In their first presidential debate, former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris not only traded barbs but also revealed their sharply contrasting approaches to handling Iran and Middle Eastern conflicts.
Though each candidate only briefly touched on Iran, it was enough to reveal their contrasting strategies. Their differing approaches offered a stark choice: a return to Trump’s hardline tactics from his first term, centered on maximum pressure and sanctions, or a continuation of Biden’s strategy, which seeks to balance pressure with diplomatic engagement in managing Tehran.
In the debate, Vice President Harris stressed the importance of remaining vigilant against Iran's destabilizing activities in the region, although she did not clarify her specific position on sanctions against Iran. She reaffirmed her commitment to Israel's security, stating, “I will always give Israel the ability to defend itself, in particular as it relates to Iran and any threat that Iran and its proxies pose to Israel,” when addressing the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.
Trump, on the other hand, directly linked the improvement in Iran's financial situation and its support for regional terrorism to the Biden administration's decision to be lax about enforcing sanctions. While he did not mention Biden by name, Trump made it clear that he holds the current administration's actions responsible for Iran’s financial comeback. He argued, "Iran was broke under Donald Trump. Now Iran has $300 billion because they took off all the sanctions that I had..."
Though experts largely agree that Trump’s “maximum pressure” strategy significantly weakened Iran's economy and curtailed its ability to fund terrorist groups, his claim that Iran now has $300 billion is widely viewed as a substantial overstatement.
In 2023, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies estimated that Iran’s increase in oil exports since President Biden took office has netted the country an additional $32 billion to $35 billion.
Nonetheless, Trump placed the blame squarely on the Biden administration—and by extension, Harris as Vice President—for the chaos in the region and Iran's renewed ability to fund its proxy militias. He argued that the Biden administration's policies have directly fueled this resurgence. “Iran had no money for Hamas or Hezbollah or any of the 28 different spheres of terror... Now they're a rich nation. And now what they're doing is spreading that money around. Look at what's happening with the Houthis in Yemen. Look at what's going on in the Middle East. This would have never happened,” Trump stated during the debate on Tuesday night.
During Biden's presidency, Iran boosted oil exports to China from a low of 250,000 barrels per day to as high as 1.5 barrels by 2024.
While Trump recently claimed he does not seek outright hostility with Iran, he has made it clear that he will not permit the country to develop nuclear weapons. In an interview with Fox News, Trump warned, "If Iran acquires nuclear weapons, Israel is gone. It will be gone," underscoring the high stakes he attaches to preventing Iran from becoming a nuclear power.
Trump and other Republicans have criticized the Biden administration for being too lenient on Iran, allowing it to circumvent US economic sanctions. They argue that this leniency enabled Tehran to arm Hamas, facilitating the October 7 attack on Israel.
During the debate, Trump went – characteristically – on the offensive, accusing Harris of being anti-Israel and pointing to incidents like her alleged refusal to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He painted a dire picture of her leadership, claiming it would spell disaster for Israel and potentially lead to its destruction. Positioning himself as Israel’s unwavering ally, Trump framed Harris and the Biden administration as threats to the nation's security and survival.
In response, Harris firmly rejected Trump’s claims, in turn claiming that she has been a long-standing support for Israel throughout her career and dismissing his accusations as baseless smears designed to deflect from his own foreign policy blunders. She sharply criticized Trump as “weak and wrong on national security and foreign policy,” calling out his admiration for dictators and his inconsistent strategies. "It is very well known that Donald Trump is weak and wrong on national security and foreign policy... And that is why we understand that we have to have a president who is not consistently weak and wrong on national security," Harris asserted.
Harris reinforced her stance by affirming Israel’s right to self-defense while advocating for a more comprehensive peace strategy—one that also recognizes Palestinian security and self-determination through a two-state solution.