By Tyler Deaton 

War in the Middle East raises the stakes for 2024, and the next Republican debate should reflect this new reality. Iran and its proxies started this conflict when they slaughtered 1400+ innocent civilians on October 7. Republican candidates have rightly laid blame on Iran for supporting the atrocities perpetrated by Hamas, but they have not offered clear policies for neutralizing the Islamofascist regime. 

Please, no more talk of fancy curtains at the U.N. or space aliens or a viral country music song we’ve already forgotten. The world is at war, and voters need to hear substance. 

Here are six pressing questions for Republican presidential candidates about Iran. 

(1) How will you stop Iran and its terrorist proxies from taking hostages in the future? 

Iran and its proxies have a long history of using civilian hostages as bargaining chips. Unfortunately, the craven tactic often works. One recalls the last Democrat president to lose re-election lost in part due to a hostage crisis sparked by the same ayatollahs fomenting chaos in Israel today. 

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has acknowledged that “Hamas wouldn’t be Hamas without the support it’s had for many years from Iran.” That admission certainly adds some “context” to the $6 billion the Biden Administration promised to Iran, now withdrawn. Western leaders must find a way to deter this evil behavior, which ensnares civilians in state conflicts. We could start by at least not subsidizing it. Then, we need to punish the regimes that engage in hostage-taking and agree not to make concessions in the face of unreasonable demands. 

(2) What do you say to the US politicians and activists who won’t stand with Israel?  

It’s no surprise the Squad had trouble condemning the slaughter of innocent civilians at a music festival. Not even the capture of fellow American citizens — along with other foreign nationals — could prompt an appropriate, human statement from Democrats like Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar. Iran’s Supreme Leader tweeted praise for the anti-Israel slogans being chanted in “Western countries.” Maybe he meant “aspirational call[s].” 

Elected Republicans have been resolute in supporting Israel, but the same cannot be said for right-wing media figures. The isolationist wing of “America First” wants us to retreat from our position of global leadership, which would only the embolden the terrorists and their sponsors. 

(3) Will you immediately halt Iran’s nuclear program? If so, how? 

Iran’s development of nuclear weapons continues apace, despite obvious lies from the regime. In February, the International Atomic Energy Agency found uranium particles at an Iranian facility enriched just below weapons-grade. Iran reportedly has enough enriched uranium at this point to make multiple nuclear bombs. 

Iran calls Israel a “cancerous tumor” that it wants “eradicated.” The regime’s nuclear ambitions, combined with its hatred for Jews, push the world closer to nuclear war.  

(4) Can Israel normalize relations with its neighbors while Iran stands in the way? 

Since the Abraham Accords under President Trump, the Biden Administration has continued diplomatic efforts to normalize Israel’s relations throughout the Middle East. The Iran-backed Hamas attacks against Israel likely torpedoed further talks. 

Before the 10/7 Hamas attacks, Iran had warned foreign leaders against any rapprochement with Israel. By plunging the Middle East into war, Iran has tried to damage the prospects for future diplomacy. America should redouble our efforts to bring peace and normalization to the region with the expansion of the Abraham Accords. 

(5) Should we cut off Iran’s access to advanced AI? 

Ayatollah Khamenei wants Iran to be “at least among the top-10 countries in the world in terms of artificial intelligence.” The goal is to use AI to reinforce the Iranian clerics’ theocratic grip on society. According to one religious leader in the holy city of Qom, officials can use AI to issue fatwas quicker and more efficiently. 

In other words, Iran would use tomorrow’s technologies to keep its population locked in the past, blocking any reformation of a religion being misused for violent ends. If terroristic regimes in the Middle East use AI and social media to retain power, a long-term peace agreement in the region will be much harder to achieve.  

(6) Would you support Iran taking in Palestinian refugees? 

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been brutalized by Hamas, exploited as “human shields” and treated as expendable. These displaced people need a safe home far away from Hamas. Sadly, the neighboring Arab countries have refused to give shelter to Palestinians for decades. It’s time for Iran to take in the residents of the Gaza Strip who have been subjugated by the policies of their own proxy Hamas. It’s time for Iran to take responsibility for their failures and provide humanitarian support to Palestinian refugees and offer them a home in Iran, no questions asked.  

Tyler Deaton is the President of Allegiance Strategies, and a leading center-right political strategist who runs bipartisan campaigns at the national, state, and local levels.