Sullivan: Biden Downplays Failed Iran Policies & Global Chaos in Final UN Speech
President mentions climate change three times more than Iran in remarks
WASHINGTON—In an interview this morning with Harris Faulkner on Fox News Channel, U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), the Republican Senate representative to the 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, condemned the misguided foreign policy priorities highlighted in President Biden’s final speech to the UN on Tuesday. In a Wall Street Journal op-ed last weekend, Sen. Sullivan urged President Biden to use the speech as an opportunity to course correct on the administration’s failed appeasement policies toward Iran, which have emboldened the terrorist regime and its proxies and spread chaos throughout the world.
“President Biden mentioned climate change six times and Iran just twice in his speech to the UN. If that's not indicative of the Biden-Harris administration’s priorities, I don't know what is,” said Sen. Sullivan. “What we've seen is chaos throughout the world. This is his last foreign policy speech. Americans and people around the world need to ask this question: Are Americans and our allies safer today than we were four years ago? The answer is absolutely not. One of the biggest areas in which this has been true, and is a failure of this administration, is the appeasement of Iran. Iran is the agent of chaos everywhere—and this administration has appeased Iran in every sphere.”
Senator Sullivan has frequently criticized the Biden-Harris administration’s weakness exhibited toward Iran and pushed for a return to Trump-era sanctions aimed at re-establishing deterrence against Iran and its terrorist proxies.
Click here or the image above to watch Sen. Sullivan’s interview.
SULLIVAN: The Biden-Harris Administration has Appeased Iran in Every Sphere
HARRIS FAULKNER: We don't know what Kamala Harris' foreign policy is going to be. We just saw the last speech by the sitting president, and it was not strong considering the breaking news right now. There is a war now across that line between Lebanon and Israel. If this is what we get under President Biden, what in the world would we get under Vice President Kamala Harris if she wins the White House?
SENATOR SULLIVAN: It's such an important question. You just saw the speech, right? Biden mentions climate change six times and Iran twice. If that's not indicative of this administration’s priorities—Biden-Harris—I don't know what is. What we've seen is chaos throughout the world. This is his last foreign policy speech. I think Americans and people around the world need to ask this question: Is America and our allies safer today than we was four years ago? The answer is absolutely not. And one of the biggest areas in which that has been true, and a failure of this administration, is the appeasement of Iran—that Iran is the agent of chaos everywhere. Your reporting right now is just showing that. They have appeased Iran in every sphere.
As you mentioned, I think with Kamala Harris, it would be way worse. You have to compare the record of the Trump administration with regard to Iran where we reestablished deterrence, put them in a box, crushed them economically, killed their terrorist leaders, and launched a peace initiative with the Abraham Accords. It’s such a contrast in terms of records.
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FAULKNER: All right. I want to get to two things. First of all, Major General Ryder told us yesterday, and then filled in the blanks a little bit, saying, “Well, it's a small number that they're sending to the Middle East to shore up the 40,000 who are there.” Well, that's anything less than 40,000. What is happening—you're on Armed Services—what is happening that you can tell us that's next for the United States in that region? And keeping in mind we have to back Israel.
SULLIVAN: We 100 percent have to back Israel. One of the things that's been so frustrating with this administration is that some of the most effective tools that we have in terms of backing Israel and in re-establishing deterrence with regard to Iran, aren't necessarily military tools. Let me give you the best example. The Trump administration undertook maximum sanctions against the Iranian oil and gas industry.
By the end of the Trump administration, Iran's economy was in free-fall. They were exporting only about 200,000 barrels a day. They had about $4 billion in foreign reserves, which was nothing. The Biden-Harris administration comes in, day one, they stop enforcing these sanctions. What does that do? Iran is exporting almost 3 million barrels a day, has close to $100 billion in foreign reserves. What are they doing with that? They're funding and equipping and training Hezbollah, the Houthis, Hamas.
So a lot of this appeasement has been just reversing what the Trump administration did so well and you’re seeing the chaos all over the Middle East. Biden and Harris should at least reimpose these sanctions.
FAULKNER: You broke some news with me in the hallway as we were coming to set. I want to just take a moment. Russia. We cannot take our eyes off Russia. You said a fourth incursion. What's happening in Alaska?
SULLIVAN: It’s actually 5. In the last two weeks, we've had five Russian bear bomber incursions into our ADIZ—our airspace. Our great men and women in the military have gone up and intercepted these aircraft. By the way, Harris, just about a month and a half ago, we had a joint Russian Chinese bear bomber incursion into the Alaska airspace. Strategic bombers with fighters. We had to go turn them around.
But, again, this is showing the weakness of the Biden-Harris administration. This level of aggressiveness from the two biggest adversaries in my part of the world, Alaska, the Arctic, the North Pacific, is unprecedented. They've never done these kind of joint patrols. They're doing it with regard to the Navy too in Alaska waters. We have a lot going on in terms of aggressiveness of our adversaries. The best way to address that is to regrow our military. This administration won't do that.
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