Face the Facts: What the conflict in Israel and Iran could mean for the US

Congressman Jim Himes (D- 4^th District) discusses the current conflict between Israel and Iran and whether the U.S. will be dragged into a regional conflict.

Mike Hydeck: Iran's recent drone attack on Israel brought the United States a lot closer to the frontlines of the conflict in the Middle East than either the White House or Congress would like to see. Our firepower was partially responsible for helping to thwart a massive attack of more than 300 drones and missiles that came raining down on Israel. So where does all of this go from here? Congressman Jim Himes joins me now to give us some perspective. He's the ranking member on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Congressman, welcome back to Face the Facts. First up, national security Spokesman John Kirby said this week our commitment to Israel is ironclad. Are we getting dragged into another conflict with boots on the ground?

Jim Himes: Well, I certainly hope not. We had a very tense weekend, obviously, when, and I think you know the story here, the Israelis attacked a consular facility in Damascus, killed seven Iranian Guard officers. Not shockingly, the Iranians responded. That was scary. Had the Iranians actually succeeded in killing a bunch of Israelis or succeeded in any measure better than they did, we might be in a regional war right now. So, you know, tragic situation. Let's hope it doesn't happen again. But in as much as you know, the Israelis punched, the Iranians counterpunched. Hopefully, that's the end of it. You know, that's the end of it, because the United States could easily get dragged into a regional conflict. I hope it's the end of it, because, you know, the Israelis are obviously struggling with a very serious conflict in Gaza. If Iran and Hezbollah, and remember Hezbollah is a much more capable military force than Hamas ever was, if they were to truly go to war, the Israelis could have a very serious problem.

Mike Hydeck: So there are reports that despite our contentious relationship with China, the Biden administration is going to ask President Xi Jinping to get some help with Iran to try to dial back their aggression. Do you think that's likely?

Jim Himes: I think it's possible. And I think it's possible because why does China need Iran? China needs Iran because they need oil. And if there's a regional conflict in the Persian Gulf, and the oil pipelines through the Persian Gulf are cut off, remember, an awful lot of oil into China goes through the Straits of Hormuz, which is right there. If there was a regional conflict China would, whose economy is already in some trouble, would be in much bigger trouble. So no, I am not in the business of predicting Chinese behavior. But the Chinese along with the Iranians, the Israelis, the United States and Europe, we all have a profound interest in making sure this doesn't escalate into a regional all out war.

Mike Hydeck: So the President and many lawmakers are saying to Israel take the win. Let's not inflame this anymore. However, Israel is getting attacked by Hezbollah in the north, Hamas in the south, Iran from the sky. They pretty much have to listen to us, right? We're their biggest ally, where else do they have to go?

Jim Himes: Well, I wish that I could say that, you know, the Prime Minister of Israel has been listening hard to the president. He hasn't. You know, the president has expressed concern over and over and over again about the loss of civilian life in Gaza, which has been tragic, over the humanitarian situation in Gaza, where you have people going hungry, lack of medical care. And the Prime Minister of Israel has so not listened, the Department of Defense is thinking about building a massive dock into the Mediterranean to get humanitarian aid in. I say all that to say that, no, I don't think the Prime Minister necessarily has to listen. But and, you know, again, I can't stress enough how much the whole world, including Iran and Israel, will not benefit from a regional conflict. It could potentially be devastating. And so again, I'm with the President in that I hope that the Israelis, the Prime Minister, in particular, will take the win and get back to what is already a complicated and tragic problem in Gaza.

Mike Hydeck: So critics of President Biden say even since he's been in office, he has no plan for Iran, whether it's crafting a new nuclear deal, that went flat, or even another path to contain their aggression. Is that a fair assessment would you say?

Jim Himes: Well, let's be clear. The same critics who are saying that the President Biden doesn't have a plan for Iran are the ones that torpedoed the one chance that we had for a non nuclear Iran, for Iran gradually moving into the sort of company of civilized nations by tanking the original nuclear deal. So you know, what, you don't get to tank the original nuclear deal and say, Gosh, this president can't negotiate another one. We are forever probably compromising our ability to negotiate with Iran. But look, there are hotspots, and I spend an awful lot of time on the Intelligence Committee as the ranking member of that committee. You know, whether it's North Korea or Iran or China or Russia, no president in a period of a couple of years is going to quote unquote, solve those problems. What I can tell you is the President has done a good job of keeping us out of war with Russia and Ukraine. He's done a good job of keeping us so far out of war with Iran in the Persian Gulf, and keeping some of the other threats out there like North Korea, etc, contained.

Mike Hydeck: All right, so to that end, last question. If Congress approves aid for Israel, which is being worked on right now, is that going to have an impact on this conflict and our possible role in it moving forward?

Jim Himes: I don't think the passage of aid to Israel will surprise anybody The United States has been supporting Israel militarily for decades now. And the truth is that unlike in Ukraine, look, Israel needs the aid but unlike in Ukraine, where they needed that aid two months ago and where the devastation wrought because we haven't provided Ukraine aid, unlike that, Israel's okay for the moment. Now, that's not true if they're in a regional war, if they go to war with Hezbollah, but I don't think anybody will be surprised by the passage of Israel aid. What we hope we can do is accompany that aid with a dramatic improvement in the humanitarian situation in Gaza. You know, there will be money for the humanitarian situation in Gaza in the same bill. That hopefully will turn around dramatically.

Mike Hydeck: Congressman Himes, we have to leave it there. We appreciate your time on Face the Facts this morning. Thank you.

Jim Himes: Thank you.