Sen. Cruz Presents Resolution Laying Out the Preconditions Iran Must Meet
Recognizes the One-Year Anniversary of Pastor Abedini's Imprisonment in Iran
WASHINGTON, DC -- This week, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) filed a resolution, S. Res. 252, in recognition of President Obama's offer to meet with Iranian President Hasan Rouhani at the United Nations General Assembly and the one-year anniversary of Iran's imprisonment of Pastor Saeed Abedini, an American citizen.
The resolution states that it is the sense of the Senate that before any future meeting between President Obama and President Rouhani, the Government of Iran should affirm the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish state, and also immediately and without conditions release all United States citizens unjustly detained as prisoners of conscience in Iran.
After the revelation Friday afternoon that President Obama had engaged in a telephone conversation with President Rouhani, Senator Cruz said:
"I commend President Obama for raising Pastor Abedini in his conversation with President Rouhani; he did the right thing. Now this resolution is all the more necessary to keep pressure on Iran to take real action on this issue. Congress needs to send a strong signal that direct communication with the leader of the free world is a privilege, particularly for a regime that has been as hostile as Iran has been towards America for more than three decades. President Rouhani needs to take these two simple steps to demonstrate good faith before any further discussions."
Sen. Cruz participated on Thursday in a prayer vigil coordinated by the American Center for Law and Justice and held in front of the White House to pray for Pastor Saeed Abedini's release. Pastor Abedini, an American citizen of Iranian heritage, was arrested by the government of Iran for professing his Christian faith and is serving an eight-year sentence under brutal conditions in Tehran's Evin Prison. Abedini lives in Idaho with his wife and two young daughters.
At the vigil, Cruz said, "There is power to speaking the truth, there is power to speaking out against oppression, to speaking out in support of Pastor Abedini."
To view the resolution, please visit: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/sres252/text
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