Iran--america's Greatest Threat

Floor Speech

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Mr. STEIL. Mr. Speaker, I rise to address one of the greatest threats to American safety--Iran.

Iran is the largest state sponsor of terrorism, and from past actions, we know the regime cannot be trusted. However, over the past 4 years, progress has been made:

Our maximum pressure campaign and sanctions have reined in Iran's power;

Normalization agreements between Israel and numerous nations in the region continue to isolate Iran;

The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Sudan have embraced peace and cooperation.

At this moment of success, the United States cannot back down. We cannot return to one-sided deals that strengthen Iran.

There is little doubt that without our efforts, Iran will continue its pursuit for a nuclear weapon and regional dominance. We must maintain pressure on the regime.

Just last month, the IAEA confirmed what we suspected all along: that the Iranian regime continues to ramp up its nuclear program. In fact, it is accelerating its efforts. This is not the time to appease the Iranian regime. We must stand strong.

Under the Obama-Biden administration, we saw years of failed foreign policy. We saw years of policy that allowed Iran to continue developing a nuclear weapon, years of policy that sent pallets of cash to Iran, years of policy that neglected our alliance with Israel, and years of policy that allowed Iranian terrorism to thrive across the region.

After the failed Obama-Biden Iran deal was implemented, Iran continued perpetuating violence, terrorism, and proxy wars across the Middle East. Iran came closer and closer to obtaining a nuclear weapon.

President Trump has shown there is another way. We do not need to appease terrorist states and turn our backs on Israel. Instead, the Trump administration's strength has helped set the conditions for regional peace. Cooperation between Israel and other Middle Eastern states is continuing to grow. This change of policy has brought hope.

Peace is possible. But peace does not happen through capitulation, and it will not happen if we go backwards.

It is clear the U.S. sanctions targeting Iran are working. We need to maintain our sanctions against Iran and take decisive steps to prevent evasion. Sanctions have cut off vital resources that Iran's leaders use to enrich themselves and spread terrorism. U.S. financial sanctions make it harder for Iran to fund its ambitions to become a nuclear power.

Unfortunately, bad actors work hard to get around United States' sanctions. That is why I co-introduced the Preventing Illicit Finance Act. This bill supports our maximum pressure campaign and creates a public-private group to limit the abuse of the financial system by bad actors like Iran. My bill strengthens the United States' ability to enforce financial sanctions against Iran, Russia, and other adversaries.

Our maximum pressure campaign is working. We cannot turn a blind eye to Iran's aggressions and pursuit of terrorism. Iran must be held accountable.

By strengthening our sanctions enforcement and maintaining our tough approach, we can prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power.

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