The Middle East

Floor Speech

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Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, on a final matter, I spoke yesterday about the courageous people of Hong Kong who are standing up to Beijing and speaking up for their freedoms. But Hongkongers are not alone in bravely speaking up at this time. The Middle East continues to be swept by widespread and cross-sectarian demonstrations.

In Lebanon, in Iraq, and in Iran, millions are demanding a better future, greater justice, less corruption, and more democracy from their governments. These protests expand three countries. Each is unique, but one common thread connects them: Iran.

For years, Iran has systematically sought to undermine the territorial integrity and manipulate the politics of countries all across the Middle East. Nowhere is this more apparent than in Lebanon and Iraq, where Iranian proxies have challenged the very sovereignty of the state.

In Lebanon, Iran backs Hezbollah, the terrorist group that has become a dominant political player. Hezbollah has become a state within a state. Its weapons and fighters do not work to defend the Lebanese state but to embroil it in Syria's civil war and imperil its security by threatening Israel with precision rockets.

In Iraq, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has spent years sponsoring Shia militias and proxies that are more loyal to Tehran than to Baghdad or to the people of Iraq.

In both of these countries, Tehran has used and promoted the use of force to acquire power and to acquire influence. A few weeks ago, the leader of Iran's terrorist Quds Force reportedly flew to Iraq for secret meetings to guide Iraqi leaders through the protests there.

Here is what this Iranian thug told the Iraqis: ``We in Iran know how to deal with protests.'' Enough said.

Well, a violent crackdown on peaceful protesters is not going to resolve anything. What Iraqi and Lebanese leaders must do is stop listening to the poisonous advice of Iranian tyrants, who are losing their own grip on their own people, and start addressing their own citizens' demands for transparency and reform.

Iraq and Lebanon should give their people what they want--less corruption, less malign foreign influence, more opportunity, and the rule of law.

That is the path forward for Iraq and Lebanon. Commit to prosperity and pluralism at home, combat corruption and injustice within all sects and confessions, protect the sovereignty of your country, pursue peace with your neighbors, and enjoy support from the United States as well.

I would note that in contrast to Hezbollah's thugs, Lebanon's Armed Forces by most accounts continue to be one of Lebanon's few institutions of national unity. The LAF has respected the rights of protesters, protected them from violence, and sought to deescalate tensions on the street.

I know the U.S. military believes its training and partnership with the LAF is paying off, helping it to be a more professional and responsible security force.

So while these events transpire in Iraq and Lebanon, the Iranian people themselves are also engaging in their own demonstrations. Iran used to be a moderate, open, and prosperous society. It could be again. Now tens of thousands of Iranian people themselves are raising their voices in righteous anger at what has become of their living conditions and their country. The Iranian people are feeling the pain inflicted by the brutality, selfishness, and extremism of their ruling class.

The regime seems to be doing all it can to put a stop to this. Reports over the weekend indicated an enormous, unprecedented internet blackout aimed at keeping Iranians in the dark and suggests Iranian leaders are threatening yet another violent crackdown against their own citizens.

But Iran's leaders know exactly what must be done to alter the course of their once-great country and unlock a better future for its citizens. Iran needs to stop pursuing nuclear weapons and long-range missile capabilities, stop supporting terror and cyber offensives, stop causing bloodshed to weaken its neighbors, and stop the horrific mistreatment of its own people.

There is an entire civilized world full of diverse nations that get by just fine--just fine--without engaging in any of these rogue state activities. Iran engages in all of them. Iranian leaders will either listen to their own citizens and start behaving like a normal nation or they will be treated more and more like the backward pariahs they have become.

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