(WASHINGTON) – U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, commented today on the visit of Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to New York, where he is scheduled to speak at the opening of the 63rd session of the United Nations General Assembly.  Statement of Ros-Lehtinen:

For four years, world leaders and UN bureaucrats have watched passively while Ahmadinejad has denied the Holocaust and spewed hatred against America and Israel in New York.  This year, Miguel D’Escoto, the President of the UN General Assembly, will even attend an event in Ahmadinejad’s honor, despite the fact that the Iranian leader is in violation of a UN General Assembly resolution against denying the Holocaust and has violated the UN Charter by calling for Israel’s destruction.

Just last week, Ahmadinejad called the Holocaust “fake.”  Earlier this year, on Israel's 60th birthday, Ahmadinejad gave a speech, in which, according to the official Iranian news agency, he stated that Israel was “on its way to annihilation.” In a public address, on June 2nd of this year, Ahmadinejad stated again called for “this germ of corruption” in reference to Israel, to be “wiped off.”

Iran continues its pursuit of a nuclear capability.  It is operating thousands of centrifuges and rapidly enhancing its ability to process uranium.  And just a few days ago, the IAEA shared a series of documents and photographs with member countries indicating that Iran may have tried to modify its long-range missile to carry a nuclear payload. 

Yet, during the same period, the UN Security Council has only managed to pass three weak sanctions resolutions against the Iranian regime, and otherwise responsible nations have failed to implement effective unilateral or multilateral economic pressure on Tehran’s leadership, refusing to sacrifice commercial interests for the sake of global peace and security.

It is time for the United States and other responsible nations to hold Iran accountable for behavior that runs contrary to international legal and moral standards and for violations of its nonproliferation commitments.

######