Published on January 3, 2023 by The Hill.
Photo: Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) leaves the Senate chamber following a vote on a nomination, Dec. 15, 2022. Source: Greg Nash.
One of the leaders of the Iranian activists with whom I work asked me who was the lone Republican senator to block Senate Resolution 47. The resolution reaffirmed American support “for the Iranian citizens who have taken to the streets in peaceful protest for their fundamental human rights, and [condemned] the Iranian security forces for their violent response.” It called for “the international community to speak out against the Iranian regime’s human rights violations, and [urged] continued efforts to hold those violators accountable including through additional coordinated sanctions.”
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee approved this bipartisan resolution. That’s no small feat in today’s age of political polarization. The resolution called for no American boots on the ground, only a commitment to stand by our ideals in support of people yearning for their freedom against a regime that has been our nemesis for 43 years.
So, who could be against something that supports the rights of people who have been intimidated, tortured, raped and executed by a government whose fundamental nature and policies are anti-American? The answer is Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), my fellow ophthalmologist.
Read the rest from the The Hill.