Whereas all countries have the inviolate right to
self-defense and self-preservation as a moral imperative, recognized in
customary international law and Article 51 of the United Nations Charter and
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1368, both of which hold the right
to self-defense to be the inherent right of sovereign states, including the
right to take all necessary steps,
to combat terrorism and other
forms of unconventional warfare;
Whereas under customary international law, as well as
Article 2, paragraph 4 of the United Nations Charter, all members of the United
Nations shall refrain in their international relations from the threat
or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of
any state,
and the purpose of the United Nations is to take collective
measures for the preservation of international peace;
Whereas the actions of the Islamic Republic of Iran
threaten many actors in the Middle East, including Israel, Saudi Arabia, Iraq,
and many others, leading to the serious threat of massive nuclear proliferation
in the region, in violation of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear
Weapons;
Whereas Iran is a rogue regime that has threatened to
Wipe (Israel) off the map,
in violation of Article 2, paragraph
4 of the United Nations Charter;
Whereas Iran seeks to unlawfully obtain or create weapons
of mass destruction in violation of its agreement with the United Nations
Agency for the Application of Safeguards in Connection with the Treaty on the
Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons;
Whereas the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
issued a report exposing Iran’s nuclear intentions and in November 2011
concluded that contrary to the relevant resolutions of the Board of
Governors and the Security Council, Iran has not suspended its [nuclear]
enrichment related activities
and continues to proceed with a nuclear
weapons proliferation program, and the IAEA Board of Governors have issued 10
resolutions condemning Iran’s nuclear program;
Whereas Iran has ignored and has been indifferent to the
terms of the resolutions pertaining to the proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction and sanctions have done little to deter its progress;
Whereas Iran has actively engaged in ongoing armed
hostilities against Israel for decades by supporting terrorism against Israel
through military proxies, including the terrorist organizations Hamas and
Hezbollah, each of which have attacked Israeli civilians as well as military
personnel, and by attacking Israeli embassies and diplomatic personnel in
Argentina, Georgia, India, and Thailand;
Whereas the mere act of aggressively seeking the illicit
acquisition of weapons of mass destruction creates an existential threat to
Israel, particularly in light of Iran’s illegal threats and armed hostilities
against Israel, as well as a grave threat to peace and stability of the region
in violation of Article 1, paragraph 1 of the United Nations Charter;
Whereas existential threats against Israel have been
planned, expressed, or executed since the founding of the State of Israel in
1948 and have continued relentlessly thus causing Israel to defend itself
vigilantly;
Whereas in the Six-Day War, Israel was forced to engage in
successful military action against Egypt under similar circumstances on June 5,
1967;
Whereas the United States Department of State concluded
that the Six-Day War is the most cited example
of the right to
take such actions for self-defense in response to a grave and obvious
threat;
Whereas Israel took similar action in the 1981 attack on
Iraq’s nuclear facility at Osirak, which averted an unquestionably hostile and
violent regime from acquiring nuclear weapons, and also in 2007 when Israel
attacked Syria’s Al-Kibar nuclear facility, an ally of Iran who has been
engaged in the murder of Israeli citizens and military personnel, with the aid
of Iran;
Whereas the United States supports the original mission of
the United Nations Charter to maintain international peace and security;
Whereas the United States has recognized, since 2002
through the National Security Strategy, that the United States must
adapt the concept of imminent threat to the capabilities and objectives of
today’s adversaries
;
Whereas Iran has been involved in the kidnapping of United
States citizens and diplomatic personnel, in direct violation of international
law, in 1979–1980 and assisting terrorists in kidnapping Americans in Lebanon
throughout the 1980’s;
Whereas Iran has been involved in the systematic murder of
United States soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan for years, continuing today,
through support of terrorist organizations allied with Iran, including giving
armor-piercing technology to terrorists; and
Whereas the United States has continuously supported its
ally Israel, and supported Israel’s right to defend itself, and has taken
similar actions itself as necessary self-defense measures as far back as the
1962 Cuban Missile Crisis: Now, therefore, be it
That the House of Representatives fully
supports Israel’s lawful exercise of self-defense up to and including action to
stop Iranian aggression, including a strike against Iran’s illegal nuclear
program.