Republican congressman Pat Fallon, a member of the House armed services committee, has blamed the Biden-Harris administration for enabling Iran to support US-designated Hamas through weak sanctions enforcement.

Speaking to Fox News on the Gaza war, sparked by the Iran-backed group’s invasion of Israel on October 7 which killed over 1,100 mostly civilians, he said, “When President Trump imposed and enforced sanctions on Iran, their oil exports were $8bn a year.

“They are now $43bn [annually] and their support for Hamas has tripled because you can support a lot more mayhem and murder with an additional $35bn.”

The administration is “trying to have it both ways”, he said, as the elections draw closer and the Democrats voice calls for a ceasefire amid Gaza’s humanitarian crisis.

However, with 101 hostages still held in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue the war until the hostages are returned and Hamas is dismantled.

Fallon said, "they [Biden-Harris] want Netanyahu to show restraint and then they want to coddle Hamas and condemn them at the same time which doesn’t make a lick of sense”, he said.