El-Sayed says Netanyahu pushed US into Iran war

Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee in Michigan’s open Senate race, on Tuesday accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of pushing the Trump administration to enter the Iran war.

The ongoing conflict began when Israel and the U.S. launched joint strikes on Tehran on Feb. 28. As the war continues to stretch past the seven-month mark, global energy prices have skyrocketed because of the effective halt of commercial oil traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a major trading corridor in the region.

“We are in the war in Iran in part because of the advocacy of the Israeli prime minister,” the Democrat told Leland Vittert, NewsNation’s chief Washington anchor, on Tuesday.

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“There’s no disagreement on that,” the Democrat continued. “He came to the Situation Room and advocated for the war, and we’re now paying … for it. Our gas, our groceries are unaffordable, and that’s on top of the billions in tax dollars that we spend sending our money over there.”

Despite starting the conflict together, President Trump said in June that his administration, and not Israel’s, called the shots in this war. The prime minister later pushed back , saying his government had “every right to self-defense” and would “exercise that right whenever necessary.”

Affordability has become a top issue this election cycle amid growing public discontent with hiked costs of living during this conflict. Seventy-five percent of respondents in a Marquette Law School Supreme Court poll from August said they believe these military operations were not “worth the cost.”

Lawmakers have successfully passed several Iran powers resolutions — including three in the House and one in the Senate — to urge the Trump administration to end U.S. military operations against Iran amid these growing tolls on U.S. consumers.

“I have been more than extremely clear about this: I don’t want our tax dollars being used to subsidize war abroad,” El-Sayed said. “I don’t want our tax dollars being used to fund, unconditionally, foreign militaries.”

The Democratic nominee will square off against his opponent, former Rep. Mike Rogers (R), in a Thursday debate in Grand Rapids.

Ahead of the debate Wednesday, Rogers broke with the White House when he reversed his position on Trump’s tariffs and advocated for an immediate end to the trade fight between the U.S. and Canada. The Republican previously praised these economic policies as “necessary.”

El-Sayed accused his opponent of “flip-flopping” on this issue because he was falling behind in the polls. The Democrat has maintained a narrow lead in recent surveys among likely Michigan voters.

“Donald is the reason we’re in a trade war. And he’s the reason you’re running,” the Democrat wrote on social media Wednesday, referring to the president.