Watan-U.S. Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar harshly criticized President Donald Trump on Tuesday for his handling of escalating events in the Middle East, particularly his decision to bomb Iranian nuclear sites and his inflammatory statements toward both Iran and Israel, in which he said, “Neither of them knows what the hell they’re doing.”
Responding to Trump’s video remarks from the White House, Omar said: “No, Mr. Trump, you are the one who doesn’t know what you’re doing.” She added: “While you play the confused referee, Netanyahu is running circles around you using our tax dollars. Americans are watching this and realizing you’re in way over your head — and we’re paying the price in billions of dollars.”
Trump had expressed frustration with both sides when asked about mutual violations of the ceasefire he claimed credit for brokering. Less than two hours after the ceasefire was announced, Iran fired rockets toward Israel, prompting the Netanyahu government to respond with a strike on a radar installation near Tehran. Despite this, both parties later denied breaching the agreement following Trump’s comments.
In this context, Trita Parsi, vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, said that these violations had completely undermined Trump’s credibility, asserting:“This is exactly what Israel has done in every ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon — treating it as a one-sided obligation, while placing itself above the law,” he told Common Dreams.
Parsi added: “Trump is starting to grasp the core issue: Israel doesn’t want peace and won’t let the U.S. stay out of the war it unnecessarily started.” He continued: “If Trump truly wants peace and aims for a U.S.-Iran deal, he must force Israel to accept that America puts its own interests first. If he fails to do that, Netanyahu will make sure the U.S. puts Israel first — dragging it into an endless war with Iran.”
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