[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 66 (Tuesday, April 16, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2759-S2760]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                  Iran

  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, this weekend, Iran and its proxies in 
Syria, Yemen, and Iraq fired a barrage of missiles and drones against 
Israel. The direct attack was a marked escalation on Iran's part. And 
it is time for the United States, our allies, and nations that support 
peace and freedom to make it clear to Iran that we are not going stand 
idly by while Iran threatens Israel and foments terror in the Middle 
East.
  This weekend's attack was a notable escalation on Iran's part because 
weapons were fired from Iran and not just by Iran's proxies. Iran has 
been threatening Israel and undermining peace in the Middle East for 
decades--Hezbollah, the Houthis, Shia militias in Iraq and Syria, 
Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and, of course, Hamas.
  Hamas gets approximately 90 percent of its military budget from Iran, 
and there is reason to wonder whether Hamas would even have had the 
capability to carry out its October 7 attack without the support it 
receives from Iran. There is certainly reason to wonder what the Middle 
East would look like today if Iran hadn't spent decades funding and 
arming terrorist organizations.
  Enough is enough. There have been a lot of redlines drawn for Israel 
lately. It is past time to draw some for Iran. Unfortunately, the U.S. 
posture toward Iran under President Biden has too often been one of 
appeasement. It was President Biden's attempt to reinstate the Obama 
administration's flawed Iran nuclear deal. Then there was the Biden 
administration's attempt to unfreeze $6 billion in Iranian assets as 
part of a deal to free American prisoners. Thankfully, the 
administration ultimately refroze those funds in the wake of Hamas's 
October 7 attack against Israel. But unfreezing them in the first place 
was a serious mistake.
  Just last month, for the second time since the October 7 attack on 
Israel by Iran-backed Hamas, President Biden renewed a sanctions waiver 
giving Iran access to $10 billion from energy sales. And now, this 
week, President Biden was quick to take options off the table for what 
U.S. assistance to Israel might look like in the wake of Iran's bold 
attack. This only suggests to Iran that there are limits to the United 
States-Israel partnership at the very time we must be making good on 
our ironclad relationship with Israel, not telling our ally it has to 
go it alone.
  It is alarming when President Biden seems more intent on preventing 
Israel from responding to Iran's attack than on making it clear to Iran 
that there can be no more of these attacks and that Iran needs to cease 
all of its terrorist operations. Unless President Biden wants to 
continue to see Israel in danger, American troops threatened, and 
commerce through the Red Sea disrupted, he has to find a much stronger 
posture when it comes to Iran.
  The United States should be making it clear to Iran that the United 
States will not allow another Iranian attack like the one that occurred 
this weekend and that we will not tolerate any more aggression from 
Iran. And it shouldn't be just the United States drawing this redline. 
As I said, it is time for the United States, our allies, and nations 
that support peace and freedom to resoundingly reject Iran's malign 
agenda.
  The United States has an important role to coordinate action to back 
up the G7 statement and to press members of the U.N. Security Council 
to take a position on Iran's flagrant attack. The United States must 
also press forward to broker a deal for the normalization of Israel and 
Saudi relations, the prospect of which normalization many believe 
motivated the October 7 terrorist attack by Iran-backed Hamas. And, of 
course, the United States must continue to push for the return of all 
the hostages in Gaza and help Israel in its

[[Page S2760]]

vital mission to dismantle the threat of Hamas.
  Mr. President, there may be no easy solution to peace in the Middle 
East, but standing up to Iranian aggression would be a good start. Iran 
spends at least $800 million per year supporting terrorist groups in 
the Middle East. I ask, again, what would the Middle East look like 
without the terrorist funding? I suspect it would look more peaceful 
and prosperous and that our ally Israel and innocent people around the 
Middle East would be able to sleep more easily at night.
  So it is time for President Biden to step up. Continued appeasement 
and half measures on Iran will only prolong the cycle of violence in 
the Middle East and increase the risk of large-scale attacks against 
Israel like the barrage over the weekend. If President Biden steps 
forward with strength, perhaps the legacy of his Presidency can include 
something more than an inflation crisis and a national security 
disaster at our southern border.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Senator from Texas.