Martha's Blog

The Growing Threat From Iran

Last Thursday, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced that his country now has the ability to produce enriched, weapons-grade uranium.  While he claims that the country has no intention of building a nuclear bomb and instead plans to use the substance as an energy source, he noted that when Iran wants to build an atomic bomb,“it will build it and is not afraid of you."

These pronouncements, combined with American acknowledgement that Iran may be turning into a military dictatorship run by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), are not good news. Iran’s nuclear ambitions and political instability pose a very serious and growing threat to the United States and to our allies in the region, including Israel. It is clear that the Obama Administration’s greater emphasis on engagement with Iran is not working.

Considering the severity of the threat against our nation and interests in the region, we must impose serious, meaningful sanctions on Iran that target the IRGC, and will limit Iran’s ability to pursue nuclear weapons. Both houses of Congress have already passed versions of the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act, which would prevent foreign companies that do business with Iran from also doing business in the United States.  Included in the bill are measures designed to eliminate loans from American banks to companies that help expand Iran’s oil-refining capacity (like building oil and gas pipelines) or that export gasoline to Iran.  This legislation has the ability to derail Iran’s nuclear program and is an important first step toward keeping America safe.

The United States, along with other responsible nations, must join together to stop Iran from pursuing its destructive path. Nuclear weapons and an unstable regime bent on confrontation with America and the West is a dangerous mix. This threat must be addressed with a seriousness and toughness equal to this danger.