The rising star in the GOP presidential primaries, Vivek Ramaswamy told Israel Hayom in an interview on Monday that he was against using US military force against Iran. He stated that this would be tantamount to taking part in a war "we don't belong in." He also made it clear that he was vehemently against letting Iran have nuclear capabilities and that its missiles threaten the US directly, although he insisted that Israel would be alone in using force against Iran.
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"One of the most important areas for partnership, and this is in the interest of both the US and Israel, is making sure together, that Iran never ever, ever becomes nuclear-equipped. If you look at the kinds of missiles that Iran is working on now, they don't need those missiles to hit Israel.
Video: Vivek Ramaswamy speaks with Israel Hayom / Credit: Brandon Goodyear
They need those missiles to hit the United States. And so, this is out of self-interest in the United States that I take that strong posture."
Q: So, will you use military force to stop Iran? The only time they stopped nuclear development was during the George W. Bush administration because they were afraid he would attack them.
"We will not stop Israel from defending itself to the fullest capacity. And we remain supportive of Israel, because they are our friend. I think it's really important that the US not put our own men and women on the line in a war with Iran, when in fact, there's no reason for us to be in that kind of war now, and I don't think that's good for the United States, and I don't think that's good for Israel. But what we do need to do is to make sure that Israel is strong so that Iran isn't emboldened.
"This is, you know, an ayatollah in Iran who would rather Israel not exist, let's just call that truth out for what it is. And so, Israel needs to be in a strong position to defend itself. And the United States will be at Israel's back. But I think that that's a very different thing from automatically sleepwalking ourselves into war. I'm an anti-war president. And the way I'm going to do it is by deterring war, be it ending the war in Ukraine and deterring China. These are important elements of why I think it's important to be strong, but in a way that doesn't accidentally walk us into wars that we don't belong in."
Ramaswamy's open rejection of a US strike on Iran sets him apart from the last three presidents. Both parties have said – implicitly and explicitly – that if needed, the US might have to resort to force against Iran and is prepared to put all options on the table.
During the interview, he spoke about how he had visited Israel many times when he promoted his businesses. He believes the US has a lot to learn from Israel, and he thinks America should back Israel.
"What I believe is that our relationship between the US and Israel should be a true friendship. Not a transactional relationship, but a true friendship. And by the end of my first term in office, I'm confident that our relationship with Israel will be stronger than it has ever been. What does that mean? I'm going to lead the way diplomatically, to take the Abraham Accords to the next level.
"Forget the Oslo Accords, forget the quiet legitimization of the Palestinian Authority. Joe Biden even continues the quiet legitimization of the PA...the reality is Biden is legitimizing what Mahmoud Abbas was in the 18th year of a four-year term, this is pathetic. I think we need a US president who stands with a spine to say, 'Israel as it exists as our friend, and we're not going to embrace this antisemitic foreign policy trope that we have to hold Israel hostage over the Palestinian question.' We're not going to do that. We're going to go further in integrating Israel, diplomatically leading the way into, let's just say the economic infrastructure, the security infrastructure of the Middle East; let's get Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, and Indonesia, into that pact. That helps Israel stand stronger. That's what good friends do they help each other stand more strongly."
Q: What was your impression of Israel when you visited?
"I have a major business partner actually for my first business that's in Israel. They're they're good friends and allies of Roivant, the firm that I founded. Every time I go to Israel, I learn something new. And I think that's what our US relationship with Israel should look like, too. When I think about my role as the US president, I want to learn from our friend, that's what good friends do more than you may. Well, speaking out in my capacity as the next US president, I think that Israel has great border policies, we should want those in this country. Israel has a strong national identity through a culture of civic service.
"I think it's a beautiful thing that brings people of different ethnicities, even within Israel together in common cause that's something we could use in this country is civic duty and actual revival of national identity. That's something that we're missing in this country. I think Israel's missile defense, Israel is tough on crime policies from a policy perspective. It's also an innovative culture, where people don't say, 'I'm not an expert in that, so I'm not going to do it.' No, they say, 'You know what, I'm going to figure it out myself. And if something needs to be done, I'm going to be an entrepreneur and fix it.' That's an important part of the American spirit for most of our history. I see a lot of that in Israel. today. I'd like to bring more of that back alive here in the United States of America."
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