Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., called on President Biden to take a stronger stance against Iran after his administration reportedly advised Israel not to launch a response after Tehran fired hundreds of missiles and drones at the Jewish state on Saturday.
Kennedy addressed Iran’s attack during an appearance on “Fox News Sunday,” criticizing Biden’s support of Israel as less than ironclad.
“In the past 60 days, we have seen President Biden go wobbly in his support of Israel,” Kennedy said. “With respect, go to Amazon and buy a spine online. Peace through weakness never works, not with these hard, armed men.”
Iran launched some 300 drones and missiles from its own territory toward Israel, though the vast majority were intercepted by air defenses.
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Israel responded by sending fighter jets to strike multiple Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, including a major weapon-manufacturing site. While Israel has yet to announce plans for a large-scale retaliation, The New York Times reported that the Biden administration has advised Israel not to retaliate against Iran.
Kennedy accused Biden of “being influenced by the Hamas wing of the Democratic Party” and called on the president to shore up his support of Israel.
“The American people may be poor under Biden, but they’re not stupid,” Kennedy said. “We need to stand with Israel.”
Biden has also drawn criticism over his failed attempt to deter Iran from carrying out an attack against Israel. On Friday, Biden said simply, “Don’t,” when reporters asked about his message to Iran ahead of an expected attack against Israel.
Kennedy warned that the U.S. must stand strong against Iran and its surrogates.
“Israel’s not at war with Hamas or Hezbollah or Yemen,” the senator said. “Those are all surrogates for Iran, they’re prostitutes. The pimp is Iran. Israel is at war with Iran. Iran hates Americans. Iran hates Jews. Iran wants to kill Americans and Jews. And if we turn the other cheek to them, we’re going to get it in the neck.”
Fox News’ Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.
