76 senators from both parties urged the White House to offer Iran no quarter despite the softer rhetoric of newly sworn in President Hassan Rouhani.
“Until we see a significant slowdown of Iran’s nuclear activities, we believe our nation must toughen sanctions and reinforce the credibility of our option to use military force at the same time as we fully explore a diplomatic solution to our dispute with Iran,” the senators wrote.
The House of Representatives voted last week 400-20 for measures designed to put pressure on the few remaining buyers of Iranian oil and to choke off Tehran’s access to its dwindling foreign exchange reserves. The Senate is expected to pass its own bill in September.
See Text of Senators’ Letter to President Obama on Iran Sanctions.
Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu said on Friday Iranian president-elect Hassan Rouhani had shown his true face after he was quoted as saying Israel was a “wound” that must be removed. Netanyahu said of Rouhani, who took office on Sunday: “The true face of Rouhani has been revealed sooner than expected….This is what the man thinks and this is the Iranian regime’s plan of action….A nation that threatens to destroy the State of Israel must not be allowed to have weapons of mass destruction.”
{Andy Heller-Matzav.com Newscenter}
