When I last stood here, I spoke of the consequences of Iran developing nuclear weapons. Now time is running out, the hinge of history may soon turn, for the greatest danger of all could soon be upon us: a militant Islamic regime armed with nuclear weapons.
Militant Islam threatens the world. It threatens Islam.
Now, I have no doubt, I’m absolutely convinced that it will ultimately be defeated. I believe it will eventually succumb to the forces of freedom and progress. It depends on cloistering young minds for a given amount of years, and the process of opening up information will ultimately defeat this movement.
But like other fanaticisms that were doomed to fail, militant Islam could exact an horrific price from all of us before its eventual demise. A nuclear armed Iran would ignite a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. It would give terrorists a nuclear umbrella. It would make the nightmare of nuclear terrorism a clear and present danger throughout the world.
I want you to understand what this means, because if we don’t stop it, it’s coming.
They could put a bomb anywhere. They could put it in a missile. They’re working on missiles that could reach this city.
They could put it on a -- on a ship, inside a container. It could reach every port.
They could eventually put it in a suitcase or in a subway.
Now, the threat to my country cannot be overstated. Those who dismiss it are sticking their heads in the sand. Less than seven decades after 6 million Jews were murdered, Iran’s leaders deny the Holocaust of the Jewish people, while calling for the annihilation of the Jewish state.
Leaders who spew such venom should be banned from every respectable forum on the planet.
Now, there’s something that makes the outrage even greater. And you know what that is? It’s the lack of outrage. Because in much of the international community the calls for our destruction are met with utter silence.
It’s even worse, because there are many who rush to condemn Israel for defending itself against Iran’s terror proxies.
Not you. Not America.
You’ve acted differently. You’ve condemned the Iranian regime for its genocidal aims. You’ve passed tough sanctions against Iran.
History will salute you, America.
President Obama has said that the United States is determined to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
The president successfully led the Security Council at the U.N. to adopt sanctions against Iran. You in Congress passed even tougher sanctions.
Now, these words, and these, are vitally important. Yet the ayatollah regime briefly suspended its nuclear weapons program only once, in 2003, when it feared the possibility of military action. In that same year, Moammar Gadhafi gave up his nuclear weapons program and for the same reason.
The more Iran believes that all options are on the table, the less the chance of confrontation.
And this is why I ask you to continue to send an unequivocal message that America will never permit Iran to develop nuclear weapons.
Now, as for Israel, if history has taught the Jewish people anything, it is that we must take calls for our destruction seriously.
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