Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, taking his place as one of the leaders of the Democratic Party following the 2024 election, commented on Israel’s overnight strikes on Iran during an event Friday at the Center For American Progress:

NEERA TANDEN: I don’t think we can leave this discussion without just asking you broadly about what happened last night-very eventful day on many scores-but the fact that we have Israel striking around, and, you know, in escalatory-I think that would be an understatement. So, what are your thoughts on that? GOV. TIM WALZ: Deeply concerned. I think we know anything in the Middle East-and, look, I know there are a lot of folks here and across the country-the situation in Gaza is intolerable, and it became a central focus in the campaign, and I would say rightfully so. Human-rights issues: how we’re going to try to attempt to get a two-state solution where we can allow folks to live peacefully, coexist, and have their own self-determination. The issue now is the spreading of this, and I have to be candid with you: I was there during the debates, and I voted for the Iran nuclear deal. I think it was one of the most well-and to be clear, with the Russian ambassador, with the French ambassador, with everybody who was there-I thought it would bring about the capacity to stop Iran’s nuclear program, but in a way that was not so punitive that we would hamper some of their economic growth. I truly worry now. I’m sure there are great strategic thinkers in the Trump administration who have-now have said, How is this going to… A tweet from the president today said, I told them they should have done something, and here we are-with the Middle East back on fire in a way that has now expanded. I don’t know. Iran has to retaliate in their mind, I’m sure, and now who is the voice in the world that can negotiate some type of agreement in this? Who holds the moral authority? Who holds the ability to do that, because we are not seen as a neutral actor-and maybe we never were. I don’t want to tell anybody that-I think a lot of people say you always lean one way in this-but I think there was at least an attempt to be somewhat of an arbitrator in this. We saw President Carter do it with Begin and Sadat. We’ve had certain windows along the way that were actually mutually beneficial both ways. Now I ask, who that is? Consistently over and over again, we’re going to have to face the reality: it might be the Chinese. And that goes against everything they say they’re trying to do in terms of the balance of power. So, I would just have to say: my heart goes out. Ukraine continues to go on, Gaza remains a humanitarian disaster, and now it’s expanded even further.
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