Lieberman: Military force against Iran must be considered

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) on Tuesday said the U.S. must consider using military force against the Islamic Republic of Iran as an option for preventing it from developing a nuclear weapon.

"It is time for an unequivocal declaration that we will stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons capability by peaceful means if we possibly can, but with military force if we absolutely must," said Lieberman from the Senate floor.

Lieberman was responding to a report issued by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Tuesday that cited “credible” evidence that Iran continues to doggedly pursue a nuclear weapon despite harsh sanctions leveled against it by the U.S. and European Union.

Most experts agree that the seismic shift in geo-political balance that would occur if Iran obtained such a nuclear weapon would result in a dangerous escalation of tensions in the already volatile region

In his speech, Lieberman also expressed confidence the U.S. possesses the capability of stopping Iran from obtaining such a weapon either through sanctions or by military might and needs only to muster the political will. 

“If the Iranian regime acquires a nuclear weapons capability, it will be because our leaders allowed it to happen," he said. "It is still within our power to stop it. But it will require more than further incremental pressure—which is to say, more of what we have already been doing, that clearly hasn't been working."