Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) claimed Sunday that the Biden administration was sending “mixed messages” to Israel and criticized the administration’s approach to Iranian aggression.
Since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, President Biden has been a steadfast supporter of Israel, even amid some blowback from Democratic allies.
While the Biden administration has largely resisted pressure to join calls for a cease-fire as Israel continues its retaliatory ground attack in Gaza, Biden has strongly urged Israel to take caution to reduce civilian casualties and has called for increased humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.
“From a diplomatic standpoint, we’ve been sending mixed messages to Israel. You know, we talk about cease-fires. We talk about sending humanitarian aid into Gaza,” Hagerty said in an interview on “Fox News Sunday.”
“These mixed messages and the fact that we’ve allowed Iran to enrich itself and repopulate Hamas and Hezbollah and the Houthis with the weapons that they need, have created this situation,” he said, referring to Iran’s increased aggression in the region.
On the recent development that Yemen’s Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, fired two ballistic missiles at international shipping lanes in the southern Red Sea, Hagerty criticized the way the White House has responded.
“They’re not taking a consistent response. So of course, it’s not appropriate. That’s why Iran feels emboldened. What we’ve seen is … two aircraft carrier strike groups into the region. That’s a massive show of military force. But we’ve been highly inconsistent in terms of the way we deal with Iran from an economic standpoint, and from a diplomatic standpoint,” he said, claiming the “Biden administration wants to appease the Iranian regime.”