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Arab allies recognize Iran's danger, lawmakers say, as region views regime change cautiously

Arab allies recognize Iran's danger, lawmakers say, as region views regime change cautiously

Fox News18 hours ago

EXCLUSIVE: Top congressional Iran hawks were about to depart for the U.S. from the Middle East on Wednesday, when two members of the delegation spoke to Fox News Digital about what they were seeing on the ground.
Rep. Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, and Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif., said they visited Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and were in the United Arab Emirates as of Tuesday, meeting with leaders and discussing the armed conflict between Israel and Iran.
"Over the course of the last week, we have seen just a dramatic escalation, particularly by Iran threatening the region," he said, adding that he is also spearheading the Iranian Maximum Pressure Campaign Act, which comprises 47 pieces that give President Donald Trump leverage over Iranian "Supreme Leader" Ayatollah Ali Hosseini Khamenei.
Nunn, a retired colonel in the U.S. Air Force – who conducted intel-reconnaissance missions off Russia and China – said Gen. Erik "Gorilla" Kurilla has his "full support" after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth indicated Tuesday he would defer to the CENTCOM commander on Iranian strategy.
"[Kurilla] has been very clear here that Iran needs to take the offramp from its nuclear enrichment program. In fact, he was one of the ones that highlighted here the real threat coming from a nuclear Iran, both to its neighbor Israel, and other nations across the Middle East. The United States has a very important role to play here in deterrence," he said.
Arab allies like the UAE recognize that Iran presents the greatest "existential threat" to peace in the Middle East, Nunn said, adding that as a veteran of the War on Terror, he doesn't want to see U.S. service members return to combat in the region.
Forty thousand troops, however, are stationed in non-combat roles in the region, and are in range of Iranian weapons if Tehran escalates.
Nunn warned that the porous southern border has also opened up the likelihood that Iranian proxies are already inside the U.S., and cited reports Tehran was connected in some way to the assassination attempt on Trump in Pennsylvania.
He and Panetta, son of former CIA Director Leon Panetta, said the reason they came together in a bipartisan showing to Mideast leaders was that while they may not disagree politically on every issue, Congress is united with Mideast allies.
"There's a real opportunity here for our Arab partners and Israel to stand together in deterring Iran. The U.S. should not be the policeman for the world. There are certain capabilities that only the United States can provide in this scenario. That includes deep penetration strikes to eliminate the nuclear reactor and the enrichment program that Iran's produced. But ultimately, this is also up to the Iranian people to decide what they want for their future."
Panetta said he hopes the trip helped lay an even stronger basis for other nations to align with the Abraham Accords forged by Trump in his first term.
"The conflict between Israel and Iran broke out on Thursday, before the Friday we were to get here. And so that sort of changed a few things and unfortunately prevented us from going into Israel. However, we were able to have very substantive meetings with some of the leadership in Saudi Arabia, in Bahrain, and here in the United Arab Emirates before we have to fly out tonight," Panetta said.
"And what we heard consistently is -- none of them want a nuclear-armed Iran."
Like Nunn, Panetta also does not want boots on the ground, saying that when or if Tehran's government falls or surrenders, as Trump wants, the change must come "from within."
Members of both parties aren't looking to trigger regime change through force, he said, but they do want to see Tehran's nuclear ambitions defeated.
And, when it comes to concerns about stability – after seeing Iraq and Libya falter after strongmen were ousted – it will be up to the Iranian people at that point how to proceed, the lawmakers said.
"The purpose of Israel's bombing, at least from what we've heard, was to destroy their nuclear capabilities. It was not for regime change," Panetta said.
"However, if the people see this as an opportunity, then that's something that basically, I think now more than ever, would be the right time for the people of Iran to rise up."
Given the rare bipartisan agreement on the Iran issue in an otherwise fractured political environment, the Democrat added that he will always work with anyone to support both his constituents, and whoever, including Trump, wants to have substantive discussions to solve pressing problems like Iran's nuclear capabilities, "forever wars," and that Israel retains the right to defend itself.
"[Those] are bipartisan issues that I think we can work together on," Panetta said.

