Sen. John McCain , the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, called yesterday for broad sanctions against Iran and a South Africa-style worldwide divestment strategy aimed at pressuring Tehran to abandon efforts to acquire nuclear weapons and encourage its people’s democratic aspirations.
In a speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in Washington, McCain (Ariz.) declared Iran the “foremost” enemy in the Middle East. He said Iran could pose an “existential threat” to Israel if it acquires a nuclear bomb.
“A sponsor of both Hamas and Hezbollah , the leadership of Iran has repeatedly used violence to undermine Israel and the Middle East peace process,” McCain said. “It remains the world’s chief sponsor of terrorism and threatens to destabilize the entire Middle East, from Basra to Beirut.”
“It’s hard to see what such a summit with President Ahamdinejad would actually gain, except an earful of anti-Semitic rants, and a worldwide audience for a man who denies one Holocaust and talks before frenzied crowds about starting another,” McCain said.
Instead, McCain told the approving crowd, the United States should lead the world in political and economic sanctions against Iran, including limits on Iranian imports of gasoline and an enhanced effort by worldwide financial institutions to freeze its assets.
The past five administrations have added new layers of sanctions in an attempt to pressure Iran to change its policies on issues such as support for extremist groups and cooperating with the United Nations on its nuclear program. Last fall, the Bush administration sanctioned three of Iran’s largest banks.
“Should the Security Council continue to delay in this responsibility, the United States must lead like-minded countries in imposing multilateral sanctions outside the U.N. framework,” he said.