In testimony before our Committee last September, Secretary Burns outlined the administration’s policy of supporting an international dialogue with Iran, while backing up that willingness to negotiate with the prospect of UN sanctions. 

Six months have passed and Iran’s leaders have thus far rebuffed the international community’s offer to negotiate an acceptable arrangement for their nuclear program. As a result – thanks in part to U.S. leadership -- the UN Security Council has voted twice to impose sanctions, and may do so again should Iran continue on its path of defiance. 

This multilateral approach to the problem, I believe, has directly bolstered U.S. efforts to encourage foreign governments and banks to curtail commercial benefits to Iran, thereby enhancing the impact of UN sanctions.