Biden notes Iran providing military support to both Russia and Hamas

President Joe Biden used his address to the American people Thursday night to warn Iran it would be held accountable for supporting both Russia and Hamas. The 80-year-old tied the conflicts in Ukraine and Israel together during his speech and argued ‘we can’t let terrorists like Hamas and Putin win.’

He noted that Iran was providing military support to both Russia and the terrorist group. ‘Iran is supporting Russia in Ukraine and it’s supporting Hamas and other terrorist groups in the region,’ Biden said. ‘We’ll continue to hold them accountable, I might add.’ It comes as the Senate condemned ‘Iran’s support of global terror’ during a resolution that pledged support for Israel. President Biden pleaded with Congress to pass what’s expected to be $100billion in new funding- but the request is already being met with resistance by Congressional Republicans who are wary of giving any new money to Ukraine.

Seated at the Resolute Desk, Biden argued in his 15-minute address that Russian President Vladimir Putin and the terror group Hamas, responsible for the bloody October 7 on Israel ‘represent different threats’ but share a common goal. ‘They both want to completely annihilate a neighboring democracy,’ he said. Ukraine and Israel also share a common enemy in Iran . ‘American leadership is what holds the world together,’ Biden said. ‘American alliances are what keep us – America – safe. American values are what make us a partner that other nations want to work with. To put all that at risk if we walk away from Ukraine, we turn our backs on Israel – it’s just not worth it.’

The president’s comments come after the Senate unanimously passed a resolution that backed Israel’s right to self-defense and the condemnation of Hamas’s attacks on civilians. It ‘condemns Iran’s support for global terrorism, including its support for terrorist groups such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad’. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (pictured) warned on Tuesday that nobody would be able to stop Muslims around the world and resistance forces if Israel continues bombing Gaza, Iranian state TV reported. ‘If the crimes of the Zionist (Israeli) regime continue, Muslims and resistance forces will become impatient, and no one can stop them,’ Khamenei said. ‘No matter what the Zionist regime does, it cannot make up for the scandalous failure it suffered,’ Khamenei said.

Iran’s clerical rulers have long been vocal in their support for the Palestinian cause. Tehran makes no secret of its backing for Hamas, funding and arming the Islamist group that controls Gaza. Khamenei added Israeli officials should be tried for their crimes committed against Palestinians in Gaza as Iran steps up rhetoric condemning the siege – and suggesting that an all-out invasion will be met with a response on other fronts. Iran’s declarations of intent have rapidly heightened tensions in the Middle East, sparking fears of a wider conflict in the coming days.

Tehran, which financially and militarily backs Hamas militants , celebrated the Hamas assault but insisted it was not involved, despite a report from the Washington Post claiming it was. Senior members of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah were said to have claimed that Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel that killed at least 700 people was given the green light by Iranian security officials. Elsewhere in his address Biden said Putin’s ‘appetite for power and control’ means he won’t ‘limit himself to Ukraine,’ which could spill into a conflict where NATO countries are involved. If that happens, Biden warned, ‘we’ll have something that we do not seek.’ ‘We do not seek to have American troops fighting in Russia, or fighting against Russia,’ he said.

The president told family members of the hostages abducted by Hamas in Israel during the October 7 terror attack that ‘we’re pursuing every avenue to bring their loved ones home.’ ‘As president, there is no higher priority for me than the safety of Americans held hostage,’ he said. ‘The terrorist of Hamas unleashed pure unadulterated evil in the world that sadly the Jewish people know perhaps better than anyone that there is no limit to the depravity of people when they want to inflict pain on others.’ He also pushed for foreign aid to get into Gaza where Palestinian civilians are suffering while the Hamas terrorist group fires rockets at Israel.

While his in-person meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was cancelled in the aftermath of the hospital explosion in Gaza, Biden spoke to the leader by phone on board Air Force One after spending seven hours on the ground in Israel Wednesday. Biden said that he ‘reiterated that the United States remains committed to the Palestinian people’s right to dignity and to self-determination.’ ‘The actions Hamas did don’t take that right away,’ Biden said.

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