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How Does Ilhan Omar Really Feel About Iran?
Last week’s launch of more than 300 drones and missiles marked the first time that Iran had attacked Israel from its territory. For years, Iran’s malign behavior has focused on accelerating its nuclear weapons program and strengthening its terror proxies. The country’s decision to directly confront Israel sparked condemnations from across the aisle, with Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) affirming that “as Israel faces this vicious attack from Iran, America must show our full resolve to stand with our critical ally. The world must be assured: Israel is not alone.” Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ (D-NY) online post mirrored a similar promise that America will “stand with the people of Israel during this moment of significant challenge.”
Unsurprisingly, members of the Democratic Party’s far-left faction, known as “The Squad,” remained quiet Saturday evening after news broke of Iran’s unprecedented assault against the Jewish nation. After years of maligning Israel in Congress, their refusal to immediately respond to the Islamic Republic’s blatant aggression illustrates a calculated effort aimed at fostering a false moral equivalence between Israel and Iran, the leading global sponsor of terror.
For her part, Democrat Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (MN) released a delayed statement on Sunday, nearly 24 hours following Iran’s missile barrage against Israel. Her comments denounced “leaders in Washington” rushing to provide “additional offensive weapons to the Israeli military,” and also linked Iran’s terrorist intentions with Israel’s alleged actions in Syria earlier in April, which resulted in the killing of General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and a mastermind of attacks against Israeli civilians. That’s why he was in Syria.
Indeed, Omar’s connecting the incidents reflects her pattern of distortions about Israel’s strategic and political realities in the region.
Omar’s deployment of troubling language and her postponed communication in the aftermath of last Saturday’s attack embodies the politician’s habit of redirecting criticism away from Iran through a dual approach of issuing libelous accusations against Israel, in tandem with ignoring Iranian terror.
For example, this week, the US House of Representatives passed a series of pro-Israel and anti-Iran bills and resolutions. One item considered was a straightforward resolution condemning “Iran’s Unprecedented Drone and Missile Attack on Israel.” The legislative proposal passed the House on Thursday in an overwhelming 404-14 vote. Omar was one of 13 Democrats voting against the non-controversial measure, which denounces Iran’s brazen actions targeting millions of Israelis this past Saturday and reaffirms Israel’s right to self-defense.
Another bill on the floor Monday — the “No US Financing for Iran Act” — split liberal-leaning legislators, with 104 Democrats voting against restricting US financial entities, such as the Treasury Department, from conducting specific transactions with Iran. It bears mentioning that Minority Leader Jeffries joined Omar and over 100 progressive colleagues in voting against the measure. That approximately half of House Democrats blocked a motion that would impose financial penalties on the world’s most potent terrorist arm suggests a disturbing depth of ideological capture within the party’s movement. It’s a phenomenon that was absent decades ago, and yet is now stoked by lawmakers like Omar, whose reach is maximized by an intersectional agenda championed by far-leftists and accommodated by moderates.
Moreover, Omar’s views not only fall outside the American mainstream, but her instincts to placate Iran are at odds with an increasing number of Arab countries, such as Saudi Arabia and Jordan, whose commitments to coalescing against extremism were evidenced on Saturday, as both countries played parts in intercepting Iranian missiles bound for Israel.
In an interview with Israeli Public Broadcaster KAN News this week, a source from the Saudi royal family alluded to Iran fomenting terror and its involvement in the October 7 massacre, claiming that Iran’s role in Hamas’ attack stemmed from a desire to thwart an Israel-Saudi normalization agreement.
And since reports first surfaced highlighting Iran’s complicity in plotting the events of October 7, more details are emerging on the sums of cash gifted to Hamas from Iran, with some of the payments totaling millions dollars directly handed to Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’s leader in Gaza.
This month, The Times of London revealed details surrounding the economic windfall Hamas receives from Tehran in an exclusive report. The Times feature outlines a batch of secret letters discovered by Israel’s military, with some showing specific payments being made to the terrorist group between 2014 and 2020, totaling over $150 million. Omar’s refusal to acknowledge evidence implicating Iran in the October 7 attacks demonstrates a concerted policy of protecting a regime whose rogue actions and threatening rhetoric take aim at the Jewish state, and the entire free world.
