Mike Huckabee: No apologies for Iran truth

The world said “never again” after the Holocaust, yet today, some refuse to take Iran’s evil threats seriously.

Hillary Clinton directly attacked me this week and said my comments about Iran were “offensive.”  President Obama said they were “ridiculous” and “sad”. What's offensive, ridiculous and sad is that Obama and Clinton are more upset about my comments than Iran’s threat to kill millions of Jews and then direct their missiles at the United States.

Iran has the blood of American soldiers and civilians on its hands. For decades, Iranians have murdered Jews, Christians and Muslims across the world.

While some attack my “tone," I believe strong threats require strong words and bold action.

Iran has been crystal clear. Iran’s to leaders and politicians have directly called Israel a “barbaric, wolflike and infanticidal regime” that must be “erase[d]” and “wiped off" the map. They have threatened to “replace Israel...with a big Holocaust.”

Tehran’s tyrants can be trusted no more than Goebbels or the Gestapo. The last time the world ignored these types of threats against Jews, millions died. Never again.

After negotiating a deal with Adolf Hitler in 1938, Neville Chamberlain claimed he secured “peace in our time”. One year later, Hitler’s tanks rolled into Poland and Europe descended into war.  Never again.

Sadly, this administration signed a nuclear deal that injects $150 billion into Iran’s economy. Why would we reward the world’s biggest sponsor of terrorism with money, power, global recognition and a path to a nuclear weapon?

The Saudis, Israel, and Iran’s other neighbors — despite diplomatic murmurs to the contrary — must oppose this deal because it could trigger a nuclear arms race across the Middle East. We should be tightening the noose on Iran with suffocating sanctions, not softening our grip. We should be prosecuting Iranian officials for genocide and crimes against humanity, not allowing them to enrich uranium to be used to build a bomb.

My words might be too brash for President Obama, but they echo the words of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: "The Ayatollahs in Iran, they deny the Holocaust while planning another genocide against our people,” he said.  The nuclear deal with Iran "signals that the lessons of the Holocaust have not been learned.” Netanyahu is a Winston Churchill in a world full of Chamberlains.

I support diplomacy, but diplomacy doesn't mean surrender. This deal was so bad, the Obama Administration was unable to secure the release of four American hostages who remain locked-up in Iranian prisons. America, Israel and the world deserve much better.

While Congress can stop this deal, sadly, they are heading home for an August recess. This is no time for a vacation. This is not a political battle between Democrats and Republicans. Many courageous Democrats refuse to wave the white flag and betray our ally. I will continue to fight against this flawed, failed nuclear deal with Iran and I will never apologize for defending Israel or the United States of America.

Mike Huckabee, a former governor of Arkansas, is a GOP presidential candidate. 

In addition to its own editorials, USA TODAY publishes diverse opinions from outside writers, including our Board of Contributors. To read more columns like this, go to the Opinion front page.