David Friedman, former ambassador to Israel, told Newsmax on Monday that the U.S. needs to increase pressure on Iran amid concern the rogue nation will strike Israel.
Friedman, appearing on "Newsline," said Israel needs to let Israel go on offense to deter Iran from attacking.
"They got nothing to lose," Friedman said about Iran. "They'll shoot at Israel. And if that gets through, it gets through. My biggest concern is there's not enough downside right now being imposed. There's not enough pressure on Iran not to go forward."
Friedman said he believes this will lead to many rockets, missiles, and drones shelling Israel.
"We just have to hope that the defense forces of both the U.S. and Israel are up to the task of keeping us safe," Friedman said.
Friedman, who served as ambassador during the Trump administration, said when Donald Trump left office, Iran's gross domestic product per capita was under $200 billion. Under the Biden administration, it's now over $400 billion.
"Iran was broke under Trump, and Biden relieved the sanctions," Friedman said. "And now Iran is a very powerful country with lots of money, lots of weaponry, lots of missiles. And there's real consequences — 9.5 million Israelis are going to sleep tonight. We have no idea whether we're going to sleep through the night or wake up to sirens and have to go into shelters, and that's our reality."
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