Howard Berman: “several years ago, we learned that Iran was operating a secret program to enrich uranium and carry out other sensitive…”

“several years ago, we learned that Iran was operating a secret program to enrich uranium and carry out other sensitive nuclear fuel cycle activities. Iran's failure to report these activities to the International Atomic Energy Agency was a blatant violation of its obligations under the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty. The more we learn about Iran's program, the more obvious it's become that Iran's true intention is not peaceful power generation, but the development of a nuclear arsenal that could threaten the United States, our allies in the Middle East, and even Europe. Any seeds of doubt on this issue have been dispelled once and for all by Iran's rejection of a sensible proposal put forward by Great Britain, France and Germany, and more recently, its move to resume uranium enrichment. The election of Iranian President Ahmadinejad has made the urgency of preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons that much greater. With his comments about the Holocaust being a ``myth,'' endorsement for ``wiping Israel off the map,'' and enthusiastic support of Hezbollah, Hamas and other terrorist organizations, this vile anti- Semite has made his true intentions crystal clear. The IAEA's decision to refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council is a long-overdue step in the right direction. But tough words must be backed by tough action. We must continue to push the other members of the Security Council--especially China and Russia--to meet their international obligations.…”