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Floor Speech

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Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, Hamas's brutal attack on Israel on October 7 has thrust not just Hamas but Iran into the spotlight. Why? Because, while Hamas may have carried out this attack, Iran enabled it and is currently enabling terrorist organizations throughout the Middle East.

There is Hamas, which gets approximately 90 percent of its military budget from Iran and benefits from Iranian training and weapons. Then there is Hezbollah, the terrorist organization on Israel's northern border with Lebanon, which is also armed and financed by Iran. Then there are the Houthis in Yemen, who are backed by Iran and who, in the aftermath of October 7, fired missiles and drones headed in the direction of Israel, likely at Iran's direction. There are the Shia militias who are attacking American soldiers in Iraq and Syria, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the list literally goes on.

As I said on the floor last week, through its proxies, Iran is literally getting away with murder. One has to wonder what the Middle East would look like today if Iran hadn't spent decades funding and arming terrorist organizations. Nor are Iran's malign activities confined to the Middle East. Iran has provided Russia with drones to use in its war of aggression against Ukraine, and now it appears that Iran is helping Russia to build a drone manufacturing facility to dramatically increase Russia's drone supply.

Meanwhile, Russia's Foreign Minister was in Iran last week and met with the Iranian President. A Reuters article on the meeting reported:

Russia and Iran are firming up bilateral relations in a `trusting' atmosphere, Russia's foreign ministry said . . .

Mr. President, Iran doesn't just represent a danger to peace and stability in the Middle East and beyond. It is directly responsible for much of the strife that we see there. And in the wake of the October 7 attack and Israel's military response, Iran has threatened Israel with escalation and a war on ``multiple fronts.''

It is time to make clear to Iran that its deadly activities can't continue. The Biden administration must clearly articulate to the Iranians that if they do not stand down or if they green-light any escalation against Israel, the United States and our allies will respond. In the meantime, the administration should be exploring all avenues for ending Iran's career as a state sponsor of terror. Israel and the Arab world deserve a chance to move forward, free of Iran's malign meddling.

President Biden and his administration do not have the strongest track record on Iran--witness their misguided attempts to reboot the Obama administration's problematic nuclear deal and the decision to unfreeze $6 billion in Iranian funds as part of a deal to free American prisoners. The President did, finally, listen to calls from myself and others in the wake of Hamas's attack to once again freeze that $6 billion, and the administration was right to move more U.S. forces into the region to deter escalation and to respond to attacks on U.S. troops.

But it is clear that a lot more needs to be done if we want to stop Iran from funding terror. I am disappointed that the President has continued in his choice of Jack Lew as Ambassador to Israel. Mr. Lew played a key role in developing and carrying out the Obama administration's misguided nuclear deal, and his nomination does not exactly send the message to Iran that the Biden administration will be cracking down on Iranian warmongering.

Thirty-three Americans died as a result of Hamas's October 7 act, and as many as 10 Americans are still likely trapped as hostages, with hundreds of other Americans still stuck in Gaza. Meanwhile, a number of American military personnel have been injured in drone attacks in Iraq and Syria carried out by Iran-backed groups. Add the more than 1,400 individuals who died in Hamas's October 7 attack and countless other terrorism-related deaths in the Middle East and it becomes very clear that Iran's hands are stained with the blood of thousands.

If there is to be any hope of peace in the Middle East, if there is to be any hope for a brighter and more secure future for Israelis and Palestinians and many others, then Iran's career as a state sponsor of terror must be ended. And I will do everything I can with my colleagues in Congress to see that that is accomplished. And I hope the Biden administration will do the same. It is time to end Iran's reign of terror.

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