June 14, 2007Today, Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), Chairman of the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs seconded the concerns expressed by Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson regarding insufficient economic pressure being exerted by U.S. allies’ on Iran.
“The Department of the Treasury is finally getting tough with Iran— both through traditional sanctions and additional targeted financial measures. I strongly share Secretary Paulson’s concerns about our allies’ commitment to the cause. If we are going to be effective in preventing Iran from financing terrorism and seeking to acquire nuclear weapons capability, we will need to see comparable commitments from other nations—in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. These governments must not turn a blind eye towards Iran’s wrongful and destructive use of private sector investment to consolidate power and destabilize the region. Only robust diplomacy coupled with tough multilateral sanctions will convince Iran to come to the table to find a political solution to our current disagreements.”
In March, Chairman Dodd convened a hearing assessing efforts by the U.S. to increase economic, diplomatic and political pressure on Iran, and questioned key Administration witnesses charged with overseeing U.S-Iranian policy.
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