[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 149 (Friday, September 7, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1223]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   STANDING UP FOR THE PEOPLE OF IRAN

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 7, 2018

  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, the Iranian people are still in the 
streets calling for the end of the regime. Despite continued violence 
by the regime's thugs, they persist in their cries for freedom. Across 
Iran, in more than 80 cities, thousands of Iranians are saying they 
have had enough with the corruption and repression of the mullahs. The 
free world cannot ignore their calls. America, the beacon of liberty, 
must stand with the Iranian people as they confront their oppressors.
  For more than two decades, protests in Iran have grown more and more 
frequent as the promises of the Islamic revolution have proven false. 
The clerics and IRGC thugs have hoarded Iran's wealth to enrich 
themselves and support terrorism across the Middle East. The people of 
Iran know that their nation should be prosperous. They know their 
country is blessed with abundant resources, a proud history, and 
population of talented and hardworking people--they should not be 
struggling to get by. But they know it is the mullahs--not sanctions 
from the U.S. or the existence of the state of Israel--that starve them 
and keep them poor. The Iranian people are not fools who believe the 
hollow rhetoric of the regime.
  Even before President Trump rightly chose to abandon the Iran deal, 
the Iranian people saw no benefit from sanctions relief. The secret 
shipments of cash from the Obama administration, the flood of foreign 
investment, the unfreezing of Iranian foreign assets, none of it 
reached the average Iranian. And so in late 2017 and into this year, 
the Iranian people bravely came to the streets again to demand that the 
regime fall. They shouted ``death to the regime'' and ``down with the 
mullahs.'' And the regime responded, as it has so many times before, 
with brutality, killing 25 and arresting more than 4,000. But the 
Iranian people remain undaunted and have not yielded.
  The boldness of the protesters who initially took to the streets over 
the economic hardships quickly inspired others to come forward. Women 
threw their required headscarves to the ground in public squares, 
religious minorities spoke-out about their persecution, workers went on 
strike, and secularists stormed clerical seminaries. Their motives 
represented a wide-range of grievance against the regime, but they were 
unified in message: this illegitimate regime must end. These protests 
continue to expand as Iranians see their futures diminish under the 
Supreme Leader and his band of terrorists.
  There has been an awakening in Iran and we must support it. It is not 
through bombs or guns that Iran will become free. It will be through 
the enduring courage and actions of everyday Iranians standing up to 
the regime thugs. They are demanding change now and, in growing 
numbers, putting fear into the hearts of the mullahs and their stooges. 
We can encourage and amplify their heroism. America has the resources 
and innovative tools to broadcast Iranians' messages of hope. Through 
our technological edge, the U.S. can help Iranians communicate and 
provide whatever assistance is requested. We can also ensure that the 
brutality of the regime is seen by all and that the theocrats become 
more isolated and punished because of it.
  America will never turn its back on people yearning to be free. 
Whether in Iran or anywhere else. We have learned throughout history 
that ruthless despots that rule far from our shores still present a 
threat to us and our ideals. If we stand silently as they savagely 
crush dissent within their own country, their ambitions will eventually 
turn to opponents beyond their borders. The regime in Tehran has 
already demonstrated this intent by spreading terror throughout the 
region. Therefore we must remain committed to the cause of freedom 
throughout the globe. The terrorists who rule Iran today will meet 
justice, and we will help the Iranian people deliver it. And that's 
just the way it is.

                          ____________________