Democratic Lawmaker Josh Gottheimer Explains Why He Backs Trump's Strikes On Iran

Forbes Breaking News

Congressman Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) joined Brittany Lewis on "Forbes Newsroom" to discuss the United States' strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Iran, and what's next for peace in the region.

Transcript

00:00Hi, everybody. I'm Brittany Lewis, a breaking news reporter here at Forbes. Joining me now

00:07is Congressman Josh Gottheimer. Congressman, thank you so much for joining me. Thanks for

00:11having me. Very grateful. Congressman, I would love to get your perspective on the situation

00:15in the Middle East. President Trump announced that Israel and Iran reached a ceasefire agreement

00:19after a tumultuous two weeks in the region. And this came after the United States dropped

00:24bunker buster bombs on multiple Iranian nuclear sites over the weekend. And then Iran responded

00:30with what many have described as a symbolic retaliation on a U.S. air base in Qatar.

00:35The ceasefire seemed shaky at first, but it seems to be holding up. So what do you make of this chain

00:41of events from conflict to U.S. involvement to now ceasefire? Well, so after 12 days of strikes,

00:47as you know, Iran was cornered. And to the point where they agreed to a ceasefire, America's actions

01:00after those 12 days attacking the nuclear facilities appears to have been successful,

01:07based on the intelligence out today. Obviously, we'll continue to monitor that intelligence. But

01:12the bottom line is Iran and the government of Iran is an enemy of our country. They've killed scores

01:19and scores of Americans, attacked our bases, killed service members, attacked our allies,

01:25our critical allies. And we have to do everything we can to stop Iran from having a nuclear weapon

01:31and allowing nuclear proliferation, which as the IAEA, which is a U.N. body reported,

01:38they were on the brink of being able to break out, meaning to have a nuclear weapon. They were

01:44violating their nonproliferation agreements on nuclear weapons. And this doesn't even address

01:50the terror threat that Iran poses to the world. And through its proxies, Hamas, Hezbollah,

01:57Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Houthis, and others who've attacked and killed Americans,

02:02and are a, you know, as Iran is the leading state sponsor of terror in the world, threaten the

02:09terrorist network, threatens democracy and our freedom. These are people who have one goal,

02:15which is to destroy America. They've been clear about that over the decades. And so this action

02:24against our adversary, I believe, is essential to protecting our freedom and democracy.

02:29To that point, if their goal is to destroy America, to destroy Israel, do you think that

02:35this ceasefire is permanent? Because President Trump at the NATO summit yesterday said that he

02:40believes this war between Iran and Israel is over. What do you make of that characterization?

02:45Well, I think so far the ceasefire is holding. I mean, it's impossible to predict the future.

02:50I think Iran has, through the attacks over the 12 days, Israel's attacks on Iran have been

02:56significantly, their capabilities have been significantly degraded, not just their nuclear

03:00capabilities, but their ballistic weapons and other missiles and other sites. And their leadership

03:06has been, leaders were killed, their military leaders, and obviously their systems across the

03:12country were attacked. And so I think in totality, Iran compared to where they were before, compared to

03:18where they are now, they are significantly weakened. And that's a good development. And they're not in the

03:24position right now to negotiate in their favor. And I think those are positive developments for the United

03:32States.

03:32And there have been differing descriptions of exactly how much damage the Iranian nuclear sites

03:40have sustained. President Trump said that the United States obliterated them. CNN and the New York

03:44Times reported that an intel assessment from the Pentagon said Iran's nuclear program was only set

03:49back by a handful of months, and Iran still has a supply of enriched uranium. CIA Director John

03:55Ratcliffe then released a statement saying this in part, quote, credible intelligence indicates Iran's

04:00nuclear program has been severely damaged by the recent targeted strikes. As a member of the House

04:05Intel Committee, how can you weigh in here? I mean, how much damage did these nuclear facilities sustain?

04:11Well, as you just pointed out, there's been developing reports there. There was initial,

04:16very early reports, and there's more reports out today that they suffered significant damage,

04:23setting the program back years. You know, we have not seen that intelligence yet. So I need to see it

04:29as part of my responsibility on the Intelligence Committee to read that intelligence. Obviously,

04:33I won't be able to talk about that publicly. But those are the kind of questions that I'm obviously

04:37asking to understand the extent of the damage. But if it set it back a day, that to me would be a positive

04:43outcome, because we got to do everything we can to stop Iran, one of our top adversaries in the world,

04:49who is close to China, Russia and North Korea, our other top adversaries, we need to stop Iran from

04:55having and possessing a nuclear weapon. That's got to be our top objective here. And as well as, of course,

05:03stopping their terror program in its tracks. So you have, you know, these are, whatever the setback to me

05:10is a positive thing. The question is, what's the extent of the setback?

