Iran and the Middle East
"Iran was hurtling towards an unaccounted for, uninspected, full-fledged nuclear program... Now, at Iran's consent and agreement, they have rolled that back."
- John Kerry, Sec. of State

About Israel

Since Israel's creation in the 1948, there has been violence and strife in the Middle East over its existence. Most Muslim countries have few diplomatic relations to the country. Despite this, the United States has always been an ally to the small country, and looks to Israel as it's strongest ally in the Middle East.

Iran Nuclear Deal

In 2015, the United States and Iran reached a deal to limit Iran's ability to have nuclear capabilities. It limits Iran's enrichment for 15 years, and allows inspectors to keep tabs on what is going on in the country. To enforce the deal, international financial sanctions were placed on Iran, as well as a limit on the amount of oil sold. Iran is still allowed to control limited amounts of enriched uranium. [2]

About Iran

Iran is an Islamic theocracy, which has a Supreme Leader who is nominated by the Assembly of Experts, who are voted on by the people. Only two men have held this position since 1979. The Supreme Leader is commander-in-chief, is in charge of general policies, and controls the security and intelligence operations. While Iran also has a president, his role is largely focused on economic policies. Iran also has a Parliament, which approves the budget and ratifies international treaties. [3]
Candidates

Bernie Sanders

"First, we must counter the destabilizing behavior of Iran's leaders. But secondly we must also leave the door open to more diplomacy to encourage Iranian moderates and the segments of the Iranian people - especially the younger generations - who want a better relationship with the West."

"But a more balanced approach toward Iran that serves our national security interests should hardly be a radical idea. We have serious concerns about the nature of the Iranian government, but we have to honest enough, and sometimes we are not, to admit that Saudi Arabia - a repressive regime in its own right - is hardly an example of Jeffersonian democracy." [4]

Donald Trump

"First, we will stand up to Iran's aggressive push to destabilize and dominate the region..."

"Secondly, we will totally dismantle Iran's global terror network which is big and powerful, but not powerful like us."

"Third, at the very least, we must enforce the terms of the previous deal to hold Iran totally accountable."

"Iran has already, since the deal is in place, test-fired ballistic missiles three times. Those ballistic missiles, with a range of 1,250 miles, were designed to intimidate not only Israel, which is only 600 miles away, but also intended to frighten Europe and someday maybe hit even the United States. And we're not going to let that happen." [5]

Hillary Clinton

"This deal must come with vigorous enforcement, strong monitoring, clear consequences for any violations and a broader strategy to confront Iran's aggression across the region. We cannot forget that Tehran's fingerprints are on nearly every conflict across the Middle East, from Syria to Lebanon to Yemen."

"And we must work closely with Israel and other partners to cut off the flow of money and arms from Iran to Hezbollah. If the Arab League can designate all of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, surely it is time for our friends in Europe and the rest of the international community to do so as well and to do that now." [5]