Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID), the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said on Wednesday in remarks at the Hudson Institute that he’s skeptical that Iran would agree to a deal to dismantle its nuclear program.

Risch said that he is “not particularly optimistic” that a deal with Iran that stops it from enriching uranium can be reached, while adding that if Iran does not agree to a deal, “Israel is going to do something about that.”

“I’ve sat across the table from [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu, I don’t know how many times, and he has looked me in the eye and said, ‘Iran will not have a nuclear weapon,’” the top Senate Republican said. “And you know what? I believe him, and I think that’s a case for the United States to be in the exact same position.”

He called Iran a “failing country right now,” and said that the U.S. should be continuing to ratchet up sanctions on Iran and those purchasing Iranian oil. If Iran were eliminated as a threat, he continued, that would also effectively eliminate the other major bad actors in the region, Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis, as Iran’s proxies.

“They’re all Iran. They’re all proxies of Iran. If Iran was gone, the three Hs would be gone,” Risch said. “So we’re down to one bad actor, really, in the region.”

Addressing the push for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, Risch said that Israel needs to destroy Hamas completely, and that any deal that allows it to continue existing will only set up another war down the road. And he said that Arab states are privately hoping that Israel is successful in incapacitating Hamas and its Muslim Brotherhood affiliates.

Risch described Syria and Lebanon as “keystones in a peaceful and prosperous Middle East,” both of which, he said, are poised for change and progress.

He expressed support for the administration’s decision to waive sanctions on Syria but warned that “we need to proceed with caution,” given Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa’s jihadist past.

“There are conditions that I believe must be met” by Syria and the administration should consider reimposing sanctions if they are not, he continued, including full cooperation against ISIS, eliminating Syria’s chemical weapons stores, expelling Russian and Iranian influence from the country, dismantling the Assad regime’s drug empire and accounting for missing and detained Americans.

Risch said he was initially nervous about al-Sharaa when he took control of Syria, but said, in his defense, that al-Sharaa’s terrorist activity was “a long time ago,” that al-Sharaa had cut ties with terrorist groups “knowing full well what they were and what they stood for” and that the sorts of atrocities and violence that Western leaders have worried about occurring in post-Assad Syria largely have not.

He said he believes that al-Sharaa was not involved in the “one incident” — seemingly referring to a massacre targeting the Alawite religious minority — that has taken place since he took power.

“I think the guy needs to be given a chance, particularly when he is saying what he’s saying, doing what he’s doing,” Risch said. At the same time, the committee chair also acknowledged that Israel does not share his view of al-Sharaa.

Risch downplayed the recent U.S. military pullback from Syria, emphasizing that the U.S. remains committed to the fight against ISIS and is concentrating its remaining resources in the region where ISIS has the strongest presence.

Risch said he’s “skeptical of Turkey” as a “result of my dealings with [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan directly.” He warned that the Turkish antagonism toward the Kurds “could be a really, really serious problem” in Syria, which has “enough problems as it is,” and said he is “very cautious” about Turkey maintaining influence inside Syria.

He framed the new Lebanese government as that country’s “best opportunity” but emphasized that it has a long way to go to implement reforms, solve financial issues, eliminate corruption and root out Hezbollah. He said both the Lebanese president and Parliament speaker have “shown great potential over the years.”

“Any hesitancy to meet the threats posed by Hezbollah would be deeply troubling and force the United States to reevaluate providing much needed support for the [Lebanese] military,” Risch continued.

Pushing back on some in the Republican Party who have argued that the U.S. must pull back from the Middle East and other foreign engagements to focus resources on the Indo-Pacific and the home front, Risch said that he’s concerned about the U.S. national debt, but emphasized that fiscal responsibility does not require abandoning U.S. allies.

“We have relationships around the world that are just as important to us for our national security as [are] our military operations. We need friends,” Risch said. “There are a lot of people around the world that share our values and share our view of what life should be for human beings, and we need to maintain that.”

He added that the U.S. should “prize” its global reputation, and warned that abandoning allies like Ukraine would show weakness to China and other adversaries, and ultimately kick off a global nuclear arms race.