John,
The situation in the Middle East is changing fast. But here is one thing that has not changed.
For the last 30 years, every U.S. president has said the Islamic Republic of Iran can never have a nuclear weapon.
Click here to see what Presidents Clinton through Trump said about Iranian nukes.
The fanatics who lead the Islamic Republic of Iran have been equally clear about how they feel about the United States and Israel.
“America is the number one enemy of our nation,” Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei declared in 2015, while Iran was still at the table negotiating the nuclear deal. He later called America “the most wicked, sinister enemy,” and said our leaders are terrorists.
That same message comes from across Iran’s political and military elite. The head of the Quds Force vowed to leave “dead bodies of Americans all over the Middle East.” A senior Revolutionary Guard commander openly declared they plan to “break America, Israel, and their partners… and cleanse the planet from the filth of their existence.”
Click here to see what other Iranian leaders have said about America.
We know – without a doubt – the Iranian regime has spent decades trying to develop a nuclear weapon that could enable it to deliver on its apocalyptic threats.
Before Israel’s attack on Iran, the International Atomic Agency declared Iran was violating its nuclear nonproliferation obligations. One estimate from the Institute for Science and International Security said Iran could enrich the uranium at their Fordow facility to weapons-grade in just three weeks, giving them enough material for nine nuclear weapons.
Twenty-two countries around the world have nuclear power plants, but no nuclear weapons. And of those, none have enriched uranium to the level Iran has. At the same time, Iran has the third-most proven gas reserves in the world and the second-most oil.
In short, Iran has more energy than they know what to do with, and their claims that they want peaceful nuclear energy are a ruse. The only reason they have a nuclear program is so one day, they can have the capacity to destroy an American city or the entire country of Israel.
And yet, some voices on the far left and far right are now saying it is not our concern. From Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to Marjorie Taylor Greene, several members of Congress are saying there would be no justification for the American military to help eliminate the Iranian nuclear program. Other partisan voices like Tucker Carlson have accused America of being “complicit” in Israel’s strikes. And a member of the Squad said that “no one has attacked Americans.”
That is wrong on the facts, and it is blind to the stakes. Iranian missiles landed near the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv just days ago. The Islamic Republic of Iran and its proxy militias have killed or maimed thousands of Americans over the years. If this regime ever gets a bomb, they will feel emboldened to launch terror attacks on the U.S. and Israel, and other Arab and Gulf countries – who are rivals of Iran – will feel compelled to get a bomb too. Can you imagine the threat to America if several countries in the most dangerous and unstable part of the world had nuclear weapons?
We cannot imagine allowing that to happen. Neither could every American president – Democrat or Republican – whose most important job, above all, is to keep Americans safe.
Iran cannot have a bomb and whatever happens in the coming days, Americans – and our leaders – should be united in ensuring their nuclear program is eliminated.
These are dangerous times and we simply cannot permit the loudest, most reckless, and most partisan voices to dominate our debate. We need leaders who think clearly, speak honestly, and act deliberately.
That is what No Labels will be working toward next week at Make Congress Work, our first-ever public bicameral meeting in the U.S. Capitol. On June 26, members of the House and Senate from both parties will gather to start a serious conversation about how to move forward together as a country, and how to confront threats like the one we face right now.
