Rep.-elect Adam Hamawy (D-NJ), an outspoken critic of Israel, repeatedly declined on Tuesday to describe Iran as an adversary of the United States, arguing that Washington had pushed Tehran into the ongoing conflict and suggesting that both countries bear responsibility for the hostilities.

During an appearance on CNN’s “Situation Room,” anchor Pamela Brown repeatedly pressed Hamawy on whether he considered Iran an American adversary. Rather than answering directly, Hamawy argued that the United States had contributed to the conflict.

“We pushed them into a fight,” Hamawy said, later suggesting that the United States should seek to build a friendlier relationship with Iran.

When Brown pointed out that Iranian leaders had been chanting “Death to America” for decades, Hamawy responded, “We’ve been saying ‘Death to Iran’ for decades as well.”

Brown also noted that Iran had killed numerous Americans, to which Hamawy responded, “And we’ve killed a lot of them as well.”

Pressed again on whether he viewed Iran as an adversary, Hamawy replied, “I see that we are pushing Iran into a fight,” declining once more to answer the question directly.

The exchange comes amid a diplomatic stalemate between Washington and Tehran, even as President Donald Trump has said that renewed military action appears unlikely.

Hamawy, a former U.S. Army combat surgeon who volunteered in Gaza during Israel’s war with Hamas, was elected last week to represent New Jersey’s heavily Democratic 12th Congressional District, succeeding retiring Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ). 

Hamawy was dogged on the campaign trail over his past relationship with Omar Abdel-Rahman, the “Blind Sheikh,” who was convicted in 1995 of plotting to carry out a campaign of terrorist attacks in New York City — despite Hamawy’s testimony in defense of Abdel-Rahman at his trial. Jewish Insider also revealed that Hamawy had volunteered in the ‘90s in Bosnia with the Benevolence International Foundation, which was later shuttered as a front for al-Qaida. 

During his congressional campaign, Hamawy made his opposition to Israel a central issue, calling for an end to U.S. military assistance to Israel and opposing American support for Israel’s Iron Dome missile-defense system. He previously argued that the defensive system insulates Israel from the consequences of war.