In fact, mere hours after Palestinian terrorists perpetrated the worst mass attack against the Jews since the Holocaust, Omar was demanding “deescelation and ceasefire.” Over six months later, Omar’s calls for a ceasefire repeatedly consists of lofty language on the need for “peace” and “humanity.” Yet absent from these proclamations are any mention of Iran. Instead, the Minnesota Congresswoman persists in granting Iran a pass for its evil behavior, while sharing continuous streams of propaganda directed at Israel. What’s more, by blocking bills designed to kneecap the Islamic regime’s financial flow, Omar is indicating that the antisemitism defining her Congressional tenure is now manifesting through a carefully crafted platform, rendering America’s foreign enemy free of any disapproval.
Since taking office in 2019, Omar has advanced the Democratic Party’s absorption of an ideology antithetical to American ideals and Western values. Her unwillingness to condemn Iran cements her stain on Congress and piques the curiosity of those questioning which side of the anti-Iran terror equation Ilhan Omar falls on?
Irit Tratt is an independent writer residing in New York. Follow her on X @Irit_Tratt.
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Tourists Stranded in Israel as Sirens Sound, Missiles Fly, Planes Grounded
FILE PHOTO: A worker at Ben Gurion International Airport in Israel sits at the arrivals terminal as all flights from and to the airport are indicated cancel, following an Israeli attack on Iran. June 13, 2025 Photo: REUTERS/Tomer Appelbaum
Woken by air raid sirens, hurrying to bomb shelters, scouring travel sites for escape routes — thousands of tourists in Israel have found their holiday plans upended by the country’s conflict with Iran.
Israel launched a surprise attack on Iran in the early hours of Friday, shutting down the national airspace and telling people to remain where they were as the arch Middle East foes traded deadly blows.
The violence has left around 40,000 tourists blocked in Israel, according to the Ministry of Tourism. Airlines are cancelling flights until further notice, leaving travelers to decide whether to wait it out or seek costly detours through neighboring countries.
Justin Joyner, from California, is on holiday in Jerusalem with his father John, who lives in Nevada, and his son. They had expected some possible disruption, with Israel locked in a months-long conflict against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.
But, like most locals, they did not foresee a whole new war.
“We didn’t expect Israel to attack Iran. That is a completely different level of escalation,” Joyner said from his hotel in East Jerusalem, which, for the past two nights, has seen Iranian ballistic missiles flash overhead like a rain of meteorites.
“It’s unsettling to feel the shockwaves of intercepted missiles above you, and to take your family down to a bomb shelter. That’s just something we don’t think about in America,” he said.
Dr. Greer Glazer, who lives in Cleveland and was in Jerusalem for a nursing training program, faces a race down 10 flights of stairs in her hotel to reach the shelter when sirens sound — as they have done regularly since Friday night.
“I feel safe,” she said, “but waking from a dead sleep and running to the safe room, that’s been the hardest. My family is scared to death … They think it’s 24/7 destruction, but it’s not like that.”
THE JORDAN ROUTE
Glazer had been due to return home on June 29, but is looking to bring forward her departure. The easiest exit route is via land crossings into neighboring Jordan and then a flight out of Amman airport which has been operating in daylight hours.
Israeli media reported that the transgender US influencer Caitlyn Jenner, who only flew into Israel on Thursday for Tel Aviv’s since-canceled Gay Pride Parade, had left through Jordan.
Hours earlier, she had been photographed drinking a glass of red wine in a bomb shelter. “What an incredible way it has been to celebrate Shabbat,” she wrote on X.
Not everyone is rushing to leave.
Karen Tuhrim is visiting from London to see her daughter, who lives in Tel Aviv. “Within two days of being here, Israel attacked Iran. So now I’m stuck,” she said.
Unlike Jerusalem, Tel Aviv has taken direct hits from the Iranian missiles and Tuhrim has had to dip in and out of her hotel’s shelter. But she said she felt safe and was happy to be near her daughter.
