Former United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is pressing the Obama administration to impose new sanctions on Iran’s “extremist regime” over its sponsorship of terrorism, illegal arms transfers and human rights violations.
Clinton pointed to the “existential danger” that would be posed by the Iranian regime if it ever obtained a nuclear weapon.
Clinton told a Washington meeting on Monday it is “not good enough to trust and verify” that Iran’s regime is respecting the terms of its nuclear deal with the world powers. “Our approach must be distrust and verify.”
“This deal must come with vigorous enforcement, strong monitoring, clear consequences for any violations and a broader strategy to confront Iran’s aggression across the region. We cannot forget that Tehran’s fingerprints are on nearly every conflict across the Middle East, from Syria to Lebanon to Yemen,” she said.
“Iranian provocations, like the recent ballistic missile tests, are also unacceptable and should be answered firmly and quickly including with more sanctions.”
“Those missiles were stamped with words declaring, and I quote, ‘Israel should be wiped from the pages of history.’ We know they could reach Israel or hit the tens of thousands of American troops stationed in the Middle East. This is a serious danger and it demands a serious response.”
“The United States must also continue to enforce existing sanctions and impose additional sanctions as needed on Iran and the Revolutionary Guard for their sponsorship of terrorism, illegal arms transfers, human rights violations and other illicit behaviors like cyber attacks. We should continue to demand the safe return of Robert Levinson and all American citizens unjustly held in Iranian prisons,” she added.
