This week’s announcement of a landmark deal to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon is years in the making. It was during Hillary Clinton’s tenure as Secretary of State that Iran was forced back to the negotiating table and its nuclear enrichment program was temporarily halted. How? Through a historic regime of crippling sanctions that Secretary Clinton personally helped negotiate.
The Republican Party, on the other hand, is attempting to undercut this historic diplomatic breakthrough at every turn. But the American people know what true strength looks like. They only need to consult Hillary Clinton’s record of efforts to ensure that Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon.
Hillary Clinton’s Response to Iran Agreement:
In a statement released this week, Clinton announced her support for the Iran agreement and emphasized the need to ensure its enforcement and compliance. Here are a few highlights:
- “With vigorous enforcement, unyielding verification, and swift consequences for any violations, this agreement can make the United States, Israel, and our Arab partners safer.”
- Hillary Clinton supports the Iranian agreement because it provides “the most effective path of all the alternatives available to the U.S. and our partners to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.”
- As President, Hillary Clinton would “use every tool in our arsenal to compel rigorous Iranian compliance.”
- “The response to any cheating must be immediate and decisive – starting with the return of sanctions but taking no options off the table, including, if necessary, our military options.”
- “Sanctions for terrorism, and other non-nuclear sanctions, must remain a key part of U.S. strategy and must be vigorously enforced.”
- “The message to Iran should be loud and clear: The United States will never allow you to acquire a nuclear weapon; not just during the term of this agreement – never.”
Fighting For and Winning the Harshest Iran Sanctions in History:
As Secretary of State, Clinton built a sweeping international coalition to crack down on Iran.
- “We convinced all 27 nations of the European Union to stop importing Iranian oil and all 20 major global importers of Iranian oil – including Japan, India, China, and Turkey – to make significant cuts,” Clinton said in a 2012 speech. “Iran today exports more than one million fewer barrels of crude each day than it did just last year. Iran’s currency is worth less than half of what it was last November.”
Even conservative media praised Clinton’s negotiating strength.
- “Give Hillary Clinton credit for hitting a half-court shot at the buzzer,” read a 2010 Wall Street Journal editorial after a sanctions breakthrough. “Clinton surely pulled out every stop to get Russia and particularly China […] on board.”
When the historic new sanctions were put to Congress, Clinton fought tirelessly to see them passed.
- Clinton “brokereda last-minute compromise with House leaders” and, according to a recent book by a team of journalists, Clinton “became the de facto chairwoman of the conference committee” to help ensure the bill’s passage.
Hillary Clinton has Long Been a Leader on the Iran Threat:
“I come to the current debate as a long-time advocate for crippling sanctions against Iran,”
- Clinton has said. “In my eight years in the Senate, I supported every Iran sanctions bill that came up for a vote and I spoke out frequently about the need to confront the threat posed by Iran’s nuclear ambitions, its support for terrorism, and its hostility toward Israel.”
Hillary Clinton’s Steadfast Support of Israel:
- Secretary Clinton helped avert all-out war in Gaza by negotiating a cease-fire between Israelis and Palestinians.
- In the Senate, Hillary was “an outspoken defender of Israel and representative for American Jews,” according to CNN.
- By 2008, “a number of Jewish Democrats said her record with the community was unprecedented,” according to CNN.
- Hillary was an early supporter of Israel’s right to build a security barrier.
- Hillary cosponsored the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act in 2006 to block foreign assistance to Hamas.
- Hillary cosponsored the Syrian Accountability Act to pressure Syria to halt support for terrorism in the Middle East.
- For more information on Hillary Clinton’s steadfast support of Israel, please read Correct The Record’s latest research here.