CLAIM: CBS host Margaret Brennan claimed that “Iran has become weaker” because of President Joe Biden.
Verdict: False. Biden eased sanctions on Iran, gave Iran access to billions of dollars, and made Iran stronger and bolder.
The first question of the vice presidential debate was very specific: whether each candidate would approve of a first strike against Iran, given that Iran continues to attack Israel and is developing nuclear weapons. .
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D) dodged the question and instead slammed former President Donald Trump. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) said he supports whatever Israel deems necessary to protect itself from Iran.
But the host peppered the question with inaccurate statements, claiming that “Iran is weakened” because of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. As Vance pointed out, Iran has become more powerful under Biden and Harris.
Biden and Harris lifted many of the sanctions President Trump had imposed on Iran, giving Iran access to billions of dollars in assets. Biden and Harris also granted Iran access to global oil markets that could net it billions of dollars in profits.
In the face of Iranian provocations and attacks on Israel by Iranian proxies, the Biden-Harris administration has retreated. In fact, they were often focused on pressuring Israel to compromise. It also resumed funding to agencies such as the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which President Trump had suspended over concerns about ties to Iranian-backed terrorist organizations. The Biden-Harris administration also pressured Israel to cede offshore gas fields to Lebanon that Iran's proxy agency Hezbollah could benefit from.
Biden also dispatched special envoy Robert Malley to Europe in a futile attempt to revive the dysfunctional (and fatally flawed) nuclear deal. Murray was suspended on suspicion of leaking classified information with Iran.
The Biden-Harris administration also withdrew support for Iran's regional rival Saudi Arabia and delisted Yemen's Houthi rebels, another Iranian proxy group, as terrorists. This allowed Iran to threaten not only the world's shipping lanes, but also the US Navy and US allies. Eventually, Saudi Arabia restored relations with Iran and did so with Beijing.
Finally, as Mr. Vance pointed out, Iran is closer to nuclear weapons than ever before. Far from being “weakened” under the Biden-Harris administration, Iran is stronger than ever. The only thing that has changed is that Israel is confronting Iran more forcefully than before. They were forced to do so by Biden and Harris.
Joel B. Pollack is a senior editor at Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday Sunday nights from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM ET (4:00 PM to 7:00 PM PT) on Sirius XM Patriot. he is the author of Agenda: What should President Trump do in his first 100 days?available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of Trumpian Virtues: Lessons and Legacy of the Donald Trump Presidencynow available on Audible. He is the recipient of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter @joelpolak.
