Obama blasts Israel, touts lifting Iran sanctions in Saudi paper

By Michael Haverluck

Soon after Saudi Arabian Premier King Salman snubbed President Barack Obama’s invitation to attend a Gulf leaders summit at Camp David, the commander-in-chief interviewed for the first time with an Arabic media outlet — blasting Israel for its conflict with the Palestinians and promoting his nuclear deal to lift sanctions against Iran.

Continuing to undermine the United States’ longstanding alliance with Israel, Obama demanded that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stop “oppressing” and “abusing” the Jewish State’s Palestinian population by giving up its occupied territories.
“Palestinians deserve an end to the occupation and the daily indignities that come with it,” Obama told the Muslim-owned newspaper, Asharq Al-Awsat, which is based in London and read in 14 cities over four continents. “They deserve to live in an independent, sovereign state, where they can give their children a life of dignity and opportunity.”
Funding jihad?
Obama then moved onto the topic of his pro-Iran foreign policy — an agenda that he discussed at the Gulf Cooperation Council Camp David Summit taking place Wednesday and Thursday. The president implored Gulf leaders to fully back his nuclear deal with Iran, which would allow the Islamic Republic to move forward with its nuclear program. Removing economic sanctions will bring in more money for Iran that could be used — by the White House’s own admission — to continue its financial support of Islamic terrorism worldwide.
However, Obama made no concession to this admission (see "WH: Iran nuke sanctions relief could fund jihad … so?"), insisting that he is working to counter Irans propagation of jihad across the globe.
“[I will engage the Gulf states to work] closely to counter Iran’s destabilizing behavior across the Middle East, including Iran’s support for terrorist groups,” Obama insisted to the Arab daily.
Whose side are you on?
Ironically, the president then went on to blast the very nation — to which he wants to give economic relief — for its sponsorship of Islamic terrorism across the Middle East.
“Iran clearly engages in dangerous and destabilizing behavior in different countries across the region,” Obama asserted to the Saudi paper. “Iran is a state sponsor of terrorism.”
Despite his seemingly unconditional endorsement of lifting sanctions against Iran via his nuke deal — slated to be reached on July 1 — Obama divulged that he fully understands Iran’s key role in sponsoring and propagating terrorism throughout the region.
“It [Iran] helps prop up the Assad regime in Syria,” Obama pointed out to reporters. “It supports Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. It aids the Houthi rebels in Yemen.”
Obama then attempted to make the connection that supporting his nuke deal relieving Iran of economic sanctions — and giving it more money to support Tehran’s publicly stated jihadist conquests — would somehow make the Middle East and the rest of the world a safer place.
“So countries in the region are right to be deeply concerned about Iran’s activities, especially its support for violent proxies inside the borders of other nations,” Obama insisted.
Fueling the fire?
Not keeping with the president’s line of reasoning, media outlets have pointed out the holes in Obama’s pro-Iran nuke deal argument.
“But the President was convinced that sanctions relief, which would pour money into the Iranian economy — and is controlled by the Ayatollahs — would help reform the regime,” Breitbart reported. “Obama continued to suggest that there are ‘more moderate leaders in Iran.’”
The instability of the Islamic Republic has rendered the militant Middle Eastern nation a loose cannon to most — a country not to be trusted with more finances which it could use to augment its already well-funded terrorist activities.
“In reality, Iranian leaders face a rigorous vetting process to determine their loyalty to the fanatical regime, and it remains unclear whom the President considers to be ‘moderate leaders,’” Breitbart’s Jordan Schachtel added.
And despite the chaos, violence and instability incurred as a result of the Arab Spring that Obama endorsed, he unflinchingly defended the outcome of his 2009 Cairo speech that ushered in rebellions from the Middle East and into Northern Africa. The fueled rebellion made way for the militant Muslim Brotherhood to seize control from longtime American and Israeli ally, then Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
Regardless of the outcome, which placed more power in the hands of militant Muslims, Obama touted his foreign policy for the Middle East as a noble quest for liberty.
“America will continue to stand up for democracy and human rights around the world — because we believe that every man and woman, boy and girl, deserves the chance to pursue their dreams, in freedom and dignity,” Obama said to conclude his interview with the Saudi-owned paper.