Poilievre says Israel hit on Iran nuclear sites would be ‘gift’ to humanity

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre on Tuesday doubled down on his call for Israel to pre-emptively strike Iran’s nuclear facilities, saying such an act would be “a gift by the Jewish state to humanity.”

Poilievre first voiced his support Monday at a commemoration event in Ottawa marking the one-year anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack against Israel. The ensuing conflict in the Middle East reached a new crescendo last week, when Iran — which supports Hamas and other proxy militant groups fighting Israel — fired a barrage of ballistic missiles at Israel, which has vowed retaliation.

U.S. President Joe Biden and other world leaders have warned against striking Iran’s nuclear facilities over fears of further escalating the conflict into an all-out war between two of the region’s most well-armed nations.

Poilievre wouldn’t say if he disagrees with Biden’s assessment when asked by reporters in Ottawa on Tuesday, but reiterated his belief that striking the facilities would prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

“I think the idea of allowing a genocidal, theocratic, unstable dictatorship that is desperate to avoid being overthrown by its own people to develop nuclear weapons is about the most dangerous and irresponsible thing that the world could ever allow,” Poilievre said.

“If Israel were to stop that genocidal, theocratic, unstable government from acquiring nuclear weapons, it would be a gift by the Jewish state to humanity.”

Poilievre has long taken a hardline approach to Iran and has held it responsible for the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and overall violence in the Middle East, saying Tehran wanted to undermine peace talks between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

During his speech Monday, which followed an address by