Political Quotes

“In an era of violence in the Middle East, tragedy in Syria, and turmoil in Egypt, there is some very encouraging news surrounding Iran. The most important signal may have been the election of Hassan Rouhani as President of Iran who is by no means a moderate by anyone's stretch of the imagination except in the context of Iran. He was the choice of the Iranian people for change, for a different path to reduce the collision course with the United States and the crippling sanctions we have imposed. His foreign minister, Mohammad Zarif, is an able and experienced diplomat with strong relationships with the people who have dealt with him for years both in the United States and Iran. I am encouraged by the reports in the news and in the opinion pages which point out something I have long argued on the floor of this House: the convergence of interests between the United States and Iran. People forget the key role that the United States played in the emergence of the modern state of Iran, of the constitutional revolution beginning in 1905, where American influence was profoundly felt. Unfortunately, for the last 60 years, we have serially mismanaged our relationship with Iran. How would we have felt if a foreign power worked to overthrow our democratically elected government and install a dictator? That is exactly what the United States and Great Britain did in 1953 and how the Shah returned to power.…”