Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) delivered a forceful floor speech warning about what he described as the growing threat posed by Iran’s political and religious leadership, arguing that the United States must prevent the Ayatollah from obtaining nuclear weapons and expanding terrorism.

“About 90% Mr. President of my personal and political philosophy is don’t hurt someone unless they’re trying to hurt you first. Don’t take other people’s stuff and leave me alone. Let me live my life exercising the free will and responsibility that God gave,” Kennedy said. “Which leads me to my first topic, Mr. President Iran.”

Kennedy drew a distinction between the Iranian people and the country’s ruling leadership.

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“I’m not talking about the people. Of Iran. I’m talking about the political and religious leadership of the government of Iran, talking about the Ayatollah and his followers,” he said.

He contrasted the American system of separating church and state with Iran’s governance.

“And in America, we separate government from religion, not in Iran, thanks to the Ayatollah, the government tells you what religion to practice. The government is the religion,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy described the Ayatollah’s religious views in stark terms.

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“Now everybody has a right to believe what they want. I’ll tell you what you what the Ayatollah believes he he’s Muslim, but his strain of Islam says that if you do not agree with his interpretation of God, then you deserve to die. You do, and he acts on that belief,” Kennedy said.

He added, “Now, let me say again, the Ayatollah is entitled to believe what he wants. I was raised a Presbyterian. My parents founded two Presbyterian Churches when Becky and I got married Becky, Becky was a Methodist. I was a Presbyterian. We compromised. I became a Methodist. I’m entitled to believe what I want, but the Ayatollah not only thinks that I’m going to hell because I don’t agree with his religion, he wants to kill me. He wants to kill Americans and Israelis and anybody who does not believe in his Jihad and drink our blood out of a boot, and he’s acted on that.”

Kennedy said that dissent within Iran is met with violence.

“Now, a lot of the people in Iran, the good people in Iran, don’t agree with the Ayatollah. If they agree with it, disagree with him too gladly, he just kills them,” Kennedy said.

He warned that Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons poses a global risk.

“Now, the Ayatollah, it’s actually been the case for the last, I don’t know, 1015, 20 years. The Ayatollah has decided he wants a nuclear warhead,” Kennedy said. “Why should we care? I hear from some of my fellow Americans all the time. Why do we need to be involved in Iran? Why should we care? Well, number one, we’re not trying to start a war in Iran. The President is trying to end a war in Iran.”

Kennedy predicted serious consequences if Iran obtains a nuclear weapon.

“If the Ayatollah gets a nuclear weapon, he will use it. He could use it against America. He could use it against Israel. I don’t know who he will use it against, and I hope I’m wrong, but he will use it,” he said. “And you know what else will happen soon as he gets a nuclear weapon, Saudi Arabia is going to get a nuclear weapon, and the UAE is going to get a nuclear weapon, and Japan is going to get a nuclear weapon, and South Korea, and I could go on and on and on, and the more nuclear weapons you have in the world, the more likely you are to have a nuclear war.”

Kennedy also cited Iran’s backing of terrorist organizations.

“But that’s not the only thing the Ayatollah has done since he became the hayatola. He exports terrorism. He was the person behind Hamas and Hezbollah that has killed that have killed so many people throughout the world, not just in the Middle East, but across the world, including, but not limited to Americans. That’s why. Are we ought to care,” he said.

He pointed to Iran’s ballistic missile program as an additional concern.

“The Ayatollah also has conventional ballistic missiles and is building more as we speak. Now, those missiles can’t reach America yet, but they’re working on one. And they can sure reach our military bases in the Middle East. And they can, they can, they can sure reach Israel,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy concluded by addressing potential diplomacy and enforcement.

“So that’s what this business with Iran is all about. We’re not trying to be the world’s policeman. We’re trying to stop the Ayatollah from being the world’s policeman, who’s getting a lot of support from President Xi Jinping in China and from Adam Putin in Russia and Kim Jong Un in North Korea,” Kennedy said.

“To the Ayatollah, I would say, Ayatollah, you’re entitled to believe what you want. You can hate me. You can believe that I know you hate me in what I stand for. You know how I sleep at night knowing that you hate me with the fan on. That’s your right, but you can’t act on that belief,” he said.

“Put down the nuclear weapons, put down the nuclear enrichment. Stop exporting terrorism to Hamas and Hezbollah. End your missile program. Stop killing and torturing your people. That’s all we want.”

Kennedy stressed the need for enforcement in any agreement.

“If we make a deal with Iran, let’s make sure we have a protocol to enforce it, because my experience in watching the Ayatollah through the years, I wouldn’t trust this man if he was three days dead. I wouldn’t trust him if he was three days dead,” he said.

He ended by reiterating that the United States is seeking to end, not start, conflict.

“Let me say it again, we’re not trying to start a war. This war began a long time ago. We’re trying to end end it. Our president, presiding today, knows exactly what I talked about. He served honorably, had great physical, mental and emotional expense in the Middle East. That’s what we’re trying to stop,” Kennedy said.

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