U.S. Senator Kit Bond, Vice Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, applauded Congressional action signaling to Iran their disregard for international treaties will no longer go unpunished.
“The White House can’t afford to ignore the dangers of Iran and targeting their dependence on imported gasoline will not only send a message, it will also hit them where it hurts,” said Bond.
Today, the Senate Banking Committee passed the Iran Sanctions Enhancement Act of 2009, which Senator Bond cosponsored with Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-CT). A nearly identical bill was passed by the House Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday.
Bond praised the committee action and urged the full House and Senate to immediately pass this critical bill.
This bipartisan legislation will give the President the authority to target Iran’s dependence on imported gasoline and other refined petroleum products. Specifically, if signed into law, the Administration will have the power to sanction companies that provide Iran with gasoline, diesel and other refined petroleum fuels.
Bond stressed that since Iran imports most of their gasoline this critical bill will hit them where it hurts. The Senator has criticized weak response by America and the international community for doing nothing more than slap Iran on the wrist for their misbehavior – in a long list of transgressions, the most recent being the failure to disclose a secret hidden nuclear site. This bill will be an important first step in putting some teeth behind our diplomatic efforts.
The Senator has continued to emphasize that America cannot afford to ignore the dangers of Iran. He has criticized the Intelligence Community for releasing a National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) in 2007 that went too far in suggesting that Iran did not intend to develop weapons.
Bond pointed out that Iran may intend to develop weapons, they may not, but the bottom line is that we just don’t know. Unfortunately, the NIE gave people a false sense of security by making them think the Intelligence Community assessed there was no intent.
While there are uncertainties behind the Iran nuclear intelligence assessments, no one disputes that Iran’s dangerous “dual-use” uranium enrichment efforts are underway; at a minimum, the U.S. and our international partners should deal with this risk.
Given Iran’s behavior in Afghanistan, Iraq and Lebanon, President Ahmadinejad’s statements about destroying Israel, and a steady stream of revelations about secret nuclear facilities, it is too dangerous for the rogue nation to possess the ability to produce any fissionable material.
The Senator pointed out that that even if Iran doesn’t intend to build a bomb today, that doesn’t mean they won’t change their minds later.
