Whereas, since at least the late 1980s, the
Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has engaged in a sustained and
well-documented pattern of illicit and deceptive activities to acquire nuclear
capability;
Whereas
the United Nations Security Council has adopted multiple resolutions since 2006
demanding the full and sustained suspension of all uranium enrichment-related
and reprocessing activities by the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran
and its full cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on
all outstanding issues related to its nuclear activities, particularly those
concerning the possible military dimensions of its nuclear program;
Whereas, on November 8, 2011, the IAEA
issued an extensive report that—
(1)documents serious concerns regarding
possible military dimensions to Iran's nuclear programme
;
(2)states that Iran has carried out
activities relevant to the development of a nuclear device
; and
(3)states that the efforts described in
paragraphs (1) and (2) may be ongoing;
Whereas, as of November 2008, Iran had
produced, according to the IAEA—
(1)approximately 630 kilograms of uranium
hexaflouride enriched up to 3.5 percent uranium-235; and
(2)no uranium hexaflouride enriched up to 20
percent uranium-235;
Whereas, as of November 2011, Iran had
produced, according to the IAEA—
(1)nearly 5,000 kilograms of uranium
hexaflouride enriched up to 3.5 percent uranium-235; and
(2)79.7 kilograms of uranium hexaflouride
enriched up to 20 percent uranium-235;
Whereas, on January 9, 2012, IAEA
inspectors confirmed that the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran had
begun enrichment activities at the Fordow site, including possibly enrichment
of uranium hexaflouride up to 20 percent uranium-235;
Whereas
section 2(2) of the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and
Divestment Act of 2010 (Public Law 111–195) states, The United States
and other responsible countries have a vital interest in working together to
prevent the Government of Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapons
capability.
;
Whereas
if the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran were successful in acquiring
a nuclear weapon capability, it would likely spur other countries in the region
to consider developing their own nuclear weapons capabilities;
Whereas, on December 6, 2011, Prince Turki
al-Faisal of Saudi Arabia stated that if international efforts to prevent Iran
from obtaining nuclear weapons fail, we must, as a duty to our country
and people, look into all options we are given, including obtaining these
weapons ourselves
;
Whereas
top leaders of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran have repeatedly
threatened the existence of the State of Israel, pledging to wipe Israel
off the map
;
Whereas
the Department of State has designated Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism
since 1984 and characterized Iran as the most active state sponsor of
terrorism
;
Whereas
the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has provided weapons, training,
funding, and direction to terrorist groups, including Hamas, Hezbollah, and
Shiite militias in Iraq that are responsible for the murders of hundreds of
United States forces and innocent civilians;
Whereas, on July 28, 2011, the Department
of the Treasury charged that the Government of Iran had forged a secret
deal
with al Qaeda to facilitate the movement of al Qaeda fighters and
funding through Iranian territory;
Whereas, in October 2011, senior leaders of
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force were implicated in a
terrorist plot to assassinate Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to the United States on
United States soil;
Whereas, on December 26, 2011, the United
Nations General Assembly passed a resolution denouncing the serious human
rights abuses occurring in the Islamic Republic of Iran, including torture,
cruel and degrading treatment in detention, the targeting of human rights
defenders, violence against women, and the systematic and serious
restrictions on freedom of peaceful assembly
as well as severe
restrictions on the rights to freedom of thought, conscience, religion
or belief
;
Whereas
President Barack Obama, through the P5+1 process, has made repeated efforts to
engage the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran in dialogue about Iran's
nuclear program and its international commitments under the Treaty on the
Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, done at Washington, London, and Moscow
July 1, 1968, and entered into force March 5, 1970 (commonly known as the
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
);
Whereas
representatives of the P5+1 countries (the United States, France, Germany, the
People's Republic of China, the Russian Federation, and the United Kingdom) and
representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran held negotiations on Iran’s
nuclear program in Istanbul, Turkey on April 14, 2012, and these discussions
are set to resume in Baghdad, Iraq on May 23, 2012;
Whereas, on March 31, 2010, President Obama
stated that the consequences of a nuclear-armed Iran are
unacceptable
;
Whereas
in his State of the Union Address on January 24, 2012, President Obama stated,
Let there be no doubt: America is determined to prevent Iran from
getting a nuclear weapon, and I will take no options off the table to achieve
that goal.
;
Whereas, on March 4, 2012, President Obama
stated Iran’s leaders should understand that I do not have a policy of
containment; I have a policy to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear
weapon
;
Whereas
Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta stated, in December 2011, that it was
unacceptable for Iran to acquire nuclear weapons, reaffirmed that all options
were on the table to thwart Iran's nuclear weapons efforts, and vowed that if
the United States gets intelligence that they are proceeding with
developing a nuclear weapon then we will take whatever steps necessary to stop
it
;
Whereas
the Department of Defense's January 2012 Strategic Guidance stated that United
States defense efforts in the Middle East would be aimed to prevent
Iran's development of a nuclear weapons capability and counter its
destabilizing policies
; and
Whereas, on April 2, 2012, President Obama
stated, All the evidence indicates that the Iranians are trying to
develop the capacity to develop nuclear weapons. They might decide that, once
they have that capacity that they'd hold off right at the edge in order not to
incur more sanctions. But, if they’ve got nuclear weapons-building capacity and
they are flouting international resolutions, that creates huge destabilizing
effects in the region and will trigger an arms race in the Middle East that is
bad for U.S. national security but is also bad for the entire world.
:
Now, therefore, be it
1.That Congress—
(1)reaffirms that the United States Government
and the governments of other responsible countries have a vital interest in
working together to prevent the Government of Iran from acquiring a nuclear
weapons capability;
(2)warns that time is limited to prevent the
Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapons
capability;
(3)urges continued and increasing economic and
diplomatic pressure on the Islamic Republic of Iran until the Government of the
Islamic Republic of Iran agrees to and implements—
(A)the full and sustained suspension of all
uranium enrichment-related and reprocessing activities and compliance with
United Nations Security Council resolutions;
(B)complete cooperation with the IAEA on all
outstanding questions related to the nuclear activities of the Government of
the Islamic Republic of Iran, including the implementation of the additional
protocol to Iran's Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA; and
(C)a permanent agreement that verifiably
assures that Iran's nuclear program is entirely peaceful;
(4)expresses the desire that the P5+1 process
successfully and swiftly leads to the objectives identified in paragraph (3),
but warns that, as President Obama has said, the window for diplomacy is
closing;
(5)expresses support for the universal rights
and democratic aspirations of the people of Iran;
(6)strongly supports United States policy to
prevent the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran from acquiring a nuclear
weapons capability;
(7)rejects any United States policy that would
rely on efforts to contain a nuclear weapons-capable Iran; and
(8)joins the President in ruling out any
policy that would rely on containment as an option in response to the Iranian
nuclear threat.
2.Nothing in this resolution shall be
construed as an authorization for the use of force or a declaration of
war.
Passed the Senate September 22 (legislative day, September
21), 2012.
Nancy Erickson,
Secretary