Representative Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) discussed the hostilities between Iran and Israel in a recent appearance on Fox Business's Varney & Co., saying regime change could be possible via continued economic pressure.
Host Stuart Varney began by asking Rep. Gimenez if he believed the United States should supply Israel with the materiel necessary to continue its attacks on Iran, to which he answered, "If we allow Iran to continue to have a nuclear program, it is the worst outcome of all, and so it needs to be destroyed, completely destroyed."
"As a matter of fact," Rep. Gimenez continued, "I have been calling for regime change because if we allow this regime to stay in place, we are just going to see this 5-10 years from now. They are dedicated to destroying Israel and destroying America. And so negotiating with these folks does not work. It only means that they think we are weak, and they want some time to get strong again so they can pursue what they have always wanted to pursue: the destruction of America and Israel."
Varney then noted that Iran's economy and finances are on their "last legs," asking the Florida Congressman how regime change could be possible.
Gimenez acknowledged that while it is "easier said than done," he suggested, "one of the things that you do is go back to squeezing the Iranian economy, and you sanction their oil. I think the Iranians made a huge mistake this morning by attacking Israel's oil refineries, and now all of [Iran's] oil refineries are fair game, and that is their number one source of income."
"And then," he concluded, "foment the ability of the Iranian people to have the government they deserve. They are good people, and they deserve freedom and democracy. So we need to make sure that if there is an uprising, we support that uprising."
