Kyl Leads Call for Tougher Action Against Iran

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Senator Jon Kyl, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security, today called on the United States to take stronger steps to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons and to encourage democratic governance of the country. The United States and its allies must apply intense pressure on the Iranian government to immediately halt its nuclear program, said Kyl. But ultimately, there must be a change in the countrys leadership. The current Iranian government is a corrupt and dangerous regime thats out of step with its citizens, added Kyl. Since taking office in 2005, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has issued a call to wipe Israel off the face of the map and denied that the Holocaust occurred. As its leader, he has also promised a world without America, adding that such a goal is attainable, and surely can be achieved. For over three years, Iran has thumbed its nose at the international community in regard to its nuclear weapons program and repeatedly ignored its obligations under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Kyl recommends that the United States consider a series of specific steps outlined in a new policy report released today by the Committee on the Present Danger (CPD) - a bipartisan advocacy group that seeks to educate Americans and policymakers about the danger that Iran poses and to offer specific, concrete solutions. Senators Kyl and Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) serve as Honorary Co-Chairmen of the CPD. A copy of the report is available online at www.fightingterror.org. Kyl also released a report in September through the Republican Policy Committee that called for tougher policies on Iran. A nuclear Iran would be a destabilizing event -- one that the world should not condone, said Kyl. We must pursue policies that bring about a change in Irans current course. Americans overwhelmingly oppose the idea that Iran should be allowed to develop nuclear weapons and want to see action taken by the U.S. and other countries to prevent that from happening.