WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) today released "Before It's Too Late," a new video highlighting the urgent need for further congressional action to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapons capability.

The video, first unveiled Sunday at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s (AIPAC) annual Policy Conference, highlights the recent impact of sanctions authored by Senator Kirk and calls for new congressional action to: cut off Iran’s access to the euro, break the ballistic missile and nuclear cooperation between Iran and North Korea, and expand both diplomatic and economic sanctions in response to Iran’s abuse of human rights.

Background:

Last week, Senator Kirk and Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), along with 34 other U.S. Senators, urged the European Union to close a significant loophole in sanctions against Iran by severing Iran's ability to access foreign held euros through the European Central Bank's Target2 settlement platform.  The text of the letter is available here and Senator Kirk’s statement regarding last week’s P5+1 talks in Kazakhstan can be found here.

In 2011, Senator Kirk co-authored the Menendez-Kirk amendment, which imposed sanctions on the Central Bank of Iran and led to unprecedented economic pressure inside Iran.  In 2012, Kirk authored an amendment to impose sanctions on the financial messaging providers servicing designated Iranian banks, which ultimately led the European Union to order the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) to disconnect such banks.  Last December, Senator again co-authored a Menendez-Kirk amendment to the FY13 National Defense Authorization Act, which blacklisted whole sectors of the Iranian economy and prohibited the sale or delivery of raw, semi-finished and precious metals to Iran.  More information on Senator Kirk's work on sanctions policy can be found at kirk.senate.gov.

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