The US House of Representatives mulls measure against Iran containment

The US House of Representatives mulls measure against Iran containment.(JPost).WASHINGTON - The US House of Representatives debated a resolution that rejects containment of a nuclear Iran on Tuesday evening. The non-binding resolution "strongly supports United States policy to prevent the government of Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapons capability, rejects any United States policy that would rely on efforts to contain a nuclear weapons-capable Iran; and urges the president to reaffirm the unacceptability of an Iran with nuclear-weapons capability and opposition to any policy that would rely on containment as an option in response to the Iranian nuclear threat."US President Barack Obama has in recent months made explicit his opposition to "containment" and his preference for "prevention." The resolution, introduced by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), the chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has 314 sponsors. The House did not immediately vote on the resolution, rolling over debate until Wednesday. A similar bill in the Senate, introduced by Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has 74 co-sponsors but has yet to be introduced to the floor.The House resolution was debated under suspension rules, meaning that there was no opportunity to amend it.Americans for Peace Now had urged Congress members in a letter to amend the resolution to make explicit that it did not authorize use of force and to substitute "acquisition of weapons" for "acquiring a nuclear capability." APN argued that "capability" is too vague a term to establish a "red line" triggering military action. Israel's "red line" is nuclear capability, and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's government has been seeking the same commitment from the Obama administration. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful civilian purposes. The status of its suspected nuclear weapons program is not precisely known, although in recent days some reports have suggested that the Iranians have achieved the capability to manufacture weapons. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) urged the US and Israel on Monday to align their "red lines" on what would trigger a military strike on Iran, The Hill newspaper reported. McCain, speaking to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, did not elaborate on what the "red lines" should be.Read the full story here.