John Fetterman Breaks With President Biden on Potential US Involvement After Iran's Attack Against Israel

AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File

Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) parted ways with President Joe Biden regarding Iran’s Saturday offensive against Israel. The president, in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said the United States would not become involved in any military operations against the Iranian regime, a sentiment with which the senator disagreed.

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Fetterman’s comments come in the wake of the attack, which was thwarted when the U.S. helped Israel shoot down missile-toting drones launched by Iran’s military. The senator has been a vocal supporter of the Jewish state, a position which has been met with consternation from his left-leaning colleagues in Congress.

During an appearance on CNN, anchor Jake Tapper asked Fetterman about Biden’s refusal to participate in offensive operations against Iran. “I don’t agree with that, I just think we should follow and have Israel’s back in the situation,” the lawmaker said. “That doesn’t change anything that he’s a fantastic president. I’m proud to stand with him and campaign for him and vote for him.”

Tapper brought up comments made by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), who said the White House leaking information about the phone call between Biden and Netanyahu was an effort to appeal to the far-left faction of the Democratic Party. Fetterman responded, affirming that Biden “is entitled to his own views and whatever he decides to do,” but said he would “never capitulate to the fringe” because it “empowers Hamas and Hamas, they’re actually convinced they’re winning the PR war.”

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The senator echoed a theory about Iran’s attack that was shared by other members of the chattering class: Iran launched the assault to make it appear as if it is not bending to Israel after its recent attack against Iranian officials. Fetterman explained that “Iran had to have some fireworks after Israel smoked that Iranian general” and that “it’s just a matter of theater part of it as well.”

However, the lawmaker stopped short of opining on how Israel should respond to the aggression.

The fact that Iran had telegraphed the attack in the days leading up to Saturday has raised speculation that the regime knew its airstrikes would fail but followed through anyway to save face after having one of its key officials killed by Israel.

Late on Saturday, Iran released a statement saying that the matter is “concluded,” signifying that it did not plan to launch additional attacks.

After launching a few hundred drones at Israel, Iran seems to have called the war off and headed for the showers. A statement released by Iran's Permanent Mission to the United Nations says the "matter" of Israel spreading IRGC terrorists all over Iran's embassy in Damascus "can be concluded."

Conducted on the strength of Article 51 of the UN Charter pertaining to legitimate defense, Iran’s military action was in response to the Zionist regime’s aggression against our diplomatic premises in Damascus. The matter can be deemed concluded. However, should the Israeli regime make another mistake, Iran’s response will be considerably more severe. It is a conflict between Iran and the rogue Israeli regime, from which the U.S. MUST STAY AWAY!

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Currently, it is not clear whether Israel will respond militarily to Iran’s aggression.

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