05:13And what do you think is next when it comes to diplomacy? Because you said that the ceasefire

05:17agreement is a critical first step towards the ultimate goal, which you said here again, Iran

05:22dismantling their nuclear weapons program. What is the next step here? And do you think that, let's say

05:28it was totally obliterated, let's say it did, it did have severe setbacks here, the Iranian nuclear sites,

05:34does the diplomacy hinge on just how damaged the nuclear program was?

05:39Well, I mean, I'm sure you saw reports this morning that the Trump administration plans to meet

05:46with the Iranians, I guess, next week. We'll see if that's true or not. But part of those discussions,

05:52I assume, will revolve around Iran's commitment to stop their nuclear program from further enriching.

06:00You know, if Iran has claimed, as they have over the years, that they're only interested in having

06:04a nuclear program for energy purposes, meaning that you enraged uranium to 5%. Right now,

06:09there has been publicly reported that 60%, 90% is nuclear weapon capability. If they come out and

06:17say, okay, we're going to limit our production to the 5%, that's one thing. But they, you know,

06:22they've said that in the past, and they've lied. They've consistently lied and deceived the IAEA,

06:26the world, about the intent of their nuclear program. And so any talks to me, the outcome

06:33has to revolve around what exactly their plans are as it relates to their nuclear program going forward.

06:40And to that point, if Iran has lied and deceived in the past, President Trump said that he plans to

06:46talk to Iran next week. I mean, what do you think is going to bring them to the table in good faith?

06:52Do you think it's possible for this regime to come to the table to have a conversation with President

06:56Trump in good faith?

06:57Well, we'll see, right? I mean, I think everything, it's one of these situations with Iran,

07:03you have to, it says, as I guess, Reagan said, trust, but verify it, right? You,

07:08everything they tell you, you're going to have, that's why they have, that's why the IAEA is there,

07:13right, as an inspector, because you can't trust them. You need to have outside third parties constantly

07:18inspecting what they're doing. If they're continuing to move forward with any kind of

07:22nuclear program, I think they should have, I think they should fully dismantle their nuclear program,

07:26and I think that's what we should push for. They don't need a nuclear program, and they certainly

07:31don't need a nuclear weapon. So, you know, to me, what should the objective be? To push them as far

07:36as we can push them, and then have systems in place to verify whatever they commit to.

07:44And President Trump said he also believed that an agreement wasn't exactly necessary after these

07:49strikes. Do you agree with that? Would you like to see Iran and the United States come together

07:54with some sort of agreement in writing? I mean, ideally they should get through an agreement,

07:59but again, as you pointed out, and we'll see what happens, right? The president said that they don't

08:03need an agreement, yet they're meeting with them next week, so I don't know what the objectives are

08:06of those meetings, if they are meeting with them. To me, all that matters is one thing.

08:10Does Iran possess a nuclear weapon? Do they have the capability to possess a nuclear weapon? Are they

08:16on a path to a nuclear weapon? And what can we do to make sure we stop that? Because that can't be

08:21allowed to happen. Congressman, I think a theme from this conversation is there's a lot that remains

08:27to be seen. We're waiting on the situation. There's a lot that's developing. Members of Congress are

08:31expected to be briefed on Friday with details regarding the strike, and that was originally delayed from

08:36Tuesday. So A, what do you make of that pushback? And B, what questions are you bringing to the table

08:41tomorrow? Well, I think, listen, my view was as much as I believe that the United States and our

08:49incredible service members took the right actions and the Bunker Buster bombs to these nuclear sites

08:59was the right move. I believe the administration failed in when it did not brief the Intelligence

09:07Committee, the Gang of Eight, meaning the top, our Democrat and Republican leaders, as well as the

09:13Intelligence Committee, Democrat and Republican leadership on the Intelligence Committee. There's

09:16an obligation and a tradition to brief the Gang of Eight, as well as then provide intelligence,

09:22the evidence and backings to the Intelligence Committee. And I think they have a responsibility

09:28to do that. And they fail to do that. And I'm eager to see what they present going forward. I'll have a lot

09:33of questions, of course, related to the intelligence and where we're at now, what their intelligence is

09:40showing about Iran's future on their nuclear program. Those are the kind of questions that I'll want to get to the bottom of.

09:46And when you do get to the bottom of them, when you do get answers, I hope you can come back on and break

09:51it down and give us some insight there. Most of that will be classified, so I can't come back to you on

09:56that. But I certainly will continue to talk publicly about the importance of this and keep a watchful eye

10:04on the intelligence, on Iran's development of any kind of nuclear capabilities and doing everything we

10:10can to protect the United States, our freedom and our democracy and ensure, again, this is really

10:14important. It's not just about their nuclear program. It's also about their terror program and doing everything

10:18we can to shut that down.

10:19Well, Congressman, then we will have those conversations. Thank you again for joining me.

10:23Thank you. Good to see you.

Category

Transcript

Recommended