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STATEMENT BY SENATOR JOHN McCAIN IN JERUSALEM
February 21, 2012
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) today delivered the following statement at a press conference in Jerusalem:
“I am Senator John McCain from Arizona, and it is a pleasure to return to Israel. I am joined by four of my colleagues from the Senate – Senator Jeff Sessions from Alabama, Senator Lindsey Graham from South Carolina, Senator Richard Blumenthal from Connecticut, and Senator John Hoeven from North Dakota.
“We had an excellent meeting this afternoon with Prime Minister Netanyahu and members of his administration. Not surprisingly, our conversations focused on the threat posed by the Iranian regime, and how we must meet it together as allies. There should be no daylight between us in our assessment of that threat.
“The Iranian regime is openly committed to the destruction of the state of Israel. It is working actively to subvert our Arab partners and hijack the peaceful democratic revolutions begun by Arab peoples. It is providing support, funding, training, and equipment for acts of terrorism all across this region and increasingly the world – as demonstrated by the recent plots against Israelis in Thailand, India, and Georgia, and by the Iranian plot to assassinate the Saudi Ambassador in Washington. And of course, it is continuing to pursue a nuclear weapons capability, despite the growing consequences for this behavior: Mounting international isolation, unprecedented sanctions that are increasingly cutting off the life blood of Iran's economy, and the very real threat of conflict.
“It is hard to see this as rational behavior. Any regime with an abiding concern for its own security, self-interest, and self-preservation would not engage in such deeply provocative conduct.
“All of us are strong supporters of efforts to increase the pressure on the Iranian regime, and the Congress will continue to work with the Administration and support our international allies in making the pressure on Iran as severe, as effective, and as broad based as possible.
“It is unacceptable for the Iranian regime to develop a nuclear weapons capability, and if they continue, they must be stopped.
“On this we are united, and that is what I want to stress in closing: There should be no illusion about the source of the current problem. America is not the problem. And neither is Israel. The problem is the threatening conduct of the Iranian regime. America and Israel are the closest of allies, and we face the threat posed by Iran together. It is a common threat to our common security, our common interests, our common values, and our common future. We must meet this threat together as allies in a spirit of mutual trust and unfailing resolve. We have come to Israel today to reaffirm that commitment.”
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