Rep. Randy Fine told Newsmax on Tuesday that he is concerned about any potential agreement with Iran, warning that the United States should not provide concessions before receiving concrete actions from Tehran and insisting that Iran must never be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon.
"To be honest, I'm nervous about it," the Florida Republican told Newsmax's "Wake Up America Early." "I don't think we can trust the Iranians."
Meanwhile, Fine said it remains "critical" that the United States doesn't give Iran money now for future promises, and that "any value given by the United States is met with the simultaneous exchange of value by Iran, with the most important thing being no nuclear weapon ever for Iran, as well as the Strait of Hormuz being free and open to all trade."
Fine also addressed tensions involving Israel and Hezbollah, saying Israel has the right to respond to attacks from the Iran-backed terrorist group.
"I think we're seeing the illustration of an important point that the United States and Israel are not the same country, that they have independent leaders and they have independent interests," Fine said.
"Hezbollah attacking Israel is an Israel issue. And if Israel feels the need to respond, then they should. The United States would never put up with drones and missiles attacking us. We can't expect Israel to do that."
Fine said that while U.S. and Israeli interests may differ in some respects, both nations must make decisions based on their own security concerns.
"So I support Israel doing what Israel needs to do for itself while I support the United States doing the same," he said.
Turning to domestic issues, Fine criticized Senate Republicans for moving forward with a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act legislation without attaching Trump's proposed SAVE America Act, which Trump has said should accompany FISA legislation.
"The Senate, for whatever reason, does not want secure elections," Fine said. "I think you have a few Republicans that are okay with our elections being stolen. And obviously, every Democrat is okay with our elections being stolen."
Fine said the House has passed the SAVE America Act multiple times and urged the Senate to pass it as well.
"It really doesn't matter what else we do in Congress. If Americans cannot trust their elections," he said. "I agree with President Trump. The Senate needs to do the right thing. They need to pass the Save America Act."
Fine also weighed in on newly declassified intelligence documents concerning U.S.-funded biological research facilities, including sites in Ukraine, that officials warned could be vulnerable during Russia's war against Ukraine.
"Why on Earth are we funding bio labs anywhere other than in the United States?" Fine said. "Frankly, it's insane on so many levels, including the fact that we're borrowing the money to do it."
Fine called for further investigation into the issue and suggested legal consequences if officials misled the public regarding COVID-19.
"I think we need to stop it. I think we need to look into it," he said. "And frankly, if people lied as a result of COVID, they need to go to jail."
Fine added: "COVID killed millions of Americans, forced us all to change how we live, wrecked our economy, and the idea that we might have been funding it, frankly, it borders on treason."
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