{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://hunter.house.gov/preventing-nuclear-armed-iran", "Preventing a nuclear-armed Iran", "2013-12-07", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "CA", "Duncan Hunter", "H001048", "hunter.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "When dealing with Iran, it\u2019s an odd thing when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seems to show more concern about U.S. global security than President Obama and his foreign policy team.\nPerhaps it\u2019s the advantage of experience and perspective. For decades, Netanyahu and the world have witnessed Iran\u2019s persistent provocations. \nIn recent years, Iran has only become more emboldened. In fact, at the high point of the war in Iraq, U.S. defense officials asserted that Iran was arming insurgents with armor-piercing roadside bombs, which were the single greatest source of U.S. casualties. Iran is also active in Afghanistan, while directly supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who is now the subject of an inquiry by the United Nation\u2019s for war crimes, according to the United Nation\u2019s human rights chief. \nMore to the point, Iran is also an active state sponsor of terrorism. Included on the U.S. Department of State\u2019s website is a long list of Iranian-supported terrorist activity since the designation was first applied almost 30 years ago.\nIn the post-9/11 world, Iran\u2019s activities and threats are by no means a reason to ignore the option of diplomacy, but the U.S. and others must be realistic in dealing with Iran. And one thing that has been learned is that people will not change simply because they are asked or we, as a nation, desperately want them to change. \nThe problem with the Obama administration\u2019s nuclear deal with Iran is that it pretends Iran\u2019s actions over the last several decades are inconsequential. They are not. They are very real and provide every reason why the Obama administration\u2019s approach on the Iran deal is wrong.\nReaching an agreement with Iran to verifiably dismantle its nuclear program or agree to significant reductions while fully opening its doors and books to inspectors is most definitely in America\u2019s best interest. But that is not what the deal does. In fact, it does nothing to stop Iran\u2019s centrifuges from spinning or further illuminate the development of delivery vehicles. If anything, as sanctions are lifted and billions of dollars are funneled into Iran, the deal only temporarily slows development that can otherwise resume when timing allows.\nThe long-term objective is to prevent a nuclear Iran. Otherwise, the threat of proliferation becomes serious and real. As confirmed by the Department of State, \u201cIran remains a state of proliferation concern.\u201d If Iran has provided \u201chundreds of millions of dollars in support of Hezbollah in Lebanon and has trained thousands of Hezbollah fighters at camps in Iran,\u201d then what reassurances are there that nuclear weapons won\u2019t proliferate to bad actors in the Middle East and elsewhere? Bottom line, there can be no such assurances.\nAll of this underscores why it remains in the world\u2019s interest for America to diplomatically but effectively halt Iran\u2019s nuclear and weapons development. Should Iran acquire nuclear capability, then both the stakes and risks will be high and irreversible. And through the experiences of more than a decade in Iraq and Afghanistan, America must be fully aware of its limitations. A protracted ground war is unthinkable. Further, conventional resources won\u2019t have any real affect, leaving very few options available to tactically and effectively remove Iran\u2019s nuclear capability.\nThere is still a window of time to diplomatically reverse Iran\u2019s nuclear ambitions. That window is certainly closing, but how the U.S. chooses to lead now and into the future will make all the difference. Now is not the moment to provide Iran more resources and leverage that stands to produce capability that could one day be misused. \nAmerica learned a valuable lesson in its dealing with North Korea years ago. The only difference is that now, with Iran, there is actually still a chance to get things right.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://hunter.house.gov/preventing-nuclear-armed-iran"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.9951621070504189, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}