Ron Paul: Fears 'overblown,' but 'for us to tell Israel what to do, I don't agree with that'

Ron Paul said Tuesday that while fears about Iran's nuclear weapons program were "way overblown," he does not believe the United States should tell Israel "what to do" as tensions in the region escalate.

"I think the fear of what Iran is doing is way overblown," the presidential hopeful said Tuesday on the Laura Ingraham show, adding that his "personal opinion … [was] that more war isn't what the world needs."

But the Texas congressman said that it wasn't the place of the United States to tell Israel how it should or should not intervene.

"For us to tell Israel what to do, I don't agree with that," Paul said.

Nevertheless, the GOP hopeful believes that current discussions over Israel and Iran — and the potential for armed conflict over the Iranian weapons program — are driven by politics rather than necessity.

"I think it's electioneering, it's all politics … the military officers high up says this is the most foolish thing in the world we could do," Paul said.

"I think [discussions] should be more directed to peace than how you have perpetual war," he added.

Paul pivoted to a discussion of Super Tuesday voting, noting that he was focusing his campaign efforts on the three caucus states: Alaska, North Dakota and Idaho. But the congressman admitted that his efforts in Idaho were being somewhat stymied by a strong Mormon turnout for his opponent — and Republican front-runner — Mitt Romney.

"The Mormon factor is a big deal, yet my positions are very much in tune with what Mormons believe in, in terms of self-reliance and conservatism," Paul said.

Paul went on to say that it was tough to win over voters who felt a personal connection to a candidate, in the way Catholic voters supported former President Kennedy or African-American voters supported President Obama.

"If Mitt wasn't in this race, I'd have about 70 percent of the vote," Paul said of his Idaho performance.

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