Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) is calling on President Trump to “strike and destroy” the nuclear facilities in Iran ahead of a third round of talks later this week.
“You’re never going to be able to negotiate with that kind of regime that has been destabilizing the region for decades already, and now we have an incredible window, I believe, to do that, to strike and destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities,” Fetterman said Wednesday in an interview with the Washington Free Beacon.
Fetterman’s comments come as the Trump administration’s two-month timeline to reach a deal with Iran over its nuclear program nears an end.
Trump has expressed confidence ahead of a third round of talks to be held later this week, but it’s unclear if the two countries can find common ground about eliminating Iran’s nuclear program, among other priorities.
Fetterman dismissed foreign policy experts who say the U.S. striking Iran would lead to a regional war.
He sharply criticized Hezbollah, the Iranian proxy group, as a group that “couldn’t fight” and slammed the Palestinian militant group Hamas as a “bunch of tunnel rats with junkie rockets in the back of a Toyota truck.”
It’s unclear if the Trump administration will look to strike a deal with Iran that resembles the Obama-era nuclear agreement that restricted the country’s ability to create a nuclear weapon but kept the infrastructure intact.
Fetterman said that years ago he understood why Trump withdrew from the Obama-era deal, but today, “I can’t understand why Trump would negotiate with this diseased regime.”
“The negotiations should be comprised of 30,000-pound bombs and the IDF [Israel Defense Forces,]” Fetterman said.
The Pennsylvania senator has been one of the most vocal Democratic voices in support of Israel in its war with Hamas and regional enemies.
