WASHINGTON   –  “Iran is conducting war games this week, halfway around the world.  Their aspiration for nuclear weapons continues and, according to a report of the Department of Defense released last week, Iran also continues to pursue long-range ballistic missiles capable of striking U.S. targets.  The fundamentalist regime in Iran is clearly working to become a dangerous military threat to its neighbors and to the U.S.

Even if long-range nuclear ballistic missiles are never produced by the Iranian program, the enriched uranium their aggressive program has produced is still capable of causing destruction and devastation should it reach U.S. shores by other means in the wrong hands.  The Iranian government continues to cultivate ties to terrorist groups in other countries, even on other continents.

Recognizing that becoming a nuclear power is the best way to get the attention they crave for their anti-American agenda, Iran’s fundamentalist leaders refuse to talk reasonably about their nuclear program, to allow the intervention of the international community, or to permit inspections of their nuclear facilities.  Although the government of Iran maintains its nuclear ambitions are peaceful, this is a nation led by unstable individuals who are sworn to destroy America, Israel and their allies.  They violently oppress their own people, they imprison political dissenters, and they play a most dangerous game with the international community.

So how can the U.S. contain this threat?

First, we must be uncompromising with the Iranian regime.  We cannot allow a government with the stated objective of erasing Israel and America from the pages of history to acquire the nuclear weapons which would give them the capability of achieving that goal.
Second, we must increase sanctions on Iran, as legislation I supported last week in Congress would do.  That bill would prevent any person or business from doing business with or investing in Iran.  The penalties for doing so would include barring violators of those sanctions from doing business in the U.S. and freezing all their U.S. assets.  Still, we must be as strict as possible in enforcing economic, diplomatic and financial sanctions on Iran, and we will rely on the U.S. diplomatic corps to steadfastly implement those sanctions.

And, finally, we must work to contain the global proliferation of nuclear weapons, especially among countries that cannot be counted on to use those weapons as the U.S. does – solely as a deterrent against our enemies.  In the last 30 years, multiple administrations have made a great deal of progress in reducing global nuclear arsenals through both bi-lateral and multi-lateral negotiations.  But in today’s world, acquiring nuclear weapons is much easier than in years past, and nuclear containment policy is more difficult and more important than ever.

Americans used to talk about a domino theory related to the spread of communism through Southeast Asia.  Now, the domino theory can be applied to one country that uses a nuclear weapon, and then another, and then another as retaliation grows.  It is a nightmare scenario that we cannot allow to begin with a nation like Iran throwing the first stone.”