The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) thanked President Biden for the ‘Juniper Oak 2023’ exercises which began today in Israel and the eastern Mediterranean Sea. The exercises include American and Israeli ships, planes and personnel. The ZOA has been very critical of the Biden Administration’s approach to Iran, but this exercise marks a concrete statement of American kinetic capabilities and forces the Iranians to contemplate the United States and Israel working together to respond to Iranian belligerent activities.

The drills will involve over 140 aircraft, 12 naval vessels, and artillery systems from both nations and will last until Friday, January 27.

ZOA National President Morton A. Klein stated, “President Biden is doing the right thing by holding this military exercise with Israel. Iran needs to see that both countries are serious about taking military action if required to respond to malignant Iranian actions in the region. They are threatening every country in the Middle East with both conventional and even nuclear aggression. President Biden has badly managed the effort to stop Iran through diplomatic means, particularly in trying to rejoin the disastrous JCPOA agreement. This exercise gives some hope that President Biden is serious when he states that he will not permit Iran to get a nuclear weapon. Deterrence can only work when Iran sees that both countries have the will to respond to evil. Sanctions alone will not end Iran’s quest for a nuclear military capability.”

ZOA Director of Government Relations Dan Pollak stated, “This exercise is particularly welcome since it includes the demonstration of long-range offensive capabilities, and is conducted under the CENTCOM command, which includes U.S. forces in the Middle East, while previous U.S.-Israeli exercises focused on U.S. forces in Europe. Iran should be getting the message that continuing to threaten both Israel and the U.S. could have severe consequences for regime survival. These events should be followed up by both Houses of Congress with robust legislation that makes it clear that Iran will be punished for terrorism, human rights, and failure to observe limits on its weapons programs.”