US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during an event with leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as part of the US-ASEAN Special Summit, in Washington, DC, May 13, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
US Vice President Kamala Harris said that Iran was the “greatest adversary” of the United States during an interview on CBS’s “60 Minutes.”
During a wide-ranging discussion on the storied news program with journalist Bill Whitaker, Harris was asked which country she perceived to be the “greatest adversary” to the United States. Harris argued that the “obvious” answer was Iran, citing the regime’s targeting of American troops stationed overseas and attacks against Israel.
“Iran has American blood on their hands, OK. This attack on Israel, 200 ballistic missiles. What we need to do to ensure that Iran never achieves the ability to be a nuclear power, that is one of my highest priorities,” Harris said, referring in part to Iran’s recent missile attack on Israel.
Whitaker pressed Harris, the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, on whether she would be willing to take military action against Iran if it were to break out toward nuclear weapons. Harris declined to answer.
Harris’s comments raised eyebrows among some critics, who noted the Biden administration renewed billions of dollars in US sanctions waivers against Iran, which had the effect of unlocking frozen funds and allowing the country to access previously inaccessible hard currency. Some foreign policy experts have claimed the administration’s decisions on sanctions allowed Iran to inject more funding into terrorist groups seeking Israel’s destruction.
The US intelligence community has consistently labeled the Islamist regime in Iran, the chief international backer of Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, as the world’s foremost sponsor of terrorism. Iranian leaders have long declared their goal of destroying Israel and often chant “death to America.”
In July, US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines released a statement arguing that Iran has sought to expand its “influence efforts” with the objective of sowing distrust in American institutions. According to the US intelligence chief, Iran has deployed online influencers to push narratives that advance their goals of undermining the United States and fomenting hatred against Israel. Haines argued that Iranian agents, pretending to be social media influencers, are allegedly encouraging and financing protests against Israel.
Iran’s support for anti-Israel demonstrations in the United States is well documented. The regime’s so-called “supreme leader,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has repeatedly heaped praise on anti-Israel protesters on college campuses, referring to the demonstrations as a “courageous, humane resistance movement.”
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