[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 1 (Wednesday, January 3, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S2]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                  IRAN

  Mr. McCONNELL. Now, on another matter, Mr. President, over the last 
week, one of the often overlooked costs of Iran's regional aggression 
has come to light. Iranians have taken to the streets in protest, 
demanding that Supreme Leader Khamenei and President Rouhani do more to 
expand the domestic economy. Iran's actions in Yemen, Syria, and Iraq 
and its support for proxies such as Hezbollah have diverted resources 
away from economic reform and investment. While the government has 
prioritized payments to the military and security elites and clerical 
institutions, the people throughout Iran have suffered. Now their 
discontent is fully evident.
  As part of our overall strategy toward Iran, which should be focused 
on ending Iran's malign activities across the Middle East, we should 
hold accountable any officials behind a crackdown on these protests. 
The coming days will be noteworthy as we wait to see if hardliners use 
these protests as an excuse to promote more aggressive policies against 
the West and to tighten their grip further on the country and its 
economy.

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