Time to Stop Terror
Iranian terror must be stopped. While the American media attacked President Trump for killing Qassem Soleimani, they blatantly chose to ignore that Soleimani was the leader of Iran’s Quds Force, a US designated terrorist organization responsible for wounding hundreds of American and Israeli citizens. To paraphrase United States Senator Mike Lee, Soleimani was likely responsible for any wounded veteran seen in the streets of America today. Since the Ayatollah came to power in 1979, Iran has worked to harm and antagonize both the United State and Israel at any moment they can.
The world was first introduced to the wrath of the Ayatollah’s radical ideology in 1979, as Iranian revolutionaries took control of the American embassy and held 53 American citizens hostage. These hostages were held for 444 days and, tragically, eight American servicemen lost their lives in a failed rescue attempt.
The Iranian hostage crisis represented the hatred that the Ayatollah’s felt toward the United States when they first came to power, and that hatred continues until this day. An Israeli government official has recently revealed that Iran currently spends at least $7 billion a year in support of terrorism abroad. This includes the terror group Hezbollah, located in Lebanon, Hamas, located in Gaza, and pro-Iranian militias located in Iraq and Syria. Iran is using these terrorist organizations to weaken the presence of the United States in the Middle East, and ultimately hopes to establish a de facto Iranian state at the Israeli border.
While the Iranian citizens lack basic amenities living in a crippled economy, the message to the world is clear: the Iranian government has chosen to invest in terrorist organizations abroad rather than investing in their own citizens.
Lastly, Iran, a nation that openly declares a desire to destroy both the United States and Israel, is actively seeking nuclear weapons. Imagine, the same country that literally shot down a passenger plane with a short-range rocket only a few months ago, killing 187 on board, claims they are responsible enough to obtain nuclear weapons.
Rather than accepting complete responsibility for attacking a passenger plane, Iran chose to blame a “technical error” for this attack. In an instant, 187 men, women and children perished, leaving behind a gaping hole in the heart of those mourning the loss of a loved one. If this is the damage Iran has caused with only a short-range rocket, imagine the danger in allowing Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon.
While we are only just beginning to recover from the trauma of the coronavirus, we must never forget the danger that Iran presents to both the United States, and the world.