Iran is a Real Threat

I take seriously our nation’s security. In the oath that I took to become the U.S. Representative of Hawai‘i’s First Congressional District, I swore to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” As an Army Reserve officer, I have sworn to give my life in our country’s defense if necessary. Whenever there is a threat to our nation, it is my duty to confront it. I believe that Iran is such a threat.

Iran is a state sponsor of terrorism and has aided in the killing of Americans in Iraq and Afghanistan. Iran’s government is led by a Holocaust-denying president. And Iran continues to defy the United Nations and most of the international community by developing its nuclear weapons program. A nuclear-armed Iran is a threat to the United States, to our ally Israel and to the Western world.

We do not have a lot of options. But this does not mean that we are powerless. Before I went home to celebrate Independence Day with my friends and neighbors, I proudly co-sponsored legislation to sanction the Iranian regime by targeting their treasure—oil and natural gas.

The legislation penalizes entities that assist Iran in importing refined petroleum or in maintaining or expanding Iran’s domestic refining capacity. These sanctions penalize foreign financial institutions that do business with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, aid Iran’s nuclear program or support Iran’s sponsorship of terrorism. I was proud to join my colleagues on both sides of the aisle in supporting these sanctions.

The bill that I co-sponsored has now become law, signed by the President on July 1, 2010.

In a time of partisan rancor and political gamesmanship, it was heartening to see the United States Congress and the President speak in a unified voice against the Iranian Regime. I hope that a peaceful, diplomatic solution to the growing problem in Iran can be found. As the president said when he signed the Iran Sanctions Act into law, “The government of Iran still has a choice. The door to diplomacy remains open.” The choice is Iran’s to make.