House Speaker John Boehner said from a hotel in Israel he's been caught a bit off guard by the "boldness of the Iranians" to upset delicate Middle Eastern balances.
He also said the Obama administration has failed to put forth a coherent foreign policy, and that's a big part of why Iran seems so aggressive of late, Politico reported.
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"The boldness of the Iranians ... the trouble they're causing," he said from a hotel suite in Jerusalem, "[has] raised my eyebrows."
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Boehner, interviewed after he met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for lunch, said he's actually been involved more in foreign policy during his recent time in Congress than he would ever have expected.
"I wouldn't have believed that I would be involved in as much foreign policy as I am today," he said, Politico reported. "And it certainly isn't by choice. It's just that the world is on fire. And I don't think enough Americans or enough people in the administration understand how serious the problems that we're facing in the world are."
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He said his trip to Israel has opened his eyes.
"We've got some big, serious problems, and there's no overarching strategy to deal with it. You've heard me say this for two years. I am even more convinced of it today," he said, according to Politico. "Here's the essence of what I've learned on this trip: The problem is growing faster than what we and our allies are doing to try to stop it."
And on the nuclear deal being forged between the United States and its allies and Iran?
"What bothers me is it looks like the administration is so hungry for a deal just to have a deal so they can say they have a deal," he said. "The rest of the world wants something real out of this."
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