Congressman Ed Royce
Hello, I am Ed Royce, chairman of the foreign affairs committee in the United States House of Representatives in the Congress.
The issue that I wanted to talk to you about was the Iranian regime and how the Iranian regime continues to involve itself in very serious human rights abuses, even as we here today discuss a situation that we had hoped would be better. But here Iran is on pace to surpass the number of executions without due process from last year, and this is under president Rouhani. But I think we should remember that this is a man who called on the regime’s besiege militia to crush mercilessly and monumentally the student protesters. He is the man who appointed as his minister justice a person responsible for the summary execution of so many people in the late 1980s without trial or due process. Rouhani is the creature of the regime, pure and simple. And that is why we should be speaking out against these abuses. Unfortunately, I fear that the Obama administration’s engagement with Iran has signaled to them that we are focused on its nuclear program alone, no matter how many innocent man and women are being beaten or tortured or raped, or killed.
If Iran and the P5+1 come to an agreement next month, that allows the regime to retain much of its critical nuclear infrastructure in place, the Obama administration would essentially be trusting the regime that holds the noose in one hand, to hold the keys to a nuclear bomb in the other. And in doing so they will again fail to grasp the concept that promoting human rights, promoting democracy in Iran and improving our national security in fact go hand in hand.
Thank you