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Erdogan vows to boost Turkey's missile production as Israel-Iran war escalates
Erdogan vows to boost Turkey's missile production as Israel-Iran war escalates

The Hill

time7 minutes ago

  • The Hill

Erdogan vows to boost Turkey's missile production as Israel-Iran war escalates

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — As the war between Israel and Iran escalates, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he plans to strengthen the country's deterrence capabilities so that no country would dare attack it. Erdogan announced plans this week to step up Turkey's production of medium- and long-range missiles. Erdogan discussed the Iran-Israel war with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in a telephone call on Friday. He told Merz that the Iranian nuclear issue can only be resolved through negotiations, according to Erdogan's office. Despite Turkey's tense relations with Israel, analysts and officials don't see an immediate threat of the conflict spreading into NATO-member Turkey. Still, some see the move by Erdogan as a sign that the Israel-Iran war could trigger a new arms race in the region, with countries not directly involved in the fray ramping up their military efforts to preempt future conflicts. Ahmet Kasim Han, a professor of international relations at Istanbul's Beykoz University, said that Turkey was reacting to what he described as an unraveling world order. 'The Turkish government is drifting toward what is the name of the game in the Middle East right now: an escalation of an arms race,' he said. Israel and the U.S. have set a high standard in aerial warfare, creating a technological gap that Turkey and others are eager to close, Han said. Erdogan said following a Cabinet meeting on Monday that 'we are making production plans to bring our medium- and long-range missile stockpiles to a level that ensures deterrence, in light of recent developments.' 'God willing, in the not-too-distant future, we will reach a defense capacity that is so strong that no one will even dare to act tough toward us,' Erdogan said. In an separate address days later, the Turkish leader highlighted Turkey's progress in its domestically developed defense industry, that includes drones, fighter jets, armored vehicles and navy vessels, but stressed that continued effort was needed to ensure full deterrence. 'Although Turkey has a very large army — the second largest in NATO — its air power, its air defense is relatively weaker,' said Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, a Turkey analyst at the German Marshall Fund think tank. The ongoing conflict has reinforced the importance of air superiority, including missiles and missile defense systems, prompting 'countries in the region, including Turkey to strengthen its air power,' he said. Since the start of the conflict, Erdogan has been scrambling to end the hostilities. He has held a flurry of phone calls with leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, offering to act as a 'facilitator' for the resumption of negotiations on Iran's nuclear program. There are deep concerns in Turkey that a prolonged conflict will cause energy disruptions and lead to refugee movement from Iran, with which it shares a 560 kilometer-long (348 mile) border. Turkey relies heavily on energy imports, including from Iran, and rising oil prices due to the conflict could aggravate inflation and further strain its troubled economy. Turkey has strongly criticized Israel's actions, saying Iran has the legitimate right to defend itself against Israel's attacks, which came as nuclear negotiations were ongoing. Once close allies, Turkey and Israel have grown deeply estranged, especially after the start of the war in Gaza in 2023, with Erdogan becoming one of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's fiercest critics. Relations further deteriorated following the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad's government, as Israel grew increasingly wary of expanding Turkish influence in Syria. Earlier this year, Turkey and Israel however, established a 'de-escalation mechanism' aimed at preventing conflict between their troops in Syria. The move came after Syria's Foreign Ministry said that Israeli jets had struck a Syrian air base that Turkey reportedly hoped to use. Israel hasn't commented on Turkey's announcement that it plans to ramp up missile production, but Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar responded to Erdogan's criticisms of Israel over its attack on Iran in an X post on Wednesday. He accused Erdogan of having 'imperialist ambitions' and of having 'set a record in suppressing the freedoms and rights of his citizens, as well as his country's opposition.' Erdogan's nationalist ally, Devlet Bahceli, suggested that Turkey was a potential target for Israel, accusing the country of strategically 'encircling' Turkey with its military actions. He didn't elaborate. Analysts say, however, that such statements were for 'domestic consumption' to garner support amid growing anti-Israel sentiment in Turkey. 'I don't think that Israel has any interest in attacking Turkey, or Turkey has any interest in a conflict with Israel,' Han said.

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