‘Khamenei and His Gang’: Rep. Darrell Issa on Iran

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) told the U.S. House Committee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade on Tuesday that the U.S. needed a more aggressive course of action against the Iranian regime.

Citing his own experiences in dealing with Iranian terrorism over the course of his professional tenure, Issa criticized what he described as the Obama Administration’s largely unsuccessful approach towards defeating the most prolific enemy of Israel and the United States:

Einstein clearly called it insanity after 36 years of consistently getting the same result from approaches to Iran to believe these [kinds] of negotiations by the administration will yield anything other than what we’ve have for 36 years since the Ayatollah Khomeini and his gang took over Iran.

Issa also noted that Vladimir Putin’s Russia had played a role in helping Iran:

But of course Russia’s involvement makes it very clear that — in fact — all they’re really doing is guaranteeing a slow march toward a nuclear Iran. Sanctions are the subject. Iran is a subject. But we would be remiss if we didn’t do two things:

1. Recognize that all the way back in the early ’80s the late President Ronald Reagan referred to an “evil empire”; at that time the Soviet Union. They were evil because of their participation around the world in fomenting the kinds of things that Iran has been fomenting since 1979.
2. Today Iran and Russia are partners more than ever before, in destabilizing activities… Syria only exists, Hamas only exists, Hezbollah is only a dangerous force because of the direct support from Iran — either directly in money or through its puppet, Syria.

At the hearing, Iran experts presented a multitude of ways in which the regime has become the world’s foremost state-sponsor of terror–and arguably the greatest threat to Western Civilization today.

Tuesday’s hearing arrived just one day after rallies were held throughout Iran celebrating the 36-year anniversary of the Iranian Revolution of 1979.

Prolonged nuclear talks between America and Iran are believed to have bought Iran more time in its development of nuclear capabilities.

In his opening statements, Congressman Ted Poe (R-TX), who is the chairman on the House Subcommittee on Terrorism, noted that “Iran’s main target is still Israel and Israeli interests around the world,” in what he dubbed a “worldwide assault on Israel.”

A nuclear Iran, Poe posited, would further solidify the regime’s power as a dangerous force in the region and embolden it to further pursue its goals:

Iran must be held accountable for its state-sponsorship of acts of terror. It should not be given a pass just because it’s talking to us about a different issue; its increased nuclear weapons program. All of these activities are part of Iran’s plan to expand its influence, and its stature and its terror around the globe.

Follow Adelle Nazarian on Twitter @AdelleNaz