The Biden administration and national security team "is going to have to remember that we are the United States of America, and that Iran is really a two-bit military and that they would do well to stand down now and stop fomenting terror through their proxies," retired Brig. Gen. Blaine Holt told Newsmax.
"Iran, after receiving billions and billions of dollars from this administration and the Obama administration to try to get some fantastical nuke deal, feels extremely emboldened in telling us what to do in saying, You're going to do this, don't you dare strike or we'll go hit your positions and all of that," Holt said Friday during an appearance on Newsmax TV's "American Agenda" after President Joe Biden said he expected an attack on Israel by Iran "sooner rather than later" and warned Tehran not to proceed.
Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden said simply, "Don't," and he underscored Washington's commitment to defend Israel.
"We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel, and Iran will not succeed," he said.
Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come "sooner, rather than later." He spoke to reporters at the White House after a virtual speech to a civil rights conference.
Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of retaliation for an attack on Iran's embassy compound last week in Damascus that killed a senior commander in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps' overseas Quds Force and six other officers.
Holt said the U.S. should feel emboldened.
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Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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