Ileana Ros-Lehtinen Urges Obama Not to Change Iran Sanctions

U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., the chairwoman of the Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa, weighed in on Tuesday on the ongoing negotiations with Iran over that countrys nuclear program. Ros-Lehtinen insisted Iranian leader Hassan Rouhani cannot be trusted and warned the Obama administration not to back off on sanctions.

This latest round of P5+1 negotiations over Tehrans nuclear program is nothing more than a charade meant to undermine our leverage while allowing the centrifuges to continue to spin, Ros-Lehtinen said. The administration must not offer any easing of sanctions against Iran in exchange for empty promises and false hopes.

The administration should not be deceived by Rouhanis ruse, which has a history of using smooth talk to buy time for the nuclear program in the past, Ros-Lehtinen added. Irans intransigence and history of openly ignoring and failing to uphold U.N. Security Council Resolutions should not be rewarded with concessions; rather, it should be met with more constrictions. Responsible nations must not acquiesce to Tehrans demands of allowing it to continue to enrich even the slightest bit of uranium.

As the author of the strongest sanctions law ever against Iran -- the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 -- I can attest that this law was instrumental in further crippling the Iranian economy, she said in conclusion. The U.S. must continue to increase the sanctions against Iran until it has taken clear and verifiable steps to halt and dismantle its nuclear program.