On CNN News Central Friday, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of long seeking to provoke a U.S. military conflict with Iran. The senator claimed Netanyahu had worked to sabotage peaceful diplomatic efforts and manipulate U.S. leadership into supporting war.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu has always wanted to drag the United States into a war with Iran,” Van Hollen said. He cited Netanyahu’s opposition to the Obama-era Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran nuclear deal, as evidence. “This is also why Prime Minister Netanyahu tried to sabotage the JCPOA when President Obama was in office,” he added.
Van Hollen pointed out that the JCPOA had been working to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons before it was scrapped by former President Donald Trump. “It was Donald Trump who tore up that agreement,” Van Hollen stated, adding that Netanyahu lobbied heavily against the deal at the time. The senator emphasized his preference for diplomacy, saying, “I think it’s always best if we can achieve that goal through diplomatic means.”
When asked why he recently said Netanyahu had “outsmarted” Trump, Van Hollen argued that Trump—despite running on an anti-war platform—was nearly convinced to act militarily. “Netanyahu was on the verge anyway of getting Donald Trump to do what he’s wanted to do all along, which is drag the United States into a war with Iran,” he said.
Van Hollen also referenced Netanyahu’s support for the Iraq War, tying it to a broader pattern of encouraging U.S. military intervention in the Middle East.