“For me, personally, at the moment, I feel better being here than in London, watching it all on the news, knowing my daughter is here. So, for now, we’re good.”
Israel’s Ministry of Tourism has set up a round-the-clock virtual help desk in English and Hebrew for stranded travelers.
But for anyone stuck here, all the museums are closed until further notice, entrance to the Old City of Jerusalem is barred to non-residents and many shops remain shuttered.
“The streets and shops are empty,” said Jerusalem resident Anwar Abu Lafi, who saw no quick end to the gloom.
“People are yearning for a break, to find something good in this existing darkness. We are deluding ourselves into thinking that the future will be better,” he said.
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4 Killed by Missile in Arab Town of Tamra, Including a Mother and Her Two Daughters
Illustrative: A Magen David Adom ambulance. Photo: David King via Wikimedia Commons.
i24 News – In the early hours of Sunday morning, the Arab town of Tamra in northern Israel was struck by an Iranian missile, tragically claiming the lives of four women from the same family, including a mother and her two daughters, aged 13 and 20.
The missile caused severe damage, nearly collapsing the three- to four-story building where they lived.
Emergency services responded quickly, evacuating 14 injured individuals and providing care for eight others suffering from shock at Rambam Hospital in Haifa.
Despite the devastation, the community and first responders showed remarkable resilience and solidarity, working tirelessly to assist those affected.
Eli Bin, director general of Magen David Adom, described the scene as one of severe destruction but praised the swift and professional response of rescue teams. Paramedic Adnan Abu Rumi, one of the first on site, emphasized the dedication of emergency personnel in managing the crisis.
Residents like Hamudi, who was injured but survived, shared heartfelt accounts of the sudden impact, underscoring the strength of families and neighbors coming together in difficult times.
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Trump Sees Peace Between Iran and Israel Soon, Eyes Putin Role
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech during a session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Photo: Reuters/Maxim Shemetov
Despite evidence that the conflict between Israel and Iran is escalating, US President Donald Trump expressed optimism on Sunday that peace would come soon and cited the possibility that Russia’s Vladimir Putin could help.
In a social media post, Trump said there were many unspecified meetings about the issue happening and encouraged the two countries to make a deal. And in an interview with ABC News, he said he was open to Putin, whose forces invaded Ukraine and who has resisted Trump’s attempts to broker a ceasefire with Kyiv, serving as a mediator.
Israel and Iran launched fresh attacks on each other overnight into Sunday, killing scores.
“Iran and Israel should make a deal, and will make a deal,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social site. “We will have PEACE, soon, between Israel and Iran! Many calls and meetings now taking place.”
Trump did not offer any details about the meetings or evidence of progress toward peace. His assertion contradicted comments by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said on Saturday that Israel’s campaign against Iran would intensify.
A White House spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how Trump and the White House were working to de-escalate the situation in the Middle East.
Trump told ABC News that Iran wanted to make a deal and indicated something like the Israel strikes would accelerate that. “Something like this had to happen because I think even from both sides, but something like this had to happen. They want to talk, and they will be talking,” Trump said, according to ABC reporter Rachel Scott. “May have forced a deal to go quicker, actually.”
The United States has engaged in talks with Iran about its nuclear program and Trump has told reporters previously that the talks were going well. But another round of discussions scheduled for Sunday in Oman was canceled after the Israeli and Iranian strikes.
Trump said he and Putin had discussed the situation in the Middle East on Saturday in a call that focused more on that conflict than the Russian war in Ukraine.
“He is ready. He called me about it,” Trump said about Putin serving as a mediator, according to Scott. “We had a long talk about it. We talked about this more than his situation. This is something I believe is going to get resolved.”
Trump, who portrays himself as a peacemaker and has drawn criticism from his political base for not being able to prevent the Israel-Iran conflict, cited other disputes that he took responsibility for solving, including between India and Pakistan, and lamented not receiving more praise for doing so.
“I do a lot, and never get credit for anything, but that’s OK, the PEOPLE understand. MAKE THE MIDDLE EAST GREAT AGAIN!” he wrote on Truth Social.
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