DeSantis backs Israel's right of self-defense, says Iran not 'peaceful'

Israel “has a right to defend itself … to the hilt,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday morning, appearing for almost 15 minutes on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” In his interview with host Joe Scarborough, DeSantis continued his hard line against Hamas for its attacks on Israel this weekend while showing off some foreign policy chops as a presidential candidate. 

The governor spoke with Scarborough right after his announcement at an Orthodox Jewish synagogue in Surfside that he’ll pursue tougher state sanctions against Iran this legislative session, including “expanding existing bans on Iranian-owned businesses from operating in Florida,” Fox News reported. “It's raw for our community down in South Florida,” he told Scarborough. “People know people that are missing, and unfortunately people know people that have been killed.”

He didn’t directly answer when asked if he would “support an Israeli military strike either on Iranian military targets or Iran's oil infrastructure.” He did say that “the United States should turn every screw so that Iran is not getting money.” Iran denied involvement; U.S. Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer told CNN the U.S. doesn’t have “direct information” linking Iran to the attacks but says it is “broadly complicit.”

“The Iranian regime, when they're funding terrorism, it's not necessarily a practical consideration,” DeSantis said on MSNBC. “This is their religious and ideological worldview. This is why they exist as a government. You're just not going to be able to have a peaceful situation with a government like that.”