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U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider said leaders he met with in Middle East don't want Iran to have a nuclear weapon
As Israel was bombing targets in Iran this week to neutralize its nuclear program and the Iranians were firing missiles at Israel, U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Highland Park, was in the Middle East listening to leaders in Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Saudi Arabia.
Leading a bipartisan trip to the three countries sponsored by the N7 Initiative, Schneider said leaders from all three nations made it clear they do not want Iran to have a nuclear weapon, but they are hoping for a diplomatic solution.
'All three countries believe Iran having a nuclear weapon is an unacceptable existential threat to their countries as well as Qatar and Kuwait,' Schneider said. 'They do not want Iran to have a nuclear weapon. They are concerned about the fighting and hope to see a diplomatic solution.'
Schneider and his colleagues — U.S. Reps. Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif, Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, and Don Bacon, R-Neb.— returned to Washington Thursday after cancelling plans to spend two days in Israel at the end of their trip to help promote the Abraham Accords.
After meeting with leaders in the three Arab countries, the four congressmen were scheduled to leave for Israel. Schneider said with Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv closed, the quartet made plans to fly to Amman, Jordan, and travel to Israel by car.
Since the trip was sponsored by N7 Initiative, which is a partnership between the Atlantic Council and the Jeffrey M. Talpins Foundation, Schneider said they needed the change in plans approved by the House committee overseeing such travel. The request was denied, shortening the trip.
Though Israel, the UAE, and Bahrain are part of the Abraham Accords, Saudi Arabia has yet to join and normalize relations with Israel. Schneider said the Saudi government hopes to normalize relations with Israel, but it has its own conditions.
'They want to see Israel on an irreversible path to a two-state solution,' Schneider said, referring to Israel and the Palestinians living side by side in two independent countries.
