Nikki Haley, the former US ambassador to the United Nations, recently alluded to a possible presidential run in 2024.
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Haley, who was speaking at Christians United for Israel's 17th annual Washington Summit, said that if elected, she intended to spearhead an aggressive approach to Iran.
"Anything [US President] Joe Biden signs will all but guarantee that Iran gets the bomb," the former South Carolina governor said. "No deal is better than a bad deal. And if this president signs any sort of deal, I'll make you a promise. The next president will shred it on her first day in office."
The former ambassador, whose remarks were received with a standing ovation, is one of Israel's staunchest allies in American politics and has been deliberating for a while whether to vie for the presidency.
"If it ever looks like Iran is getting to a nuclear weapon, we must act, and we must act swiftly and decisively," she continued. "Our national security depends on keeping the bomb away from Iran, and if America won't, then Israel must, and we should help them. At the minimum, we should give Israel everything it needs to defend itself and destroy Iran's nuclear program."
Haley added: "Due to America's weakness, Iran is in the strongest position it's ever been. Everyone knows what Iran wants. It wants nuclear weapons, it wants ballistic missiles to carry those nuclear weapons, and it wants to use those missiles and nukes to destroy both Israel and America. The president is desperate to get back into the Iran nuclear deal. He's made that clear, and he's said he'll do almost anything to get the ayatollahs to sign on the dotted line."
Haley said last year that she would not pursue a presidential run in 2024 if former President Donald Trump decides to run again.
"I would not run if President Trump ran, and I would talk to him about it," Haley said at the time. "That's something that we'll have a conversation about at some point if that decision is something that has to be made."
Trump has hinted that he might make another bid for the White House in 2024 but has not yet made an official announcement. According to recent polls, Trump would receive the Republican nomination.
In her speech earlier this week, Haley also criticized Biden's conduct during his recent trip to Israel and Saudi Arabia, saying she did not think last week's trip "went well" and accused the president of being insufficiently willing to use force against Iran to prevent the regime from obtaining a nuclear weapon if diplomacy failed. She said it sounded like a "bluff" and was "embarrassing."
She also said the decision to give financial aid to the Palestinian Authority, which she said was paying the family of terrorists, thereby using US tax dollars to attack its ally. Haley noted that most of the monetary aid would go to "straight-up antisemitic terrorist front group" UNRWA, which she described as one of the worst branches of the UN. Haley reminded the conference that she had convinced former President Donald Trump to defund UNRWA, and called to disassociate from it.
Haley said Biden's approach to Saudi Arabia had mixed messages and was disrupting the diplomatic advances in the region.
"The Ayatollahs' number one fear is America, Saudi Arabia, and Israel working together," she said.
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