WASHINGTON — The Senate Republican leader said Monday that the United States should use overwhelming military force against Iran if American intelligence shows that Tehran has decided to build a nuclear weapon or it has started to enrich uranium to weapons-grade level.
Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said President Barack Obama’s repeated pronouncement that the administration keeps “all options on the table” is a talking point, not a policy, and the United States needs a straightforward, deliberate plan that would force Tehran to negotiate to preserve its survival. McConnell was making the case for his proposal in a speech to the influential American Israel Public Affairs Committee on Monday night, shortly before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was to address the gathering.
“If Iran, at any time, begins to enrich uranium to weapons-grade level, or decides to go forward with a weapons program, then the United States will use overwhelming force to end that program,” McConnell said, according to an advanced text of the speech. The Associated Press
