Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) warned Iran on Sunday that it would face consequences should it choose to target the United States’s presence in the Middle East, where negotiations over Iran’s nuclear weapons program have dissipated following a recent attack by Israel.
Israel began launching a series of strikes against Iran Thursday, seeking to disable its nuclear program and ballistic missile capabilities and decapitate its military leadership. While appearing on Fox News’s Fox News Sunday with Shannon Bream, Thune explained that President Donald Trump has sought to come to a peaceful solution with Iran, but that the country became “defiant” amid negotiations, adding that Israel’s recent actions were taken to defend itself.
“They view Iran’s nuclear capability, as do we, as a nonstarter,” Thune said. “That is a destabilizing force not only in the region, but in the entire world, and what you heard Prime Minister Netanyahu say when he spoke to Congress last year is that the only thing standing between Iran and the United States is Israel, and that’s absolutely true. They’re the ‘Little Satan,’ we’re the ‘Big Satan,’ and they want to wipe Israel off the map, and that just isn’t something that the Israelis can accept. And so this is their decision to defend themselves and their people. What I would suggest to Iran is they not target Americans in any of this because if they do, they better be prepared because we will respond.”
Thune further stated that “all of America’s might” will be brought upon Iran should it target U.S. bases in the region.
Trump clarified on social media Sunday that the U.S. has had no involvement in the recent attacks against Iran. He did note, however, that the U.S. Armed Forces will respond should Iran attack the U.S. He also claimed that a deal between Israel and Iran could “easily” be reached to “end this bloody conflict.”
TIME TO DELIVER ON A BETTER ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ FOR TRUMP
Upon being asked about his relationship with Trump, Thune described the president as “the closer” in helping legislation get passed, citing the “major influence” Trump has.
The major piece of legislation currently before the Senate is the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act, which largely seeks to execute Trump’s vision for the nation. Republicans are seeking to get the bill to the president’s desk by the Fourth of July. Thune said he “absolutely” plans to carry out meetings over weekends when the Senate is not in session, adding that they could extend through the Fourth of July recess.
