Newsletter: The U.S. and Israel: Standing Up to Iran

Statement

Last week I attended a dinner hosted by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was the guest of honor. The dinner was well-timed, given that the United States and Israel--the oldest democracy in the Middle East--face momentous decisions as Iran continues to defy the international community and march towards nuclear weapons-making capability.

Even without nuclear weapons, Iran is already dangerous. It is on the U.S. State Department's official list of terror-sponsoring governments. Indeed, Iran has worked with terrorist groups to wreak havoc and destabilize the Middle East. In Iraq, it gave explosives and other weapons to militants who then killed American troops. It has threatened to shut down the Strait of Hormuz, through which a significant amount of the world's oil and commerce flows. And its leaders have threatened to wipe Israel--a country roughly the size of the Ninth District--off the map.

If Iran gets nuclear weapons, it will be a nightmare. Iran already has missiles capable of striking targets in Europe and the Middle East, including any U.S. forces stationed in those regions. But it has launched satellites into space, so it has the knowledge and capabilities necessary to build an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of delivering a nuclear warhead to the continental United States. Indeed, Israeli Vice Prime Minister Moshe Ya'alon recently said that the Iranians had been developing ICBM technology at a military facility that was destroyed by a mysterious explosion in November 2011.

Iran cannot be allowed to get the capability to make nuclear weapons! I hope that international diplomacy and economic sanctions will succeed in stopping Iran's quest for nuclear weapons-making capability, but it's far from certain. All options must be on the table. As the United States and Israel work to meet the challenge posed by Iran's dangerous nuclear ambitions, both countries must continue to stand together through thick and thin.

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