Florida Governor Ron DeSantis unveiled a slew of new proposed laws expressing his administration’s support for Israel during its conflict with Hamas militants on Tuesday.
At a press conference held at the Florida synagogue Shul of Bal Harbour, DeSantis made the announcement. He linked Iran to the bloodshed committed by Hamas over the weekend and asked President Biden’s government to take tougher measures.
“When Iran gets more money, they are not using it to make life better for the people of Iran,” DeSantis said. “What they use it for is to fund terrorism throughout the Middle East and throughout the world. They send the money to Hezbollah, they send the money to Hamas, and that’s exactly what we’ve seen. And yes, Iran was involved in orchestrating this attack against Israel. We know that, it’s been reported. They deny it, but we’re smarter than that.”
“We know that we have an opportunity to do something forceful that will make a difference in terms of the substance. But I think symbolically, but also important, and that is today our proposal that as we stand with Israel, we sanction Iran,” the governor continued. “And so we are going to roll out for the next legislative session a proposal to increase Florida sanctions on Iran and to block Iranian business in our state.”
“We should use all available avenues to choke off money going to the Iranian regime,” he added.
The restrictions on Iranian-owned companies operating in Florida have been widened by DeSantis’ new regulations.
Iran has a long history of supporting terrorism in Israel via Hezbollah to Israel’s north and Hamas in Gaza. Following the killings on Saturday, the Israeli military has already conducted more than 1,000 airstrikes against Hamas sites in Gaza.
Tens of thousands of Israeli soldiers have been stationed near the Gaza border, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that a ground invasion may be on the horizon. In a phone chat with Biden on Monday, he stated, “We have to go in.”
DeSantis asserted on Tuesday that Israel has every right to repel the Hamas attack with force. He urged Israeli leaders to respond harshly enough to deter any additional assaults.