[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 70 (Wednesday, June 3, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1000]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              REGARDING U.S. POLICY TOWARD IRANIAN REGIME

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                        HON. ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 3, 1998

  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, last week marked the first anniversary 
of the election of Mohammad Khatami as president of Iran so this marks 
a fitting time to assess the realities versus the rhetoric of Khatami's 
regime.
  Congressmen Gary Ackerman, Bob Menendez, Edolphus Towns, and James 
Traficant and I co-sponsored a briefing here in the House of 
Representatives on U.S. policy options and prospects for change in 
Iran.
  We presented the following on Iran policy:
  Nothing has changed under the administration of Khatami, and in many 
respects the evidence indicates that Tehran's outlaw behavior has 
worsened.
  Factional infighting and domestic unrest are aggravating the 
instability of the ruling regime, raising new prospects for its 
replacement by a democratic government.
  Our policy should focus on how to contain the threat from Iran, and 
on support for democratic alternatives within that country.
  I urge my colleagues and the Administration to continue tough U.S. 
policies such as the Iran and Libya Sanctions Act as well as efforts to 
mobilize the international community towards a united-multi-lateral 
campaign to bring freedom and democracy to the people of Iran.

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