As school ends, we feel it incumbent upon ourselves to address an issue of extreme importance to both our parties: the danger of a nuclear-armed Iran. Iran has continued enriching uranium beyond the level needed for fuel, and almost 90 percent of the way to nuclear-weapons capability. As the world’s premier state funder of terrorism, Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons is the largest threat to American interests in the world today. The Iranian threat goes far beyond the use of a warhead on American soil. Were Iran to acquire nuclear weapons, the already volatile Middle East would erupt into a nuclear arms race the likes of which the world has not seen since the end of the Cold War. Were Iran to obtain nuclear-weapons capability, its puppets across the region would reap the benefits of a “nuclear umbrella,” deterring the use of force against them. While the Iranian regime continues to claim its nuclear facilities are for “civilian purposes,” this is widely agreed to be false. For years Iran has been bunkering their nuclear facilities deep underground to prevent attack. Recent reports show extensive research into a neutron initiator the only known purpose of which is to trigger a nuclear reaction in a warhead. Iran has also been supplying weapons and resistance training to insurgents in Iraq, prompting Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to state, “We’re very concerned about Iran and the weapons they’re providing to extremists in Iraq. We cannot sit back and simply allow this to continue.” Thankfully, in an era of intense partisan bickering, both of our parties understand this threat’s magnitude. Over the past two years, Congress has passed comprehensive sanctions on Iran’s central bank as deterrents from a dangerous agenda. Just last week the United States House passed House Resolution 568, expressing the importance of preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear-weapons capability, with an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 401-11. While these actions have been important steps in effort to avert the Iranian threat, more must be done to ensure that the most dangerous regime in the Middle East does not acquire the tools it needs to establish its hegemony. We together call on the United States Congress, the Administration, and all its citizens to work together with the rest of the world to prevent the Iranian nuclear realization and to keep all options on the table to ensure the safety and interests of American citizens.

Lauren Izaak Weinberg sophomore, College Democrats co-president Adam Roth Weinberg freshman, College Democrats co-president Dane Stier Weinberg sophomore, College Republicans president