians have failed this country.”
Missouri’s congressional delegation showed more support for Israel than Ukraine in Saturday’s votes on aid packages for both warring countries. Separate votes were held on the aid bills before they were combined into one and sent to the U.S. Senate.
On the Israeli aid package, Republicans Mark Alford, Eric Burlison, Sam Graves, Jason Smith, Ann Wagner, and Democrat Emanuel Cleaver voted “yes,” while Democrat Cori Bush voted “no,” accusing the Israeli government of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
On the Ukraine aid package, both Bush and Cleaver voted “yes,” joined by Republicans Graves and Wagner, while Republicans Alford, Burlison, and Smith voted “no,” saying the government should focus on securing the southern border over sending more aid to Ukraine.
Republican Blaine Luetkemeyer was absent for both votes.
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