Rand Paul Blocks New Iran Sanctions

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) channeled his House father yesterday when he blocked unanimous passage of an Iran sanctions bill over a demand that nothing in the act constitute an act of war.

Paul introduced an amendment to the latest effort to pressure the regime in Tehran saying that nothing “shall be construed as a declaration of war or an authorization of use of force against Iran or Syria.”

Any such use of unilateral force must be authorized by Congress first,the amendment states.

“I urge that we not begin a new war without a full debate, without a vote, without careful consideration of the ramifications of a third or even a fourth war in this past decade,” Paul said. “I, therefore, respectively object.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said he was “terribly disappointed” with Paul’s action on the bill that would include requiring firms traded on the U.S. stock exchanges to disclose Iran ties.

“There’s nothing in the resolution that talks about war,” Reid said. “…I read the Constitution a few times. My friend says he wants to restate the Constitution. That’s a strange version he just stated.”