Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member, Members of the Committee, 

Thank you for this opportunity to talk about the Biden Administration’s strategy toward Iran. 

Let me begin with some basic facts upon which I am sure we agree, and which are the predicate for everything we are doing. The Iranian government’s actions threaten the United States and our allies, including Israel.  It has a long history of regional aggression.  It continues to support terrorist groups. It directs attacks against our forces in the Middle East and against our partners. It has an appalling human rights record. It detains foreign and dual nationals for use as political pawns.  It must never be allowed to acquire a nuclear weapon, because of the direct threat that would pose to us and to our allies, and because it would make it harder for us to confront all of its other menacing actions.

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