And it did not go well. Hamawy, a Muslim and a far-left Democrat, is well known for his intense dislike of Israel, his accusation that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, and his refusal to say that the Jewish state has a right to exist. What was not well known until now was his sympathy for the Islamic Republic of Iran and his suggestion that the United States is more to blame than Iran for the hostility between the two nations. During his interview, he repeatedly refused to call Iran an “adversary” of the United States. More on Hamawy’s CNN interview can be found here: “Incoming Rep. Adam Hamawy Refuses to Label Iran a US ‘Adversary’ in Contentious Interview,” by Corey Walker, Algemeiner, November 11, 2026:
New Jersey Democrat Adam Hamawy, who is headed to Congress after winning a heavily Democratic House district, repeatedly refused to describe Iran as an adversary of the United States during a contentious CNN interview, instead arguing that Washington had provoked Tehran and should pursue diplomacy rather than confrontation.
Hamawy, the incoming representative for New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District, was pressed repeatedly by CNN anchor Pamela Brown on Tuesday to clarify whether he considers the Islamic Republic an enemy of the United States. Despite being asked the question five times, the Democrat largely avoided giving a direct answer, offering a defense of diplomatic engagement with Tehran and suggesting that American actions had contributed to the conflict.
Asked whether he viewed Iran as an adversary and Israel as an American ally, Hamawy immediately shifted responsibility for the ongoing conflict toward Jerusalem.
“Well, now what I see is that we were pushed into this war by Israel. It’s not helping Americans. Americans didn’t ask for it. It’s illegal. It’s immoral,” he said, adding that he believed both Washington and Tehran wanted the conflict to end.
Despite Hamawy’s claim, Israel did not “push” Washington into briefly attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities and ballistic missile factories last March. The Islamic Republic of Iran has been denouncing America for the past 47 years. Scarcely a day goes by in Iran without protesters somewhere setting fire to American flags as they chant against the “Great Satan.” The Trump administration rightly regards Iran’s nuclear program as a threat not just to Israel, but to America’s Arab allies in the Gulf, and ultimately, to America itself. Benjamin Netanyahu did not have to convince Trump of the danger from Iran.
Brown pressed him again. “Do you see Iran as the adversary?”
“I see we pushed them into a fight, and so I think we both have to step back and say, ‘Is this helping either one of us?’” Hamawy responded.
According to Hamawy, the peaceful regime in Tehran was minding its own business when the Americans, hypnotized by the Svengali-like Benjamin Netanyahu, decided to attack it. Apparently Hamawy is unaware of Iran’s extensive, decades-long support for three terrorist groups — Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Houthis in Yemen — that are enemies not just of Israel, but of the entire West. Nor does he appear to be aware of the 47-year history of Iranian hostility toward what it calls the “Great Satan.”
When Brown asked more directly whether Iran was an adversary, Hamawy suggested the United States was responsible for creating unnecessary hostility.
“We’re making adversaries when we should be making friends,” he said.
How can the U.S. be expected to make friends with a country that has for nearly a half-century has sworn its undying hatred for America? A country that held hostage American embassy personnel for 444 days? A country whose Hezbollah proxy murdered 241 Marines in their Beirut barracks? A country that has attacked American military bases throughout the Middle East, has plotted to attack American airplanes at RAF Falford, and now threatens to attack American bases all over Europe? It’s absurd.
The exchange became contentious when Brown reminded Hamawy that Iranian leaders have spent decades chanting “Death to America,” a slogan synonymous with the Islamic Republic’s hostility toward the United States since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Hamawy attempted to draw a comparison between the two countries, responding, “We’ve been saying ‘death to Iran’ for decades as well.”
That is flatly untrue. No one, not Congressmen, not students, not people on the street in America, have been saying “death to Iran” for “decades.” In fact, I know of not a single incident of Americans ever chanting “death to Iran” anywhere in the country — not even when the American embassy staff in Tehran were held hostage for 444 days.
Brown subsequently pointed to Iran’s history of killing Americans, including the 1983 killing of 241 Marines in Beirut.
“And we’ve killed a lot of them, as well,” Hamawy replied.
Which means…..what? Hamawy is trying to make a moral equivalence between a state that terrorizes and murders its own people and has attacked, directly or through proxies, almost every one of its neighbors, and the United States, that has been trying to stop Iran from continuing to do both.
The incoming congressman continued to argue that Washington should use its economic and diplomatic leverage to bring Iran to the negotiating table, pointing to the Obama administration’s nuclear diplomacy as a model.
“I see that we are pushing Iran into a fight when we have the leverage to kind of bring them to the table,” he said.
But Iran has not been brought to the table. It continues to insist that the U.S. must meet all seven of its demands before it will be willing to discuss its nuclear program. These seven are: an end to the war on all fronts, especially in Lebanon; the lifting of sanctions; the release of frozen assets; an end to the U.S. naval blockade; compensation for war damage; guarantees against future attacks; and Iranian control of the Strait of Hormuz.
Such demands, of course, cannot possibly be satisfied. The Americans are not about to provide an estimated $370 billion to compensate Iran for infrastructure damage during the war. Nor will it stop Israel from hammering Hezbollah and Hamas, which is what is meant by “an end to war on all fronts, especially Lebanon.” Finally, there is no chance that Washington will accept Iran’s permanent control over the Strait of Hormuz. But Adam Hamawy finds Iran’s demands perfectly reasonable, and wants America to capitulate.
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