Waltz Compares Hamas Attack to 9/11, Says US Must Exert 'Maximum Pressure' on Iran

A massive attack launched by Hamas against Israel has claimed nearly 800 Israeli lives in a single weekend. Representative Mike Waltz (R-FL) spoke with Fox News's Maria Bartiromo, comparing the attack to 9/11 and saying, "This was 100% Iran."

"What folks need to understand is that this is not just another Middle East uprising or kind of violence as usual. Because I think a lot of folks are somewhat numb to hearing it all. This is an all-out war. This was their 9/11. The point I keep making is how horrific this is from Hamas and to some extent Hezbollah. But at the end of the day, this is 100% Iran. Hamas doesn't so much as fire a BB gun without Iran giving it the permission, resources, and green light to do so," said Rep. Waltz.

More to the point, Iran "extensively" aided Hamas' attack planning. As a result, Rep. Waltz continued, it is necessary to "absolutely reverse policy and get back to maximum pressure so they do not have the resources and the breathing room to fund terrorism."

Bartiromo asked Waltz if he believed the weapons left behind in the disastrous 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal were in Hamas' hands. Waltz suggested Iran coordinated their transfer, as the Islamic Republic has "created a highway from western Afghanistan all the way through Iran, through portions of Syria and Lebanon into Gaza."

She then highlighted a post made by Waltz on X (formerly Twitter) about how Ariane Tabatabai retains her post even as evidence of her being an Iranian spy comes to light.

"We know from emails that this woman was reporting back to the Iranian Foreign Ministry after she briefed members of Congress on their nuclear program. She has the highest clearances, and my understanding is, she still has access to top-secret networks and is still on the job. It just blows my mind that she is sitting there as an Iranian spy, along with the fact that Biden's chief negotiator through this new Iran deal, Robert Malley, has been completely sidelined. And at least he has been removed, but why haven't the rest of his spy ring been removed?" asked Waltz.
Such questions have gone unanswered, Waltz noted, "Congress has not received briefings yet on what exactly is going on."