Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who arrived in Israel Tuesday along with Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on a foreign policy fact-finding mission, said Iran is a threat not only for Israel and the Middle East but also for the rest of the world.

Speaking about Iran’s proxies in the region, Hamas and Hezbollah, McCain said, “If Hamas/Hizbullah succeeds here, they are going to succeed everywhere, not only in the Middle East, but everywhere…They are dedicated to the extinction of everything that the US, Israel and the West believe and stand for. So America does have an interest in what happens here, far above and beyond our alliance with the State of Israel.” [1]

McCain made the comments during a meeting Tuesday (March 18) with Israeli President Shimon Peres. He also expressed his concern over Iran’s military activities, including its nuclear program.

“At the end of the day, we can still not afford to have Iran with nuclear weapons,” McCain said. “We know they have ambitions that are not just aimed at the State of Israel. Iran is funding, training, and aiding extremist groups…My concern over this issue has increased following my current tour of the Middle East.” [2]

Not only are the Iranians “obviously pursuing nuclear weapons,” McCain said, they are also arming and training extremists to send into Iraq, supporting Hezbollah and influencing Syria. [3]

McCain, Graham and Lieberman also toured the Israeli town of Sderot today (March 19) together with Israeli Minister of Defense Ehud Barak. The tour included a visit to Sderot’s police station where they saw some of the thousands of rockets that have been fired into the town and the surrounding region.

During a press conference there, McCain said, “No nation in the world can have its population attacked and not respond. Every nation has the right to respond. The peace process must move forward, but one has to respond to attacks.” [4]

Said Lieberman, “The U.S. and Israel are tied together by common values.” He also said spoke of the courage shown by Sderot residents even as they were under attack. “This kind of spirit links the U.S. and Israel together and ultimately we will prevail over the terrorists.” [5]

Sderot, in the southern Negev region, has been bombarded by Palestinian rocket fire during the past seven years, and 15 percent of the population has left as a result. [6] Iran-backed terrorists in Gaza have fired more than 4,500 rockets and mortars at the town since Israel evacuated the area in Aug. 2005 and turned control of Gaza over to the Palestinian Authority in hopes of paving the way for an independent Palestinian state.

During the last two-and-a-half months alone, Gaza-based terrorists have launched more than 1,000 rockets and mortars at Sderot, [7] including Grad-type Katyusha rockets supplied by Iran. [8]

McCain also expressed skepticism over calls for Israel to enter into negotiations with Hamas, saying, “Someone is going to have to answer me the question of how you are going to negotiate with an organization that is dedicated to your extinction.” [9]

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Israel is also playing host this week to three other international leaders. On Saturday (March 22), Vice President Dick Cheney is scheduled to visit Israel as part of a tour of allied countries in the Middle East. During his trip, Cheney is to focus on improving diplomatic relations, addressing extremist threats and global energy prices [10] as well as hold separate meetings with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. [11]

This past Sunday (March 16) German Chancellor Angel Merkel paid an historic, three-day visit to Israel to strengthen the relationship between the two countries. [12] Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is scheduled to arrive in Israel tomorrow (March 20). [13]

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Footnotes

[1] Keinon, Herb and Horovitz, David, “Terrorism threatens all we hold dear,” The Jerusalem Post, March 19, 2008, http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1205420721834&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

[2] “McCain to Peres: My concern over Iranian threat has increased,” Haaretz, March 18, 2008, http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/965745.html

[3] Keinon, Herb and Horovitz, David, “Terrorism threatens all we hold dear,” The Jerusalem Post, March 19, 2008, http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1205420721834&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

[4] Press conference in Sderot attended by The Israel Project, March 19, 2008

[5] Ibid.

[6] Eli Moyal, Mayor of Sderot, March 14, 2008

[7] IDF Spokesman’s Unit, March 2, 2008

[8] Grinberg, Mijal, “MI: 20 Grad-type missiles fired at Israel over course of Gaza op,” Haaretz, March 3, 2008, http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/960262.html

[9] Keinon, Herb and Horovitz, David, “Terrorism threatens all we hold dear,” The Jerusalem Post, March 19, 2008, http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1205420721834&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

[10] Office of the Vice President, “Press Briefing by a Senior Administration Official on the Vice President’’s Trip to the Middle East,” The White House, March 15, 2008, http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/03/20080315-2.html

[11] Rice unhappy with Israel, Palestinians,” Monsters and Critics, March 15, 2008, http://tinyurl.com/2ooone

[12] Haaretz Service and The Associated Press, “Merkel arrives in Israel to ‘open new chapter’ in bilateral ties,” Haaretz, March 16, 2008, http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/964739.html

[13] Keinon, Herb, “Israel believes Lavrov has message from Assd,” The Jerusalem Post, March 19, 2008, http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1205420721802&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

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The Israel Project is an international non-profit organization devoted to educating the press and the public about Israel while promoting security, freedom and peace. The Israel Project provides journalists, leaders and opinion-makers accurate information about Israel. The Israel Project is not related to any government or government agency.