Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, founder of the World Values Network, told Newsmax on Monday that the past and current U.S. foreign policy of ''appeasement'' led to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
''The whole reason that we have this crisis in Ukraine, the worst humanitarian crisis caused by a war in Europe since the Second World War, is because of appeasement, appeasement, appeasement,'' Boteach said on ''American Agenda.''
''We didn't do anything about [Russian leader Vladimir] Putin and Georgia. We didn't do anything about Putin with Chechnya, especially when he took Crimea, now he invades all of Ukraine.''
Boteach asked why we are imposing such severe sanctions on Russia because of its invasion of Ukraine while looking to lift sanctions on Iran, the world's biggest sponsor of terrorism.
''I want you to understand that sanctions either work or they don't work,'' he said. ''If President [Joe Biden is saying we're not going to send troops and no no-fly zone, it's not necessary, we can just decimate [Putin's] economy.
''Why would we give the No. 1 terrorist-sponsoring government on planet Earth, Iran, who murdered our soldiers in Khobar Towers [in] 1996, Iran, who killed hundreds of American soldiers in Iraq and Iran, who maimed thousands of American soldiers and coalition members in Iraq. Why are we going to lift these sanctions?''
Boteach said that the United States is preparing to give Iran $100 billion as part of negotiating back into the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action deal that was enacted under then-President Barack Obama, and then withdrawn from by former President Donald Trump, who felt it was a bad deal for the country.
U.S. officials have been holding talks with Iran in Vienna, facilitated by Russia, to reenter the deal.
Boteach said that the new talks with Iran are a ''road map to nuclear weapons'' rather than a deterrent.
The initial agreement allowed Iran only to develop nuclear power for energy and not for bombs or war, including the level to which they could enrich uranium.
''This is a road map to create nuclear weapons,'' he said. ''They are nearly at total enrichment of uranium, which will give them a bomb. Iran is an oil superpower. They don't need nuclear power except to build a bomb, built the bomb, build a bomb.''
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