[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 14676]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        IRAN'S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION AND ITS NUCLEAR ASPIRATIONS

  (Mr. MORAN of Kansas asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. MORAN of Kansas. This week we are experiencing Iran's 
presidential election. While the election is noteworthy, it will 
probably not have an impact on Iran's illegal nuclear program. Unlike 
in the United States, the President of Iran has minimal influence over 
the country's national security policies. Those decisions are 
controlled by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khomeini, the unelected head 
of Iran's theocratic regime.
  The supreme leader has vowed to continue Iran's nuclear program, and 
unfortunately we see evidence of this. Just last Friday, the 
International Atomic Energy Agency reported that Iran has sped up 
production of nuclear fuel and installed more centrifuges in advance of 
the election. Nuclear weapons experts say Iran now has enough 
centrifuge capacity to fuel up to two nuclear weapons a year.
  Iran is determined to acquire nuclear weapons regardless of who is 
president. It would be a mistake for the Obama administration and this 
Congress to wait and see what direction Iran takes if a new president 
is elected because the course appears to be already determined. If we 
are going to engage Iran, we must do so right away, immediately, and 
back engagement with tougher actions.

                          ____________________