Florida governor Ron DeSantis called the recently declared war between Hamas and Israel “personal” for the people of Florida a day after introducing new economic sanctions on Iran, which provides financial support for the terror group.
“This is personal for us here in Florida,” DeSantis said in a Wednesday interview with CNN. “We have the second largest Israeli-American population in the country. We’ve been a magnet, since I’ve been governor, for Orthodox Jews.”
The UN is useless and we will increasingly see attempts to put blame on Israel for Hamas’ violence.
We need clear, consistent leadership from the U.S. in this moment.@RonDeSantis blasts Biden for being MIA and calls for unanimity in support of Israel on @CNN: pic.twitter.com/JSm2gbw339
— Bryan Griffin (@BryanDGriffin) October 11, 2023
DeSantis announced Tuesday his administration is seeking to establish sanctions on Iran and block Iranian business from operating in the state amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, which began Saturday when Hamas terrorists poured across the Israel-Gaza border and began massacring civilians.
“Our proposed legislation will, of course, reinforce Florida’s commitment that we don’t do business with state sponsors of terrorism, such as Iran,” DeSantis told news reporters in a synagogue. “It’s going to expand the prohibition on state investment in Iranian businesses to include the financial, construction, manufacturing, textile, technology, mining, metals, shipping, shipbuilding, and port sectors.”
DeSantis said Florida will roll out the plan for its next legislative session in a united effort to stand with the Jewish state. The state’s upcoming legislative session starts March 11, 2024.
NEW — @GovRonDeSantis rolls out plan for increased state sanctions on the Iranian regime.
“By far the strongest Iran sanctions that any state has enacted.” pic.twitter.com/ghXJSEbL0w
— DeSantis War Room 🐊 (@DeSantisWarRoom) October 10, 2023
“When Iran gets more money, they are not using it to make life better for the people of Iran,” DeSantis said, referring to last month’s U.S.-Iran prisoner-swap deal that returned $6 billion of formerly frozen funds to the Islamic nation in exchange for five American prisoners. Five convicted Iranian nationals were also returned to the foreign country as part of the deal.
“What they use it for is to fund terrorism throughout the Middle East and throughout the world. They send the money to Hezbollah, they send the money to Hamas, and that’s exactly what we’ve seen,” DeSantis continued. “And yes, Iran was involved in orchestrating this attack against Israel. We know that, it’s been reported. They deny it, but we’re smarter than that.”
Earlier this week, the Wall Street Journal reported that Iran gave Hamas the green light last Monday to proceed with the invasion of Israel after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have been training and advising the terrorist faction since at least August.
“We should use all available avenues to choke off money going to the Iranian regime,” the Republican governor said, accusing Iran of providing financial and military support to the Palestinian militant group. Both Israel and the U.S. have revealed their suspicions of the Islamic nation’s involvement in the war, although neither have announced direct evidence linking Iran to Hamas’s attack yet.
“Iran is a major player but we can’t yet say if it was involved in the planning or training,” said rear admiral Daniel Hagari, a military spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces. White House spokesman John Kirby said Iran was “complicit” in the attack but conceded there was no “specific evidence” tying Iran to it.
On Tuesday, Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a televised denial of his nation’s involvement in the war, saying Israel is “to blame for this disaster” while simultaneously praising Hamas’s assault.
“Supporters of the Zionist regime and some from that usurping regime have said some nonsense these past days that the Islamic Republic of Iran was behind this act. They are mistaken,” Khamenei said. “Those who say the acts of the Palestinians come from non-Palestinians don’t have a true understanding of the Palestinian people and make wrong calculations.”
Despite Iran’s formal denial, an Iranian-backed militia in Iraq threatened to strike U.S. military bases after an American aircraft carrier entered Mediterranean waters on Tuesday. The militia’s leader said his forces would “direct qualitative strikes at the American enemy” if the U.S. chose to intervene in the war.
Meanwhile, DeSantis is ready to move forward with Florida’s restrictive policies on Iran and Iranian-owned businesses. “These will be, by far, the strongest Iran sanctions that any state has enacted of all 50 states throughout this country,” he said.
In an MSNBC interview minutes after the announcement, DeSantis said the Middle Eastern conflict is “personal” for him too, given his service in the Iraq War from 2007 to 2008. “Iran has a lot of American blood on its hands.”
“There’s no moral equivalence between a Hamas terrorist and an Israeli civilian, and they have every right to see this through to the hilt,” the governor said of Israel.
He also laid blame at the Biden administration for easing off of Iranian sanctions and giving Khamenei back $6 billion back in oil revenue in the hopes of appeasing him.
“The Iranian regime, when they’re funding terrorism, it’s not necessarily a practical consideration. This is their religious and ideological worldview. This is why they exist as a government, and you’re just not going to be able to have a peaceful situation with a government like that,” DeSantis added. “So turn the screws on them financially, dry up their ability to fund terrorism … that’s something we should all be able to agree on.”